The toppling of a giant – How North Vista finally beat Sports School

NETBALL

National ‘B’ Division Championship
North Vista vs Sports School

Interview and pictures by Leslie Tan. © Red Sports/soulbreath pictures

In one of the more fascinating stories of the school year, North Vista Secondary finally beat Singapore Sports School on the third attempt. One of the previous losses was in the North Zone Championship Final where Sports School won 23-17. In that fateful third meeting between these two teams, North Vista beat Sports School 29-26, a loss that was especially painful for Sports School because it cost them a place in the National semifinals. North Vista moved into the semifinal on the back of that win and eventually made the National Championship Final against Raffles Girls School where they lost 24-28.

Pamela Liew, vice-captain of the North Vista team, in action during the North Zone final against Sports Schoo. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

We at Red Sports had caught the first two encounters between these two netball teams and had seen how hard North Vista had tried each time but failed to beat Sports School. The formidable Sports School netball team had comprehensively beaten most schools in the North Zone.

So when news of the upset win by North Vista over Sports School trickled into our web site, our interest was obviously piqued. So we finally managed to get an interview with North Vista’s captain Yeo Mei and vice-captain Pamela Liew.

Red Sports (RS): What do you think were the crucial moments in the game?

Yeo Mei (YM) & Pamela Liew (PL): it was the time when we were leading and they were catching up point by point. That was really intense.

RS: When did you all really know that you would win?

YM & PL: Winning this game wasn’t expected, due to the losses we suffered against Sports School in the North Zone. All of us, including our opponents, were in high fighting spirits. No one gave up even till the very last second and both sides still had a big chance of winning.

RS: What was the reaction after the game?

YM & PL: We were overwhelmed by the result, hugging each other and pinching each other, to make sure that we were not dreaming.

RS: What was the difference this time that helped you all win?

YM & PL: Probably because of the experience we gained throughout the zonal and national games. Also after being defeated for a few times, we trained on how to defend against Sports School’s attack and also how to attack their defence.