Story by REDintern Grace Sim. Photos by REDintern Low Hui Yu

national c division netball

The Dunman GD comes from behind to try and make an interception. (Photo 1 © Low Hui Yu/Red Sports)

CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) Indoor Sports Hall, Friday, April 15, 2011 — South Zone runners-up Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) outclassed East Zone champions Dunman Secondary to win 29–14 in their National C Division Netball Championship semi-final.

The teams struggled to settle into the game initially as both sides failed to convert their respective centre passes or capitalize on turnover opportunities. The taller Raffles team edged out the Dunman girls 5–2 in a low-scoring first quarter.

Although the RGS attacking line-up averaged above 170cm and Goal Shooter Nadia Quek stood at a staggering 175cm, the team failed to exploit their height advantage and made many unforced errors in the attacking goal third. Led by captain and Wing Attack Iffa Adlina, Dunman tried to counter with short passes and effective penetration.

During the second quarter, the centre passes traversed both ends of the court on multiple occasions before a shot got converted by either team. RGS managed to sustain their lead with a score of 10–5 at half-time.

At the start of the third quarter, the feisty Dunman team bounced back with renewed vigour and surprised Raffles in the first part of the quarter to close the deficit to three goals at one point. However, Raffles captain and Goal Defence Roy Rukimi read the attacking play well and started to put more pressure on her opponents, creating more turnovers for her team.

RGS’ Amanda Yew replaced Nadia Quek as Goal Shooter and worked the goal circle with Tessa Wong. While the new combination took time to settle in, the tactical change paid off when the players developed a better understanding, bringing the score line to 18–11 in RGS’ favour before the final break.

Going into the last quarter, Dunman could not find the focus to keep up their momentum and made more unforced errors. RGS raced ahead to attain a 29-14 victory at full time.

Describing the Raffles Girls’ team as not being on form, Coach Ms Chng Li Li explained: “Roy (captain) didn’t play well today. She was watching too much and not challenging enough for the balls.”

With RGS competing against the defending champions CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) in the final, Ms Chng commented: “The match will be a 50-50. It will depend on the shooters’ performance on the day, to be not affected by atmosphere and withstand the pressure.”

Dunman Secondary will meet Cedar Girls’ to play for the bronze medal on Tuesday, April 19th, 2011, 12.10pm after which RGS will fight for the championship title against CHIJ(TP) in the final to be held at 2.30pm. The matches will be played at Toa Payoh Sports Hall.


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