By Elvin Liang
Yu Meiling of Singapore reaches for the pass. She had an 80% shooting rate. (Photo 1 courtesy of Netball Singapore)
Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Tuesday, December 3, 2013 – Singapore scored their straight win when they beat Asian Championship rivals Sri Lanka 60–43 convincingly at the 8th Nations Cup. The four-time Asian champions finished fourth, one rank above Singapore, in the 2012 Nations Cup.
Despite the experienced opposition, the Singapore team showcased outstanding talent and performance in their well-coordinated attacks and defensive guile throughout the game.
On the offensive in the first quarter was Goal Attack (GA) Chen Huifen. She was supported heavily by Centre (C) Nurul Baizura who created lots of space, darting energetically to draw out the Sri Lankan defence. This presented ample opportunities for Goal Shooter (GS) Yu Meiling to show the opposition her scoring finesse. Singapore raced quickly to a 10-point lead on the back of Meiling’s 100 percent shooting, dominating Sri Lanka 21–11 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Sri Lankan captain, Mareesha Fernando, stepped up the game, aided by Goal Attack (GA) and Vice-Captain, Semini Alwis in an attempt to bridge the gap. Despite their swift attacking manoeuvres, Singapore captain Lin Qinyi and Goal Keeper (GK) Chen Li Li executed excellent zone defence, thwarting their attempts.
The striking accuracy of the quick passes from Huifen and Nurul also allowed Wing Attack (WA) Shelby Koh to lure out the Sri Lankan defence at will. With less pressure in the semi-circle, Sri Lanka could only watch as Huifen and Meiling nailed their shots. Singapore widened the lead to 34–21 entering the half-time break.
The first five minutes into the third quarter revealed some hints of fatigue in the Singapore shooters as accuracy dropped. However, undeterred by the towering 2 metre-tall Sri Lankan GS Tharjani Sivalingam, Singapore’s defence held strongly anchored by a determined Li Li who forced many turnovers with her steals. Singapore took a 15-point lead with 3:30 in the third quarter.
Sri Lankan captain Mareesha required medical attention on her ankle, forcing a break in the momentum, but Singapore powered onto end the third quarter with a comfortable 50–29 lead.
Singapore continued to put pressure on Sri Lanka in the fourth quarter even as they made some changes. Cassandra Soh came in for Meiling as GK and Olivia took over Qingyi’s as GD. Suhailah Kariman also came in as Wing Defence (WD). With fresh substitutes, the Singapore team held on to their lead.
In defence, Olivia showed no sign of fatigue as she broke up Sri Lankan passes and initiated attacks with long passes to teammates. Huifen then went down with an injury and was substituted by Charmaine Soh as GA.
Singapore eventually wrapped up a 17-point, 60–43 win over Sri Lanka.
Singapore’s Olivia Flanagan, 31, said: “I’m really pleased with the result, we couldn’t have asked for anything better. I mean it went really well straight from the start and I think we were controlled and we kept our composure. We didn’t let the fact that we were quite a few points up affect us and we didn’t let it go to our heads. We kept fighting to the end.”
Coach Ruth Aitken shared the same sentiments. She said: “We started really well. For us it was about really showing that we’re building a consistency in performance that we hit a great game yesterday but it’s no good if you, you know, go into a hole. So I was delighted with that first quarter.”
“I think that we were lucky that we got on top early and we build rhythm,” she added.
Singapore next faces Uganda.
Shooting Statistics for Singapore
Yu Meiling: 24/30 (80%)
Chen Huifen: 23/29 (79%)
Cassandra Soh: 11/15 (73%)
Charmaine Soh: 2/4 (50%)
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