NETBALL

National ‘C’ Division Final
Dunman Secondary vs Raffles Girls’ School
Friday, 20 April, 2007, at Toa Payoh Sports Hall

Story by Lee Hwee Cheng.  Pictures by Leslie Tan. Highlights of the final in episode 9 of RedSportsTV. © Red Sports/soulbreath pictures

In a final that boasted of tough defence, Dunman’s WD cuts the passing lane in front of RGS’s WA Julia Sng. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

On an otherwise rather bland Friday afternoon, the Red Sports Crew had much to remember of that day.  For one, we were unexpectedly into our seventy-second hour of a technical malfunction – totally beyond the control of a photographer and a writer who pride themselves for being able to run a news web site through a blogging platform and the use of very cool-looking and very efficient equipment.  We were booted out by our virtual landlord because, to put it in non-geeky terms, we paid for only a room but we overused the toilet and the kitchen, the washing machine and the refrigerator, much to the wrath of the other tenants.  In other words, we had too many visitors. But we couldn’t help it; we were just that busy and active.

We were homeless for almost three days, when we thought we would only be for one.  With much help from James our web master, the Red Sports Crew finally settled down over the weekend, this time around in a bigger place with our own toilet and kitchen, washing machine and refridgerator.  We are all set to go again, and catch up on the still-abuzz sports calendar, amidst our eagerness to roll out our cool, new Red Sports ideas.  With the help of our athletes, our ardent readers, we think one day we will have no choice but to move to a ‘bungalow’ next. 🙂

So the Red Sports Crew had been looking forward to that fateful Friday afternoon, because that would have been our very last ‘date’ with the Netball ‘B’ and ‘C’ girls for the year.  And for that, we were all set and ready to turn real-time and bring the news and pictures live over the web site.  It would have been our first endeavour, and we would have ended up being very upset about that technical malfunction which ruined our first endeavour – if not for the enthralling performances that took place on the indoor court of Toa Payoh.

Through their confident displays of sheer grit and high spirits, the girls reminded the Red Sports Crew why we were there in the first place, and why we always enjoy our afternoon trips down to the netball games.

Dunman’s Centre looks to make a good pass to her shooters. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

The ‘C’ girls’ final started off in the earlier part of the afternoon.  The feeling of making it all the way to the Final and being able to play on the parquet court in the Toa Payoh Sports Hall is a grandiose one, exactly the way I remember it.  And the girls must have felt it, especially after having to battle rain and shine on the outdoor courts of Kallang in the previous rounds.  The cheers from their schoolfriends never sounded this boisterous.  The motions of their sneakers against the parquet flooring never sounded this crisp.  The shouts from the coaches on the bench never sounded this loud.  The atmosphere just never felt this overwhelming.

The weaker ones would have crumbled in fear and lost on-court concentration.  The stronger ones would have taken in the surroundings  to feed their own energy level – the higher the surrounding energy, the more boosted their spirits.  And the latter description seemed more befitting of the girls, as they went about their warm-up rounds before the start – the Dunman girls in red and black, the Rafflesian girls in their green-black-white ensemble.

RGS’s GD Grace Seow makes a pass up the offensive end. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

The first half of the game started fast and furious, and RGS looked set to dominate early in the first period as they went into a 6-2 lead with less than 3 minutes to go.  At this point, Dunman seemed to snap out of a momentary daze and picked up their pace and confidence.  The girls started making faster and more confident passes from the defensive to the attacking end, and the Dunman GS put in five consecutive goals to give them a 7-6 lead by the end of the first period.

In the second period, the centres and the defense from both sides of the team shone as the game became a more defensive one.  The girls played tough defense on each other. They leapt and flew to intercept passes, some taking tumbles in the process.  Passes into the semi-circle did not come as easy, but the shooters on both ends made almost every shot at goal count.  Both teams tussled to a 14-14 tie by the end of the second period.

RGS’s Centre Ivalyn Lye takes on the GA position in the fourth quarter. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Dunman’s WA receives a pass. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Things, however, took a strange turn in the third period.  The overwhelming pressure from the surrounding and the exhaustion from the continuing tough defence seemed to make the girls succumb to the panic bug.  Apparently not as confident and clear-thinking as they had been in the first twenty minutes, both sides began making poor passes and unnecessary offensive errors such as stepping violations.  But RGS seemed to suffer a bigger bite from the bug as the shooters found themselves plagued with a poorer scoring form.  It was also in this period where Dunman’s GK stood out with her stretched long limbs and her agile movements, foiling many opportunities for RGS’ GS Ng Jia Ming to have a good shot at goal.  RGS ended up scoring only one goal by the end of the third quarter, and trailed 15-22.

RGS’s GS Ng Jia Ming has eyes only on the goal. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

The fourth quarter saw a change in RGS’ attacking strategies when the centre Ivalyn Lye changed into the GA bib to take up the scoring responsibilities.  Still, nothing seemed to work the magic for RGS as they continued on a poor shooting run with fumbles and poor passes.  More crucially, they seemed unable to stop the Dunman girls, who hit a confident high as they realized victory was within their reach.  Dunman continued on a scoring rampage, while keeping RGS to a low goal count  to bring home the championship at the end of the National ‘C’ Division final with a 30-17 win.

Dunman’s GS makes another shot at goal. ©  Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Immediately at the final whistle, the Dunman girls huddled in a sea of red in the centre of the court and did a little dance of deliriousness.  Or, was it one of ecstasy?  Either case, the tears that flowed must have been those of happiness, and of relief at the long surprising journey to the final championship.

Congratulations, girls!  See you again next year!

Editor: If you do recognize yourselves or your friends in these pictures, let us know and we’ll update the captions accordingly!  For more action shots of the day, feel free to visit the picture gallery.