Singapore Sports School A overwhelm Bedok BB’s Blues for their 5th victory in Div 4 Netball League

Story and Photos by REDintern Nyan Fu Keong a.k.a FuKiE

Kallang Netball Centre, Saturday, 28 Jun 2008 – Singapore Sports School A beat Bedok BB’s Blues 46-34 to continue their unbeaten streak in a Division 4 Netball League game. The first two quarters were unpredictable as the Blues held Sports School at bay despite being the weaker team with only one victory under their belt. But Sports School showed their awesome might in the latter part of the game, by establishing a double-digit lead to set themselves up for the eventual win.

This was the second last match of the tournament for both teams, and Sports School started off the game with two consecutive points in the first few minutes. Blues retaliated with three more points and by the 6th minute, both teams were tied. Soon after, Blues took the lead with both teams having trouble maintaining possession of the ball, perhaps due to the intense heat. In the last five minutes of the quarter, Sports School secured a four-point lead before the Blues reduced it to three when their GS scored to end the quarter 12-9.

In the early minutes of the second quarter, both teams scored a point each to maintain the three-point gap. Body contact between the Sports School GK and the Blues GS provided a penalty opportunity for the Blues to close the gap even it took a few tries for the Blues GS to score. The Blues GS and GA struggled with their marksmanship as many shots hit the goal post or overshot the net. Still, the Blues managed to close the gap to two points by the middle of the game when they made it 14-16. Sports School managed to maintain the two-point lead for most of the quarter until the Blues executed a series of fatal errors which allowed them to widen the point gap to five before the quarter at 26-21.

During the second break, it was evident that players on both sides were drained by the unforgiving heat as they doused themselves with water to cool off. Both teams also had a change of positions to allow for new tactics in the second half.

The third quarter started with neither team managing to score for the first few minutes. Possession of the ball changed hands several times, and it was not until the fourth minute when the Sports School GS and GA opened up the lead further with four more points. The generous nine-point lead may have led to some overconfidence, as a lapse in the Sports School defence allowed the Blues to close the gap to five points.

In the fourth quarter, Sports School pulled away to lead by double digits. The oppressive heat also took its toll as play slowed noticeably. More errors from the Blues helped Sports School to end the game 46-34. This game proved the adage that size does not matter, as Sports School had better tactics and fitness, giving them the upper hand against the taller and larger-built Blues players.