Singapore beat Samoa to get their first Fisher & Paykel Nations Cup win

Story by Koh Yizhe. Pictures by Les Tan, Gerald Koh and Marvin Lowe.

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, 1 September, 2008 – Singapore bounced back from their disappointing defeat against Sri Lanka on Sunday night to register their first win of the Fisher & Paykel Nations Cup against world number 5 Samoa. Samoa were their toughest opponents based on world rankings, but Singapore showed they were more than a match for their opponents with a 48-41 win. Both teams lost their first match and were desperate to recover from the setback. However, it was Singapore who rallied to overcome the Samoans and get their Nations Cup campaign back on track.

It was a nervous start from both teams as they traded points. Singapore were not up to their shooting best, as the larger Samoan players prevented them from getting comfortable. Samoa themselves were committing passing errors, especially in the final third. The whistle was blown frequently, disrupting the flow of the game. It was only after 7 minutes that Singapore began to settle in and took the lead at 6-5.

An injury occurred as the Asian Champions were leading 8-5. Singapore’s WD Grace Sim went down with an injury, forcing her to leave the court and she was replaced by Ang Shi Qi. This, however, did not hamper Singapore's flow and they did really well to interrupt Samoa's passing while maintaining their own. Their shooting was back to their usual high standards with Rachel Yim deserving mention as she took her chances really well to give Singapore a comfortable 12-7 lead heading into the second quarter.

Much of the same continued in the second quarter as Singapore slowly extended their lead to 9 points. On the contrary, Samoa had problems getting settled and Singapore didn't help by doing an excellent job of preventing them from passing well. Playing with a different style compared to the Sir Lankans the night before, the Samoans used their physical size advantage to keep Singapore at bay. This resulted in plenty of penalty calls in the match. Singapore, however, managed to maintain their rhythm and teamwork to end the half leading 26-20.

The third quarter was much more even. Samoa's defense held firm against the new attacking pair of Chen Huifen and Yasmin Ho who replaced Tan Hui Yan and Rachel Yim. However, with good communication between the two of them, they were able to break down the Samoan defense and continue the great work done by Rachel Yim and Tan Hui Yan. Samoa were more settled in this quarter and were able to match the Singapore girls. By the end of the third quarter, Singapore led by a slim 37-32 lead.

In an attempt not to make the same mistakes that they committed against Sri Lanka, Singapore increased the pace of the game despite their tired legs. By the end of the game, Singapore stretched their lead to 13 points to give themselves enough breathing room. When the game ended 48-41 in Singapore’s favour, there were plenty of smiles all around the sports hall.

Playing their first match, Papua New Guinea came back from a deficit in the first quarter to beat Botswana 57-49.

Both Singapore and Botswana now have one win and one loss while Samoa have lost both their matches. Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka have one win each and will play their second match tomorrow against Samoa and Botswana respectively.

Singapore will play their next match against Papua New Guinea on Wednesday at 6pm at Toa Payoh Sports Hall.