Nanyang Girls’ claim first B Division West Zone netball title since 2000

Story by reader Erwin Wong. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Jurong East Sports Hall, Friday 13 March 2009 - Once is happenstance, twice a coincidence, but Nan Hua High School never got round to finding out what a third time was, as Nanyang Girls' High School finally beat them 31-26 in a scintillating B Division West Zone Championship final today.

Nan Hua had knocked Nanyang Girls’ out of contention for the 2008 West Zone title on their way to finishing runners-up, and notched a second straight win over them in the second round of this year's edition. But the newly-crowned West Zone champions insisted that revenge was never on the cards.

"We just wanted to play the best that we could," chirped Centre Cheryl Lee and Goal Keeper Chin Yu Xuan, Nanyang's captain and vice captain respectively. "We focused more on the process; not to be hesitant, to bring the ball down well, and not to have turnovers."

It was a closely-fought and up-tempo game right from the opening whistle, with both teams closely in each other's sights for the first three quarters and Nan Hua only trailing by one a minute into the final period. But Nanyang pulled away with a pivotal 10-3 run to put the game to bed, a fact which was not lost on Nan Hua's netball teacher-in-charge, Mr Jonathan Quek. "We didn't control the game, but the players let their emotions take control of it. We did not manage our speed and strategy well, even though we were capable of winning the game."

Nanyang also took a staggering 23 more shot attempts than their opponents, but Mr Quek chose to look at the positives: "We didn't bring the ball enough times into the D, but it showed that our shooters did a good job, and we had the better shooting percentage."

Nan Hua definitely did prove that they had the weapons to do so, as they led for most of the first 10 minutes. Goal Shooter Yie Qin was in red-hot form, making all eight of her attempts on her way to an overall 89 % (25/28) shooting percentage. Yu Xuan and her Goal Defence Foo Zheng Liang kept the Nan Hua offence at bay with several timely interceptions and adept defensive positioning, while at the other end, Goal Shooter Tay Ziwei got on the scoreboard regularly to keep up with their opponents.

It was her shot which finally drew Nanyang level at 6-6, and both teams then proceeded to trade the next seven points in a thrilling first half. Ziwei scored again when she rebounded her own miss to make it 8-8, and nearly had another opportunity but Nan Hua's Goal Defence Siying poked the ball away as time expired.

Both teams continued to play gritty defence in the 2nd period, as both GKs and GDs worked hard to prevent passes into their defensive arc. A bad pass by a Nan Hua player on the attack ended up in her own defensive third, but Nanyang couldn't capitalize on the 2-on-1 situation, as Siying played excellent positional defence.

Yie Qin scored twice more as Nan Hua led 11-9, but that proved to be the final Nan Hua lead as Ziwei and her Goal Attack Neo Hoon Suan combined to draw Nanyang level, before the former eluded Nan Hua's GK Shaeron to hand her team their first lead of the match.

The third quarter started on a sour note for Nanyang as Yie Qin found herself unmarked to score after Zheng Liang and Yu Xuan clattered into each other. The latter came off worse in the clash with a sprained ankle, as the Nan Hua GS quickly bestowed her concern in a warm display of sportsmanship.

Yu Xuan, who was unable to carry on in the match, explained that her teammates stepped up after she left the game, playing with renewed vigour and working harder for the ball. They certainly did, as Zheng Liang took on her teammate's GK bib and immediately stole a cross-court pass. Evelyn Tan, who replaced Ziwei as the GS, was active in her offensive D, thrice rebounding missed shots and converting them, part of a 6-of-7 shooting in the period. Yie Qin was a perfect 7/7, but by then Nan Hua were already chasing the game.

Trailing 19-21 to begin the final quarter, Yie Qin scored quickly to make it a one-point game. But Evelyn replied immediately upon the restart, and then Hoon Suan, who had been a dismal 5-of-14, caught fire, scoring three straight points, the last of which was one from the top of the arc, handing Nanyang an unassailable 25-20 lead. She then rebounded her own miss to score again, and then her team sealed it with five consecutive points from Evelyn and more hustle play from Zheng Liang.

The 31-23 lead was too much for Nan Hua to overcome, and the final whistle sparked raucous celebrations from the Nanyang crowd who hailed their heroes' first West Zone title since 2000.

For a downhearted Nan Hua team, it was back to the drawing board.

"The girls are disappointed, but they have learnt a valuable lesson, and will be more ready for the Nationals," Said Mr Quek after the game. "We have made it to the second round of the Nationals for the past two years, and now we want to advance further. We will be taking it one match at a time."

In an earlier match, River Valley High School eked out a 24-23 win over Methodist Girls’ School in the 3rd and 4th placing match.

Scoring breakdown by quarter:
Nanyang Girls' v Nan Hua
1st Q: 8-8
2nd Q: 4-3
3rd Q: 9-8
4th Q: 10-7
Final Score: 31-26

Shooting accuracy:
Nanyang: 59.6% (31/52)
Nan Hua: 89.7% (26/29)