Singapore finish 5th in Netball Nations Cup

Story by Chan Hui Mui/Red Sports. Pictures by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Saturday, December 12, 2009 – Singapore ended their Netball Nations Cup 2009 campaign with a win as they thrashed Malaysia 53-34 in their 5/6th placing match.

Singapore scored the opening goal and forced a turnover from Malaysia’s subsequent centre pass to take a quick 2-0 lead. Strong links from Singapore’s midfielders Pearline Chan and Chen Huifen, saw the balls being sent into the shooters hands with ease. Malaysia on the other hand struggled under Singapore’s defence.

But it was not to be for long as Malaysia started to read the play better and made several interceptions in the mid-court. However, unforced errors from the team in the attacking goal third became their undoing, and they saw the ball return back into Singapore’s hands.

Coupled with interceptions by Singapore Goal Keeper, Premila Hirubalan, and the defence grabbing hold of several defensive rebounds, Singapore wrapped up the quarter 16-7.

Heading into second quarter with a nine point lead, Singapore continued to charge ahead. Despite poor shooting in this quarter, the shooters managed to convert several offensive rebounds into goals. Crucial interceptions from Singapore’s Wing Defence Vanessa Marie Lee, the hosts widened their lead to 22-9.

Malaysia had trouble finding their presence on court, failing to progress the ball down to the attacking third. They tried to intercept Singapore’s passes, but quick hands from Singapore picked up all the loose balls, sending them straight into their shooters’ hands.

In the final minutes of the quarter, Malaysia finally found a solution to Singapore’s defence, scoring four consecutive points. However, with the score at 30-16, Singapore knew that victory was in their hands. Nevertheless, Malaysia continued to put up a strong fight in the third quarter, slowing down Singapore’s progression of balls into the goal third.

Malaysia continue to work on their flow, but poor shooting from their shooters gifted Singapore several turnovers. Singapore took this to their advantage and headed into the fourth quarter leading 43-24.

Both teams made changes to their line-up in the fourth quarter. Both teams put up a tight defence, forcing each other to commit several mistakes in their attacks. The score was kept at a 10-all tie, but it was not enough for Malaysia to steal the game from the hosts, with Singapore wrapping up the game 53-34.

Tan Hui Yan, who earned her 50th cap in this tournament spoke about her experience. “Its a great experience. We wanted to show what we were capable of (during this tournament).”

Hui Yan was also awarded the Most Valuable Player Award for the Singapore team.

Sister Chen Huifen added on, “This Nations Cup was a different experience from last year’s. There’s a good change of dynamics. The teams from last year’s Nations Cup were going for high passes while the teams in this year’s Nations Cup were coming forward for the balls.”

Speaking about Singapore’s performance for Nations Cup as a whole, Coach Jill McIntosh commented, “We started rusty but we have improved since the first game. We have reduced our unforced errors, the shooters’ shooting percentage has increased and our defenders were good throughout. Winning today’s game, it’s a a positive finish and a good start for World Netball Championship 2011.”