Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports

C division netball 2011 final - CHIJ vs RGS

The RGS GS aims for the net. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 — Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) recovered from a first-quarter deficit to claim the 2011 C Division Netball Championship with a 29-25 victory over South Zone rivals CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) in the final.

It was sweet revenge for RGS as they were defeated 36-34 by the same opponents in the South Zone final.

“It was very close,” commented RGS captain Rukmini Roy, who played very well in Goal Defense. “In the South Zone final, it was 27-27 at half time and in the end, we lost by two. We really didn’t want the same thing to happen this time so we came back stronger after the first quarter. We were very motivated to beat IJ.”

Both teams laboured through a slow start blighted by turnovers. They traded points in the early going, but it was CHIJ that got settled more quickly. The South Zone champions sprinted ahead thanks to a couple of good interceptions and offensive play.

RGS were unable to capitalise on their height advantage as CHIJ took a five-goal 9-4 lead going into the first break.

It was a totally different RGS side that went out in the second quarter with coach Chng Lili making plenty of changes in the line-up. Initially, it started a bit slowly and CHIJ were able take a six-goal lead at 15-9 after four minutes. They pressured RGS into a lot of turnovers in their offensive third.

However, after a couple of minutes, RGS went on a 6-0 run to draw level at 15-15 with a little over a minute remaining. The changes seemed to work perfectly for RGS as they were finally able to use their tall attacking trio of Tessa Wong, Amanda Yew and Nadia Quek to their advantage.

Captain Rukmini Roy started as a Centre, but went to Goal Defense in the second quarter and she made some crucial interceptions that allowed her side to win the quarter 12-7 to draw level at 16-16.

RGS carried the momentum into the third quarter and they stormed ahead with a 4-0 run. The South Zone runners-up were dominant on both ends of the court, keeping CHIJ to just two goals in the quarter while scoring eight of their own to lead 24-18 heading into the final 10 minutes.

CHIJ are never a team to go down without a fight and they desperately tried to make up the deficit throughout the fourth quarter. Both sides traded goals but ultimately, the RGS GD made some important interceptions and forced a couple of turnovers to help her team hold on to their precious lead.

Although CHIJ won the final quarter 7-5, they could not overcome RGS’ six-goal lead and eventually lost 25-29.

“It was a 50-50 fight throughout the match,” analysed head coach Chng Li Li. “The combination in the first quarter didn’t work so I made quite a few movements. These swaps gave the team more life and the flow was nicer.”

“I haven’t played (Rukmini) Roy in the goal circle before against CHIJ so I think they couldn’t handle her. She played really well and she really inspires the team whenever she is on the court,” added the coach.

“I just wanted to get the ball back,” said Rukmini Roy when asked what she thought of her own performance, which included multiple important interceptions. “Like I said, we were very motivated to beat IJ so when the ball kept coming back, I wanted to gain possession for my team.”

“There were some games that we played well and some games that we didn’t, but we learned from our mistakes and improved,” continued the 14-year-old, summing up the whole championship.

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