The second match of the day saw a highly impressive Singapore Invitational team take on the athletic Batswana in what was a fast-paced affair.
Botswana started off on the front foot as they played a quick one-two passing game in the front third of the court. A series of good finishes by GS Hildah Binang gave them the early 5-1 lead, as the Singapore invitationals struggled to string their mid-court passes together. In possession, Botswana kept up the pace, and stretched the lead to eight points, ending the quarter 16-8 up.
The visitors began the second quarter with a different approach, with Singapore’s decision to bring on Hannah Broederlow paying dividends as her presence and interceptions forced the Batswana into launching the ball forward with long passes. The new look defence kept the game close for most part of the second quarter as they went neck and neck before Botswana pulled away from the 10-10 draw to go in front at half-time 29-18.
The third quarter saw a very different Singapore Invitational side, capitalizing on misses by Botswana to launch their own attacks, closing the gap to as little as five points. Crucial defensive displays by Hannah and Reena allowed the Singapore team to move forward with ease, putting the Botswana defence under pressure in a physical and fiercely contested affair. Singapore trimmed the lead by half as they took the third quarter 10-5.
The home team began the fourth quarter with good momentum as their aggressive defensive game neutralized Botswana GS Hildah as she was limited to only two attempts on goal. Going forward, Singapore Invitationals continued to break down the Botswana defence, picking up where they left off. Despite GS Yu Mei Ling improving her shooting significantly, scoring 11 or her 12 attempts, it wasn’t sufficient to prevent a narrow 46-44 defeat.
Score
Singapore Invitational vs Botswana
Q1: 8 – 16
Q2: 18 – 29 (10 – 13)
Q3: 28 – 37 (10 – 8)
Q4: 44 – 46 (16 – 9)
Quote from Head Coaches
Jean Ng, Singapore Invitational Assistant Coach
“The team played pretty well and stuck to the game plan. We were very close to victory and the team fired up in the last quarter. The outcome and results were very encouraging.
This team needs to work on their flow as they’ve just been brought together recently. They also need to ensure to not run on same side of the court and going for the same space. Lastly, the defensive throws needs to be worked on.
Like mentioned before, the team is new and they are definitely having fun and enjoying every game. Along with that, they are also building on their performance during each match.”
Neo Kebuang, Botswana Head Coach
“We have started the competition, and I think this game has helped us to correct our mistakes. We had a problem in our defence, it was not connecting well, so in training tomorrow morning we will concentrate on our defence.
We are going to play the way we started today, compared to yesterday’s game we played very well, our attack was very good, as I said we are going to work on our defence, today they didn’t have the best game.
This competition is very tough, each team wants to win and go to the finals, so we have to work very very hard to get to the finals.”
Quote from Team Captains
Yu Mei Ling, Singapore Invitational Captain
“We were extremely focused and did everything strategically. The team gradually became steady and gained control of the game. We managed to execute angled passes, and brought the ball across the court rather well.
The one thing we need to work on is to start off each quarter at our bests instead having to chase the game towards the end.”
Chedza Matshaba, Botswana Captain
“ I thought we played well, we lost yesterday so we decided to up our tempo for today’s game. It’s very challenging and very tough compared to last year, every team is willing to attack and score goals. In the next game we will improve in our attack, our team leads the shooting and in the next game we will aim to score 100 per cent. “
