Hong Kong edge Singapore in 50-49 thriller
SINGAPORE, 5 Septemberย 2018ย โ Sri Lanka remain the only undefeated team in the M1 Asian Netball Championships following theirย 62-59ย win over Malaysia. Meanwhile, Hong Kong came out on top against Singapore by a single goalย (50-49)ย in the final fixture of Day 5 of the tournament.
Malaysia vs. Sri Lanka
It was a spirited showing from Malaysia early on with young Goal Attack Karishma Loganathan taking the shooting lead in the circle and putting up 7 out of her 8 attempts at goal. Malaysiaโs defence piled the pressure on Sri Lankaโs midfield, forcing a number of passing errors into Sri Lankaโs Tharjini Sivalingam to take a slender 15-13 first quarter lead.
An early missed shot and passing error from Malaysia saw Sri Lanka jump to a 5-0 second quarter lead early on. However Malaysia came back into the game to tie the quarter at 8-8, but poor shooting saw Sri Lanka surge to a 7-goal lead in the second quarter (19-12).
It was a tightly contested third quarter (16-15) where Sri Lankaโs towering defenders Chathurangi Jayasooriya and Gayani Dissanayake made crucial intercepts and tips for Sri Lanka to edge it. Thereafter, it was an exhilarating final quarter of netball as Malaysia battled hard to narrow the scoreline to as close as 2 goals in the final minute of the game. However, it was too little too late with Sri Lanka taking the win by 3 goals.
As we head towards the last few games of the M1 Asian Netball Championships, Sri Lanka coachย Thilaka Jindadasa said: โWe need to be calm on court, take a long breath when we make a mistake, and then just play on. Weโll just go step by step. Tomorrow, we have the match against Hong Kong and they will be very tough as they have very experienced players on court.โ
Singapore vs. Hong Kong
It was a shaky start for Singapore as they found it hard to break through Hong Kongโs midcourt press and strong man-on defence, which saw the hosts go down by 5 goals.
Chen Lili came on in the second quarter in a bid to stop Hong Kongโs towering Goal Shooter Krystle Edwards and managed to do just that โ deflecting and intercepting several passes to Edwards. It was a low scoring second quarter with the ball swinging back and forth on multiple occasions, ending all square at 10-10.
Singaporeโs Wing Attack Kimberly Lim fought especially hard in the third quarter, driving strongly to the circle edge and chasing hard for every loose ball. Despite the mistakes, Singapore managed to sneak the quarter by a single goal (11-10) after Toh Kai Wei sunk in the shot following a held ball from Hong Kong at the end.
Despite the strong comeback from Singapore in the final quarter, which saw the hosts take the quarter 13-10, it wasnโt enough to overcome a resilient Hong Kong team and allowed them to take the victory by just the one goal.
Of her teamโs performance, Hong Kong coach Robin Manihera said: โThey came on and we did what we had discussed with them – just staying and concentrating on our game, not getting flustered, sticking to the task, and they did all those things and remained focused.
Singapore captain Vanessa Lee said: โI think we didnโt capitalise on our own possession and whenever we had a turnover, we did rush it a little. So we lost our possession quite a bit today based on purely our own errors.โ
โI guess losing to Hong Kong by one goal, there are definitely emotions. I think itโs good that the team is feeling upset about this loss but we still have another game tomorrow so we have to bottle up whatever happens today, put it aside and look forward to tomorrowโs game against Malaysia.โ
Chinese Taipei vs. Philippines
Chinese Taipei showed continued improvement in the first match of the day against Philippines. But despite putting up a good fight in the first and last quarters, the more experienced Philippines team came through convincingly with aย 21-73ย score line.
Looking ahead to their next game against Maldives, Philippines captain, Ana Thea Cenarosa said: โWe will just play like how we did and be confident in our own game. We will bring our heart to the game to win the fight.โ
Pakistan vs. Maldives
The next match of the day saw Maldives beat Pakistanย 60-34,ย with a much improved shooting averaging of 88%. Pakistan werenโt able to contain Maldivesโ strong through-court attack, and trailed in all four quarters.
Maldives player Aminath Rabaab Ibrahim commented on their next game against the Philippines: โFor tomorrow, it will all rely on our teamwork and determination to win against them. We will never give up so it will be an exciting game.โ
India vs. Thailand
Thailand got off to a strong start with a 16-goal lead in the first quarter against India. India rallied in the remaining three quarters to minimize Thailandโs advantage, but it wasnโt to be with Thailand going on to secure aย 64-42ย victory.
Thailandโs coach Chng Li Li commented on the teamโs close scores in the final three quarters: โI played most of my new and younger players then as I wanted to give them exposure and allow them to experience and learn from their mistakes. This is the only chance I have to let them understand the game better.โ
Brunei vs. Japan
In the fourth match of the day, Brunei won in all four quarters to take the win against Japan. Japan remained very much in the mix for the first two quarters but Brunei emerged stronger in the second half, ultimately triumphingย 60-32.
Looking ahead to their next game against India, Bruneiโs sharp shooter, with an 86% shooting percentage, Nur Hafizah Binte Haji Abdul Sidek said: โWe cannot underestimate anyone. We are working on our defence and attack and we will keep on playing our game on court.โ
Itโs the final games of the second round tomorrow with India taking on Brunei at 9am, followed by Japan against Thailand. The third game of Day 6 sees Chinese Taipei and Pakistan battle it out for their first win of the tournament at 1pm, and Maldives and Philippines play at 3pm. Sri Lanka will look to extend their unbeaten run in the competition against Hong Kong, while Singapore will look to bounce back against causeway rivals Malaysia in the final game of the day at 7pm.
Netball Singapore is the national body for netball in Singapore. Established in 1962, it has become a professionally run National Sport Association today.
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