Nanyang Girls’ High stun defending champions Singapore Sports School to enter National B Division netball final

Story by REDintern Alethia Tiang. Photos by Marvin Lowe.

Bedok Sports Hall, Wednesday, April 15, 2009 – Nanyang Girls’ High School stunned Singapore Sports School with a 28-23 victory, earning themselves a place in the final against CHIJ (Toa Payoh) Secondary School in the National B Division Netball Championship.

The West Zone champions put up a marvellous display to score a major upset against the national defending champions who were expected to win.

Right from the start, Nanyang were able to maintain a two-point lead over the Sports School, walking off with a 7-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Nanyang played a fast-paced game to match the Sports School’s game of speed and aggression. They were not threatened by the Sports School and were not afraid to show it, putting up a commendable defensive game. With both teams playing at a very fast pace, the ball seemed to be flying from end to end in a very short time.

The Singapore Sports School used the second quarter to narrow the gap and even it up at 7-7. Both teams continued to keep pace with each other up to 9-9 but Sports School got called for frequent unnecessary fouls to give Nanyang possession.

Via these turnovers, Nanyang hit back with three straight points which led to more frustration for the Sports School players who ended up turning over the ball even more. Nanyang grabbed the lead back from the Sports School and this applied more pressure on Sports School whose shooters more nervous and less accurate.

On the other end, Nanyang shooting stretched their lead further and they entered the half-time break with a five-point 15-10 lead.

Down by five points, Sports School made a quick change with captain and regular Goal Shooter, Geraldine Ng, coming on court despite carrying an ankle injury. Her presence inspired her team to attack harder but Nanyang did not back down. They continued to pressurize Sports School by playing faster and constantly surprising their opponents.

It was a spectacular performance by the Nanyang team, as they defended their lead. The Sports School attempted to overcome Nanyang’s defences by picking up their speed but Nanyang responded by increasing their own game speed even more to give Sports School less time to to intercept and block passes.

Sports School started the final quarter playing catch-up but found Nanyang disrupting their rhythm frequently. The game swung from end to end with both teams scoring but Nanyang managed to hang on to their lead to finally emerge 28-23 winners over Sports School.

Nanyang’s captain, Cheryl Lee was very proud of her team.

“Although there were a few glitches here and there, on the whole, everyone put in the effort and played hard,” she said. Sharing her thoughts on her previous game, Cheryl revealed that her team had learnt a lot from their experiences in the previous round and they are learning to “treasure every match and put in our best.”

Geraldine, the Singapore Sports School captain, was proud of her team for playing their best. “We still have a long way to go.” She said that two first team players, Yunzhen (GD) and herself (GS), were carrying ankle sprains. Yunzhen was unable to play but Geraldine still went on the court despite her injury.

The Sports School will play Dunman Secondary this Friday in the 3rd/4th playoff.

Nanyang Girls’ will play CHIJ (Toa Payoh) in the final this Friday at Bedok Sports Hall.

Best wishes to all teams!