World Youth Netball: Singapore lose 38–67 to Barbados

By Lorna Campbell

Nur Aqilah of Singapore jostles with her Barbados opponent for position in the circle. Singapore eventually went down 38–67. (Photo courtesy of Lorna Campbell)

Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday, August 25, 2013 – Singapore’s 21 and Under team went down 38–67 to Barbados in a tough and physical third group match of the World Youth Netball Championship.

Having overcome Pacific Islanders Papua New Guinea and losing to the top-ranked European nation of England, Singapore were eager to get back to winning ways and fought hard each quarter, keeping the scoreline within a reversible margin each quarter to keep the belief throughout the 60 minutes.

They settled quickly despite having to adjust to a different style of play – Barbados play a very physical game with strong, athletic players – closing the first quarter only five goals behind at 9-14.

The height and physical presence of their opponent’s shooters was the major challenge for the Singapore defence but Singapore still managed to trail only by eight (20-28) at the half. By the end of the third quarter, Singapore found themselves down by 12 points (31-43).

The final period was a tense affair as Singapore worked hard to claw back the margin but Barbados stayed focused on their task of collecting their second win of the championship and showed their prowess with a 67–38 victory.

For several periods in the game when Singapore were able to take control of the game, they looked composed and confident across the court, visibly growing as a team with each match played. The work rate was very high from all players and in the shooting circle, Jocelyn Ng attacked with drive and determination at every opportunity, alongside Melissa Teo, to keep her team in the hunt.

“It was a really tough match but we had some good phases of play, we just weren’t able to keep them going. We kept fighting though and gave it everything we had,” said Ng.

Coach Joanne Loo agreed.

“We were both fighting for the top eight play-offs so we knew they were going to give us a good fight but we made them work for it. We stuck to our game plan in the first half but in the final periods we ran out of gas a little.”