LABUAN — A total of 20 teams from Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak recently competed in the inaugural Labuan Open Netball Championship 2026, held over two days at the Labuan Youth and Sports Complex
Organised by the Labuan Netball Association (LANA), the championship featured women’s and men’s categories, providing local players with a competitive platform and opportunities to gain exposure against teams from outside the island.
In the women’s category, Cinnamon NC from Keningau emerged as champions, followed by Chillax from Kota Kinabalu as runners-up. Phantom NC and Pradian’s, both from Kota Kinabalu, shared third place.
In the men’s category, Victory Kota Kinabalu Netball Club clinched the title, while Vixens from Kota Kinabalu finished second. Panthera from Kuching and Firebird from Labuan shared third place.
Individual awards recognised outstanding performances throughout the tournament.
Amandashasha Yeap Swee Kim of Cinnamon NC was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the women’s category, while Labuan-born Mohd Aizat Sudin, representing Victory Kota Kinabalu Netball Club, received the men’s MVP award.
The Best Attacker awards went to Eveline Juaney of Cinnamon NC and Mohammad Azri Dawisani of Vixens, while Dewihafiqah Fauzie of Chillax and Ezekiel Lee of Vixens were named Best Defender in the women’s and men’s categories, respectively.
Juvita Soumin of Cinnamon NC and Hanery Jay Jakiri of Vixens received the Top Scorer awards in the women’s and men’s categories, respectively.
The championship was also attended by former Malaysian national netball player and KL Wildcats player Nurul Adha Abu Bakar, who is now a host of Astro’s Netball Super League (NSL). Her presence added excitement to the event and provided an opportunity for players and members of the netball community to meet an established figure in the sport.
Labuan Open 2026 programme director Nabihah Rozy said the successful inaugural edition marked another milestone in LANA’s efforts to develop netball in the Federal Territory of Labuan.
She expressed hope that the championship would continue to grow and attract wider participation in future editions.
Nabihah also thanked the Labuan Department of Youth and Sports and the Labuan Federal Territory Sports Council for supporting the tournament.
LANA extended its appreciation to all participating teams, umpires, technical officials, tournament personnel and other parties who contributed to the successful organisation of the championship.
