Update by Chan Hui Mui/Red Sports

Three South Zone schools, together with Singapore Sports School, finished top of their respective groups after the first round of the National C Division Netball Championship.

In Group A, CHIJ (Toa Payoh) Secondary beat St. Hilda’s Secondary convincingly 47-8, and knocked out North Vista Secondary 41-14. In the deciding match, CHIJ (TP) beat West Zone champions Nanyang Girls’ High 36-20 to qualify for the quarter-finals as group winners.

Nanyang Girls’ High had earlier beaten North Vista and St Hilda’s 31-9 and 40-14 respectively to also claim a spot in the quarter finals along with CHIJ (TP).

Group B saw another one-two finish by a South Zone and West Zone school respectively. South Zone’s St Margaret’s Secondary cruised past East Zone champions Dunman Secondary 24-19, and toppled Seng Kang Secondary 40-11. St. Margaret’s then beat Nan Hua High 31-24 to finish top of the group.

Nan Hua High had previously upset Dunman 33-25 and thrashed Seng Kang 51-23 to qualify for the quarter-finals as first runners-up of Group B.

Group C is the only group without a South Zone school qualifying for the quarter finals. Defending champions Singapore Sports School (SSP) finished in first position and East Zone first runners-up Greenview Secondary took the other spot in the quarter-final.

SSP saw no obstacles in their way as no school went close enough to be a threat. SSP beat Methodist Girls’ School and Cedar Girls’ School 31-13 and 30-8. SSP polished off Greenview 34-14 to wrap up the first round.

In the crucial match, Greenview narrowly beat Cedar Girls’ 20-18 to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

In Group D, South Zone champions Raffles Girls’ School toppled Anderson Secondary, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School and River Valley High 33-6, 33-16 and 30-17 to finish top of the group.

In the deciding game, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School cruised past River Valley High 26-15 to take the last spot in the quarter finals.

The quarter-finals see an uneven distribution of schools from different zones drawn into groups.

Group X consists of two South Zone schools, CHIJ (Toa Payoh) and St Margaret’s, and two East Zone schools, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School and Greenview Secondary.

Group Y consists of two West Zone schools, Nan Hua High and Nanyang Girls’ High, defending champions Singapore Sports School and Raffles Girls’ School.