By Lorna Campbell
Shelby Koh of Singapore defends against Papua New Guinea. Singapore lost a close match by three points. (Photo © Tom Roberts. Courtesy of Lorna Campbell)
Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, August 29, 2013 – Singapore went down by a narrow 46–49 to Papua New Guinea at the World Youth Championship.
The win allowed Papua New Guinea to move on to the 13th/14th playoff while Singapore had to settle for the 15th/16th playoff.
Singapore came out on top in their group meeting last Thursday with a 54–39 victory but from the opening quarter, it was clear it wasn’t going to be as easy with PNG getting in front 14–12.
PNG were out to get revenge after losing that opener and their group results showed that they had improved with each game played and were now a much more cohesive and confident team.
PNG walked off leading 30–23 at half-time but Singapore came out fighting in the third period and found their rhythm to win it 12–10 to trail by only five points (35–40) with the crucial final quarter ahead.
In an adrenaline-fuelled final 15 minutes, the spectators were gripped as Singapore clawed their way back to within touching distance of their opponents as the entire team played their hearts out to give Melissa Teo and Jocelyn Ng as many shots at goal as they could. However, they ran out of time and ended the match three goals adrift at 46–49.
Coach Joanne Loo commented: “I am really proud of how the team played in the second half, it was a good way to finish the game. If we could have stayed tighter in the first half then it could have been our game.”
“We were under pressure but we did really well especially in the second half. I thought we fought hard and didn’t hand them their win. We ended it on a high note,” said co-captain Shelby Koh.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s final match Loo added: “Looking at today’s match we should be confident if we stick to our game plan and keep the spirit high in the team.”
Singapore play their final match against Bermuda to determine who will finish 15th at the Championship.
Leave A Comment