By Grace Sim/Red Sports
A Nanyang player grabs the ball before her Tanjong Katong opponent can reach it. (Photo 1 courtesy of Justin Teh)
Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Friday, April 20, 2012 — Victory was sweet for the girls from Tanjong Katong Secondary School as they defeated Nanyang Girls’ High School 32-25 to lift the C Division Netball Championship trophy for the first time in their school’s history.
Amid the deafening support of the crowd, Tanjong Katong settled into the game comfortably and took charge of the court from the get-go. The girls capitalized on Nanyang Girls’ nervy start and Goal Shooter Najinah Salim needed no second chances to pot consecutive shots turned over by her defenders.
Tanjong Katong kept their two-goal lead through the first few minutes of the quarter before their opponents began to swing wild passes under pressure, which allowed them to pull even further ahead.
Standing at 174cm, Najinah was a key player in the match converting all 32 goals for her team. The Nanyang defenders put a double team defence on her with limited success as the ball from Tanjong Katong’s attackers always found their way into Salim’s hands.
Tanjong Katong raced away to lead 12-4 by the end of the first quarter.
Nanyang Girls’ fought back valiantly as their shooters overcame their initial jitters to make the most out of their attempted shots, successfully converting 10 out of 11 attempts in the second quarter.
Tenacious Nanyang Goal Defence Karyn Tshua kept up the pressure in the goal circle on Najinah to eventually create a number of critical turnovers for her team. Nanyang cut the Tanjong Katong lead to just four (18-14) at half time.
For the first half of the third quarter, both teams were neck and neck but Tanjong Katong captain and Wing Defence Fadzlyn Zahruddin stepped up her game to disrupt Nanyang Girls’ attacking momentum.
With four minutes left on the clock in the quarter, Fadzlyn managed a spectacular crosscourt interception to boost the confidence of her teammates. Tanjong Katong closed out the third quarter leading 26-18.
In the final 10 minutes, Nanyang Girls’ were desperate to reduce the eight-goal gap and rushed their play. Their opponents had the same sense of urgency and both teams started committing unforced errors. The match became more physical as the girls started to challenge for the ball late. Fadzlyn fell on more than three occasions and had to call for injury time with three minutes to go.
The Tanjong Katong girls were unfazed by their captain’s minor finger injury as they still held a substantial lead at this point in time. It was too little too late for Nanyang to make up lost ground and Tanjong Katong were 32-25 winners at the final whistle.
Enjoying the fruits of her team’s labour, Fadzlyn exclaimed: “I’m very happy because it’s the first time that TK won (the championship). We have been training very hard almost every day. When it gets tiring, [I] just endure the pain and keep going.”
Gracious in defeat, Nanyang Girls’ coach Lin Shuangru commented: “It’s a very good experience for the girls to have come this far. Coming into the nationals finals was very much a dream for most of the girls and we have exceeded our expectations. Despite the loss, we still feel very proud of each other.”
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