Sports School, RGS, CHIJ and St Margaret’s top first round groups in B Division netball

Update by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Derek Quah/Red Sports

Kallang Netball Centre, Monday, April 5, 2010 – Singapore Sports School, Raffles Girls' School (RGS), CHIJ (Toa Payoh) and St. Margaret’s Secondary all finished top of their respective groups after the first round of the B Division Netball Championship as they recorded victories on the final day of group action.

In Group A, RGS toppled Nan Hua High School 34-18 to claim top spot. Both teams were fighting for pole position after they won their previous matches against East Spring and North Vista Secondary. North Vista finished third in the group, beating East Spring 26-17.

RGS led from the first quarter and never trailed from then as they extended their lead slowly throughout the match.

"For RGS, although they are rather short, they are very bonded," said RGS coach Chng Li Li. "They will fight for each other and their skills and mental strength are also good. Just their height is lacking.”

"In today's game, they could have played better but we will slowly take one game at a time," continued coach Chng. "We will try to get into the top four, but the expectation for RGS is different and we will aim for the championship."

In Group B, defending champions CHIJ (Toa Payoh) easily brushed aside East Zone champions Dunman Secondary 40-13 in the fight for top spot. Dunman were behind by four goals in the first quarter at 4-8 but it went downhill from there as they only managed three points per quarter while letting in a massive 32 goals in the remaining quarters.

"They played badly!" said Dunman Secondary coach Vivian De Silva without hesitation. "When we play teams like Raffles, St. Margaret’s and CHIJ, we have a mental fear. We came into the match unprepared mentally and we lost it even before the game started."

"If we lose by under 15 points, it wouldn't be so bad, but it is a major disappointment to lose this badly. I am pleased about being in the next round, but it is going to be tough. They have to believe in themselves more. Right now, it is not enough," she added.

Anderson finished as second runners-up in Group B when they overcame River Valley High 25-18.

Group C saw North Zone champions Sports School overturn a seven-point deficit against St. Hilda's Secondary to win by 10 points, 33-23. With the win, they go into the last eight as winners of their group with a 100% record.

St. Hilda's had to beat Sports School and hope other results go their way to ensure qualification to the next round and they looked on their way to an upset when they took a 12-5 lead after the first quarter. However, Sports School eventually dragged themselves back into the match, taking the lead in the third quarter, before sealing the win in the fourth.

"The competition this year is quite steady," observed coach Rawinia Manihera. "These games are like a wake-up call, but my girls are fighters and they don't give up. We were down by seven points today, but we managed to come back and win by 10 points.

"I don't think we were too prepared as we need a few more tough games under our belt. The Malaysia tour [before the tournament] was helpful, but we have to note that we haven't played the best yet," she added.

"But whatever it is, I am quite happy as they did their best and they do what they have to do on the court."

In the other group game, Cedar Girls' Secondary made it to the second round alongside Sports School with a 35-20 victory over Clementi Town Secondary.

The most exciting match came from Group D with St. Margaret's edging out Tanjong Katong Secondary 28-24. Tanjong Katong took the game to St. Margaret's and had an early 7-3 lead, but the South Zone team fought back and pulled themselves to within one just before half at 12-11. Making use of their smaller Goal Attack who was spot-on with her conversions, they pulled away in the second half and managed to claim the match in the final quarter.

"Thankfully we have a tall Goal Keeper!" said St. Margaret’s coach Chng on how they won the game against Tanjong Katong’s tall Goal Shooter. "Our shooter was also very sharp today and we made use of fast movement to win the game. It is quite different from what we normally do as we also have a tall shooter who played in the first quarter, but they also have a tall Goal Keeper, so we had to make changes."

"I hope we will be able to avoid the other South Zone teams in the next round," she continued. "RGS, CHIJ and even Cedar are good teams."

Unfortunately for St. Margaret's, they will now have to face two South Zone teams in the next round. RGS, Cedar Girls' are grouped with them, and together with Dunman Secondary, they make up Group X.

Sports School and CHIJ (Toa Payoh) are set to face each other in a mouth-watering clash in the other group. Tanjong Katong and Nan Hua High make up the rest of Group Y.

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