By Elvin Liang
Lin Qingyi (left) and Chen Li Li thwart another attack in their goal circle. (Photo 1 © Mookken Chandran/Red Sports)
Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Wednesday, December 4, 2013 – Singapore went down 32–60 against Uganda after three consecutive wins in the Nations Cup. This was the first defeat for the Republic. Having shown top grade performances in their wins against Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Ireland, this match saw every member of the Singapore squad given a chance to play at least a quarter of the match.
In their last two matches, Uganda drew 52–52 with Papua New Guinea and claimed a 54–41 victory against the Republic of Ireland. Uganda had forfeited their opening match against the United States of America after missing their flight.
Uganda had a clear edge in speed and agility, marking the Singapore players tightly, and established a five-point, 14–9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Singapore showed resilience in working more balls into the scoring zone. Goal Keeper (GK) Chen Li Li and captain Lin Qinyi injected more speed in their defence to offer counter attacking opportunities to team mates Chen Huifen and Nurul Baizura. However, the Ugandans managed to keep a tight hold on their lead, extending it by two points to finish the first half leading 27–20.
Singapore struggled to keep possession of the ball quite often as Uganda capitalised on their speed to intercept. With Ugandan Captain, Peace Proscovia, shooting accurately, they widened the margin to a 12-point lead seven minutes into the quarter.
Singapore could not find a tactic which worked in their favour, as the Ugandan Wing Defence (WD) Awayo Esther relentlessly blocked off their attacks. The third quarter ended with Uganda leading by 17 points (41–24).
In the fourth quarter, Shelby Koh took over as Wing Attack (WA) from Charmaine Soh, with Yu Meiling substituting Cassandra Soh as Goal Shooter (GS) and Kwok Shuyi relieving Suhailah Kariman as Centre (C). Qinyi returned to support the defence in place of Aqilah Adin who had come on in the third quarter.
For Uganda, Amono Florence was swapped with a taller Nakabuya Hadijah in the attack zone. Meiling put on an all-out offence in an attempt to capture some points, but she found herself starved of the ball as the Ugandans intercepted Singapore’s long passes. Uganda eventually wrapped up the game 60–32.
Singapore coach Ruth Aitken gave her thoughts. “We were a bit flat today but Uganda definitely stepped up and have been the big improver this week and I don’t think we adjusted as well as we should have. We were under a lot of pressure and we need to get back to our style of play. The USA plays a very holding game so it’s about our movement around them and having confidence in each other again.”
Captain Lin Qingyi said: “It felt quite messy today. I think we need to go back to the drawing board and work something out if we get to face them again. Tomorrow is important to get our bodies sorted and be ready for Friday.”
Shooting Statistics for Singapore
Cassandra Soh: 20/22 (91%)
Chen Huifen: 4/4 (100%)
Charmaine Soh: 1/1 (100%)
Yu Meiling: 7/9 (78%)
Results
Day 4
Papua New Guinea 72 USA 31 (Half-Time: 38–18)
Republic of Ireland 49 Sri Lanka 65 (HT: 27–34)
Uganda 60 Singapore 32 (HT: 27–20)
Day 3
Uganda 52 Papua New Guinea 52 (HT: 21–35)
USA 33 Republic of Ireland 62 (HT: 7–37)
Singapore 60 Sri Lanka 43 (HT: 34–21)
Day 2
Sri Lanka 67 USA 37 (HT: 35–20)
Republic of Ireland 41 Uganda 54 (HT: 17–25)
Singapore 44 Papua New Guinea 43 (HT: 23–23)
Day 1
Singapore 42 Republic of Ireland 31 (HT: 22–15)
Sri Lanka 52 Papua New Guinea 76 (HT: 30–38)
Singapore ‘A’ 50 United States of America 53 (HT: 21–31)
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