The electrifying match between Singapore and Papua New Guinea ended day 4 of the Mission Foods Nations Cup 2016 with the latter emerging victorious with a score of 61 – 37.

Both teams were off to an energetic start, with Papua New Guinea’s GA Jeperth Tulapi netting the first score of the day. Singapore caught up swiftly, with GS Charmaine Soh tossing the first three goals for the team, drawing scores. Papua New Guinea’s strong defence and decisive passes kept the opponents on their toes. Despite numerous successful attempts to intercept, Singapore loss the first quarter with a slight margin of 10 – 14 

Papua New Guinea’s GS Lua Rikis opened the second quarter, scoring the first and second shots with sheer accuracy. Team Singapore endured several weak passes and missed attempts to score, before breaking their opponent’s four-goal streak at the 11th minute. Papua New Guinea also delivered their 7th goal in a skillful fashion, scoring through a series of witty passes. The second quarter came to an end with Soh netting the final ball in the last three seconds, with a score of 6 – 18, in favour of Papua New Guinea.

Pamela Liew, Singapore’s GA, was seen practising her shots during half-time, and it proved to have paid off, as she netted Singapore’s first score within one minute into the third quarter. Singapore came back on court more organised and composed, claiming a rebound 10 minutes into the game. WA Kimberly Lim effectively delivered a strong pass to Soh, who managed the 11th point for Singapore. Maintaining a one-point difference, both teams put up a close fight in the first half of this quarter. The third quarter ended with a score of 14 – 11, with Team Singapore winning its first and only quarter of the match.

The fourth quarter saw Papua New Guinea with greater possession of the ball, seizing the first five points, before relinquishing it to Soh. Papua New Guinea showcased strong techniques, with GK Kilala Owen consistently saving rebounds and intercepting Singapore’s passes. Tulapi ended the last and final quarter on a high, scoring an uncharacteristic yet impressive far shot from the edge of the goal circle. Papua New Guinea won the fourth quarter with a score of 7 – 18.
Catch both teams in their next match on Friday.

Unaisi Soroinikula Rokoura, Coach of Team Papua New Guinea
“Ruth has done a great job with the current team. It is not easy when three of your experienced and key players decide to retire. We definitely commend these young girls coming up as they played brilliantly. This team is the future of Singapore and they definitely gave us a run. With more international matches, they will be a force to be reckoned with. We had a strong start and full concentration – the second quarter made a difference. We need to be more consistent.”

Ruth Aitken, Coach of Team Singapore
“The girls played very well, especially in the 4th quarter. We were challenged to stay with Papua New Guinea. We were slow to start. Pam really came forth as the moral support for Charmaine. We let the ball go in the third quarter and had good connections. Playing with Zambia next – that team have really shown the ability to put the hammer down in one quarter and just blow the score out. So we’ve got to contain them in Friday’s match.”

HIGHLIGHTS
• Top scorer of the match is Papua New Guinea’s Jeperth Tulapi, who missed only 4 out of 35 attempts.
• Papua New Guinea’s Lua Rikis had an accuracy of 94%
• The biggest lead in the match: 12 points in the second quarter

MATCH STATISTICS