A Division Netball: RI overcome HCI 53-51 in overtime to enter final

Story by Koh Yizhe and Ng Enna/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Republic Polytechnic, Friday, May 20, 2011 — Despite leading for much of the match, Raffles Institution (RI) needed overtime to overcome last year’s finalists Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) 53-51 to qualify for the National A Division Netball Championship final.

Goh Qinyu, HCI’s Goal Shooter, sank the last shot of the match in regulation time to tie to score at 46-46, sending the game into added time. However, RI were desperate not to let the game slip after leading by as many as six in the match.

They turned up the style in the first five minutes and managed to keep HCI at bay to qualify for the final where they will face defending champions Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) who defeated Saint Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) 40-34 in the other semi-final.

“I told them that they have to stay focused,” commented Chng Lili, coach of RI, speaking about the extra time performance. “I told them if they really want it then they have to show that they really want it more than HC. Fortunately, they did in the first 5 minutes of extra time. After that, it was a bit too late for HC to catch up.”

Both teams started the match rather tentatively with the two netball powerhouses trading goals early on. RI took the lead, but HCI came right back, garnering a 6-4 lead thanks to a couple of stray passes by RI and some tight defending from last year’s first runners-up.

The two teams eventually found their stride but it was HCI who held a slim 14-13 lead at the end of the first period.

“We were not really playing in the first quarter,” analysed the RI coach. “We could not find the free shooter and did not pass well. The running was not there, but in the second quarter, they woke up a bit and started attacking.”

And woke up they did as RI quickly snatched the lead before extending it to three goals at 19-16 midway through the quarter.

Coach Chng gave credit to her Goal Keeper for her performance against the 180 cm tall HCI Goal Shooter, but it was her Goal Attack Liu Xin Yi, that did the business at the other end of the court.

Her physical presence in the semi-circle allowed her to collect lobs and to give RI the 26-23 lead at the half.

Although RI did hold their shape in the second half, HCI stepped up their game and kept the scores close throughout the third quarter. Coach Lin Shuangru made a couple of changes to the attack at the half and it was those changes that allowed HCI to stay in the game with a fighting chance.

Jaime Hong, who played as the Goal Attack in the final two quarters, was one of those changes and she played particularly well, sinking a couple of tough shots. Her efforts were crucial in helping HCI to catch up in the final quarter as they trailed by just one at 38-39.

Desperate to maintain their lead, RI stormed ahead to establish a 46-41 lead in the closing minutes. But just when it looked like RI would comfortably seal their spot in the final, HCI dragged themselves back into the match as they scored four straight goals to go back to within a single goal with mere seconds on the clock.

When HCI’s Goh Qinyu was fouled in the semi-circle with the scores at 46-45, the referee blew his whistle to signal that match would end after the Goal Shooter took her shot. Qinyu then displayed nerves of steel to make the shot and send the game into overtime, much to the delight of her teammates.

Despite that, RI kept their composure to do the business on court. They had the better of the extra five minutes, accumulating a 51-47 lead. HCI once again mounted a comeback, narrowing RI’s lead down to one at 52-51. However, their efforts were just not enough as RI scored another to finish the match 53-51 victors.

“I thought it was very good fighting spirit coming out from the team so I am very proud of them when they managed to tie the game to go into extra time,” said coach Lin Shuangru. “So that is something that I thought HC had done very well. The fighting spirit was very strong so it’s a pity that the outcome in extra time wasn’t advantageous to us.”

“We definitely could have been better as we made a few errors for Raffles to capitalise on so that was quite crucial. Silly mistakes like basic stepping, footwork mistakes cost us so if we brushed up on all those things, we may have had more opportunities to shoot also,” continued coach Lin.

“Overall, I still think that my girls fought very hard and I thought they were playing as a team.”

RI, last year’s second runner-up, will attempt to dethrone ACJC in the final on Wednesday after the defending champions comfortably held off SAJC. They pretty much led from start to finish to claim the 40-34 victory.

“I think if Raffles are able to play like they did to us today in the final, they will have a very good chance at the title,” said coach Lin, giving her assessment of the final.

For more photos, go to the next page.