Asian Netball C’ships: Singapore beat Vietnam 84–8 for second straight win

By Colin Tung/Red Sports

Chen Huifen (GA) of Singapore shoots against Vietnam. She made 23 of 29 attempts, just behind teammate Charmaine Soh in goals and conversion rate. (Photo 1 courtesy of Netball Singapore)

OCBC Arena, Monday, September 8, 2014 — Building on yesterday’s opening win against Japan, a dominant Singapore team brushed aside tournament debutants Vietnam 84–8 in their second group game of the Asian Netball Championships.

Improved shooting from Singapore’s Goal Attack and Goal Shooters saw Singapore surpass their goals scored against the Japanese yesterday with more than 10 minutes still left to play in the fourth and final quarter.

Charmaine Soh led scoring once again, succeeding with 28 of her 35 attempts for a game-high 80 percent conversion rate. (She scored 26 of 37 attempts yesterday against the Japanese for a 70 percent conversion rate.)

Singapore started the first quarter with the same high tempo play as they did in the opener, scoring 27 without reply from the Vietnamese.

Vietnam finally made a breakthrough after recovering from the blitz of the opening quarter, with their first goal coming just after halfway in the second quarter. They would add a second to go into the half 46–2 down.

Natalie Long, who started as the Goal Shooter in her debut match against the Japanese, came off the bench this time for the start of the third quarter as all 12 members of the team once again got a run out. Natalie made an immediate impact, scoring from her first two attempts. She would end the quarter and the game with 11 goals from 15 attempts.

The second half saw Vietnam string together more attacking moves. A stingy Singapore defence, however, restricted the Vietnamese to only a further six goals as Singapore closed the match 84–8 winners.

Anna Soo, one of three debutants who started in the match against Japan, came on for a diminished but still significant two-and-a-half quarters worth of game time in Wing Defence. She said of the game, “Today’s pace was slightly slower. As the tournament progresses, it will pick up in terms of intensity.”

Charmaine made a similar, if polite, observation, “Vietnam were patient with their passes.”

For the final quarter, the Singapore defence saw Chen Lili shifted from the position of Goal Keeper (in which she played for the first three quarters) to Goal Shooter as head coach Ruth Aitken sought to use her 1.96-metre height in the shooting circle to “try different things” in preparation for the later stages of the tournament.

Captain, Lin Qingyi, commented on the change, “She has been training both as a shooter and a keeper. She is an extra option for Ruth. It’s good that we put her in (as a Goal Shooter) and let her have a run.”

Singapore, who are the highest world-ranked team in the championships at 18th, will face their first real test against world-ranked 25th Hong Kong on Wednesday. Hong Kong are similarly level on four points (but ranked lower on goal average) in Group A after two wins against India and Japan.

Ruth said of her team’s performance, “I thought they worked really hard. I thought there were some amazing shots. We got some great turnovers, which we have to ensure we don’t get a blood rush and turn the ball over again.”

Ruth was coy when asked about her plans for Singapore’s next game against Hong Kong. She said, “My plan is my plan, stays in my head. Whatever that unfolds, you’ll have to come to the game to find out.”

The top two teams from Group A will advance to the cup semi-finals on Saturday alongside the top two teams from Group B, which comprises of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Brunei, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar. The third and fourth teams from each group respectively will contest in the semi-finals for the plate championship.

Singapore (18th), Malaysia (20th), Sri Lanka (24th), and Hong Kong (25th) are the only world-ranked teams out of the 10 teams competing at the championships.

The finals for the cup and plate will take place on Sunday, September 14.

Scores by Quarter
Singapore vs Vietnam
1st quarter: 27–0
2nd quarter: 19–2 (46–2)
3rd quarter: 17–4 (63–6)
4th quarter: 21–2 (84–8)

Singapore Roster
Ang Shi Qi, Anna Soo, Charmaine Soh (GS), Chen Huifen (GA, co vice-captain), Chen Lili (GK), Kimberly Lim (WA), Lin Qingyi (GD, captain), Melissa Teo, Natalie Long, Nur Aqilah Afiqah, Nurul Baizura (C, co vice-captain), Premila Hirubalan (WD)

Vietnam Roster
Phan Thi Huynh Thuy Duong (captain), Le Thuy Vy, Truong Nguyen Bao Vy, Huynh Huynh Nhu (C), Tran Cam Tien (WD), Nguyen Thanh Thanh, Le Thanh Truc, Bui Thi Huyen Trang (GK), Luu Cam Den (WA), Kieu Vu Khuong Uyen (GS), Vo Thi Ngoc Hau (GD), Vo Nguyen Lan Thanh (GA)

League Tables (updated as at Friday, September 12)

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