Netball Singapore named 24 players for the 2017 National Opens Squad with four new promising players making the squad
29 April – Mission Mannas triumphed over Tiger Sharks by 57-37 to clinch the title of the M1 Netball Super League (M1 NSL) 2017. This is Mission Mannas’ 2nd M1NSL title; the last time they won the title was in 2014.
The Tiger Sharks have a uphill task as the team played Mission Mannas three times in the M1 NSL 2017 season and lost all three games, 38-36 (round 1), 51-35 (round 2) and 47-36 (semis).
With the title at stake, most teams started shakily, with several fumbles and miss passes. The first goal was scored by Mission Mannas only after 3 minutes. After the opening goal, Mission Mannas settled and raced to a 4-0 lead before Tiger Sharks’ Zhang Ailin netted the first goal. Mission Mannas were defensively very tight throughout all areas and challenged every single pass, constraining Tiger Sharks’ play. Mission Mannas stormed to a 6 goal lead after 9 minutes and eventually stretching it to 9 goals to put the score at 15-6.
With a 9 goal lead to chase, Tiger Sharks made some changes in the shooting circle, bringing in the 1.96m Chen Li Li as GS and moving Cassandra Soh to GA. Tiger Sharks also stepped up their defence and were chipping away at the goal difference initially. However, the experienced Mission Mannas defenders were able to keep the attackers at bay and the quarter ended 26-17 to the Mission Mannas.
In the 3rd quarter, Mission Mannas brought in Rima Yanti as GA and moved Jocelyn Ng to WA whereas Tiger Sharks replaced Cassandra Soh with Zhang Ailin. Mission Mannas continued with their momentum from the 2nd quarter, playing very well as a unit and stretching the lead further to take the quarter 41-28.
No changes were made to the line-up of both teams. With a 13 lead to overcome, Tiger Sharks continued to work hard. However, they were no match for the Mission Mannas and Mission Mannas eventually took the game 57-37.
Nurul Baizura Captain of the Tiger Sharks was happy with her team’s performance, “I think our play was very solid at the start and we delivered our game. Coming to 2nd quarter, there were some complacency and our conversion rate at goal was lower. But we picked ourselves up and ended strongly in the 4th quarter with everyone supporting at all positions. Before the game, we told ourselves that as long as we took care of process, the result would take care of itself. It is good that we didn’t play a trailing game; Tiger Sharks were the ones trailing though the game, so the pressure was lower for us.”
Following the prize presentation, Netball Singapore announced the National 21 & Under team which will be representing Singapore at the Asian Youth Netball Championships in Jeongju, Korea from 6 to 13 May. The National 21&U team will also be competing in the Netball World Youth Cup in Botswana from 8 to 16 July.
The 2017 National Opens Squad consisting of 24 players was also announced. The players were selected following their performances in the M1 Super League League. 14 players from this squad will be traveling to Belfast, North Ireland in June for a training tour in preparation for the 29th SEA Games. Following the tour, 12 players will be selected to represent Singapore at the SEA Games in KL, Malaysia from 14 to 20 August. The National Opens Squad will also compete in the Mission Foods Nations Cup from 3 to 9 December.
Four new players have made the National Opens Squad. They are Low Yi Lun, 28, a speedy midcourt player from the Mission Mannas, Rima Yanti, 25, a strong player who plays as a shooter for the Mission Mannas as well as two young players, 22-year-old Sindhu Nair, a defender and Toh Kai Wei, 21, shooter from the SRC Barracudas.
Yeo Mee Hong commented on the four new players, ”Kai Wei has a lot of potential and she is a fearless playmaker who has performed very well in the M1 NSL. Yi Lun is a very skilful midcourt player who has very quick footwork. Her feeds are very accurate and the runs are timed well. She was instrumental for the Mission Mannas. Rima has been a training partner with the Opens squad since last year. She is very composed and controlled in her play. Sindhu is young and inexperienced but we thought she has the potential to be trained to be a circle defender for the Opens squad.”
Final Rankings
Champions: Mission Mannas
1st Runners-up: Tiger Sharks
2nd Runners-up: Fier Orcas
4th: Magic Marlins
5th: SRC Barracudas
6th: M1 Sunfish
MVP Awards
MVP (Fier Orcas): Celeste Lee
MVP (M1 Sunfish): Nur Aqilah Andin
MVP (Magic Marlins): Melody Teo
MVP (Mission Mannas): Charmaine Soh
MVP (SRC Barracudas): Nur Amelia Omar
MVP (Tiger Sharks): Shina Teo
MVP (International Player): Kilala Owen
Most Valuable Coach: Yeo Mee Hong
Most Improved Umpire: Jessica Teng
Grand Final
Mission Mannas vs Tiger Sharks
Results
Q1: 15-6
Q2: 26-17 (11-11)
Q3: 41-28 (15-11)
Q4: 57-37 (16-9)
Shooting Accuracy
Mission Mannas
Charmaine Soh 36/42 86%
Jocelyn Ng 6/13 46%
Rima Yanti 15/19 79%
Tiger Sharks
Cassandra Soh 8/10 80%
Zhang Ailin 9/15 60%
Chen Lili 20/30 67%
Line-ups
Mission Mannas
GS Charmaine Soh
GA Jocelyn Ng
WA Low Yi Lun
C Nurul Baizura
WD Parveen Nair
GD Micky Lin
GK Premila Hirubalan
Tiger Sharks
GS Cassandra Soh
GA Zhang Ailin
WA Kimberly Lim
C Natalie Carter
WD Kate Low
GD Vanessa Lee
GK Shina Teo
Asian Youth Netball Championship Team
1.Ayshath Zaseela
2.Caitlin Pawley
3.Claire Seah
4.Deborah Wong
5.Eyu Yan Yan
6.Joanna Toh
7. Khor Ting Fang
8.Lee Pei Shan
9.Nur Aqilah Andin
10.Olivia Wu
11.Toh Kai Wei
12.Yvonne Goh
National Opens Squad for 2017
1.Vanessa Lee
2.Nurul Baizura
3.Charmaine Soh
4.Cassandra Soh
5.Chen Li Li
6.Deborah Rowe
7.Jocelyn Ng
8.Josephine Yeo
9.Kimberly Lim
10.Kwok Shuyi
11.Low Yi Lun*
12.Melody Teo
13.Natalie Long
14.Nur Aqilah Andin
15.Nur Athirah
16.Parveen Nair
17.Rima Yanti*
18.Shina Teo
19.Sindhu Nair*
20.Siti Nurshawallah
21.Toh Kai Wei*
22.Yasmin Ho
23.Yu Mei Ling
24.Zhang Ailin
*New players
