Story by Chan Hui Mui/Red Sports and Lizzie Phillips

Jurong East Sports Hall, Sunday, May 22, 2011 — Singapore beat Malaysia twice over the weekend as part of their preparations for the Mission Foods World Netball Championship in July.

In the first match on Saturday, Singapore dominated right from the first quarter to win 51-29 with their main seven featuring veterans Jean Ng and Pearline Chan.

For the second match on Sunday, Singapore put up a different lineup, with Cassandra Soh, a 21 and Under player, a notable insertion in the starting lineup.

Malaysia seemed to recover well from the defeat and lead 12-8 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Singapore put more pressure on their opponents. The Singapore mid-court, consisting of Charlene Porima (Centre), Vanessa Lee (Wing Defence) and Chen Huifen (Wing Attack), put in an outstanding performance to level the score at 20 a-piece at half-time.

Singapore gained control of the match in the third quarter with accurate and confident shooting. Careful and accurate passing into the circle by Charlene Porima, who was switched to Wing Attack, and Vanessa Lee, who stepped up to Centre, overcame Malaysia’s good defense in the circle. On the other hand, Malaysia struggled to get the ball into their shooting circle.

The final quarter saw a couple of good interceptions from 21 and Under player, Nurul Baizura (WD). However, Singapore did not capitalise on the opportunities, allowing Malaysia to send the ball back into their shooters’ hands. Accurate shooting from the Malaysian captain, Aruna Santhappan (GS), who has 30 plus caps for Malaysia, prevented Singapore from increasing the scoreline. Singapore eventually wrapped up the game 43-39.

Singapore’s coach Kate Carpenter commented: “With three of the 21 and Under players competing today, we are pleased to have two wins from two matches. We will face strong opposition at the Mission Foods World Netball Championships in July with one of the strongest pools. We are aiming to come in as a top-12 team at the Worlds.”

When asked about the bigger teams they will be facing at the Worlds, Charlene Porima said: ”We’ve played a few bigger teams recently, so we can take the knocks well. We’re a tough bunch.”

Malaysia’s head coach Choo Kon Lee shared: ”We did not play so well yesterday, but we bucked up today. We’re in the same group as Barbados, England and Malawi for Worlds. We need to improve on the speed of the players. I think from the last two games, the girls learned to be stronger.”

Aruna Santhappan, Malaysia Captain said, ”It’s a more physical game, so when we go back, we’ll brush up on that.”