By Lorna Campbell
Lin Qingyi of Singapore defends against a Ugandan attack. (Photo 1 courtesy of Netball Singapore)
Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Saturday, December 7, 2013 – Singapore went down 29–52 to Uganda in the final of the 8th Nations Cup. Singapore had earlier lost 32–60 to Uganda in a preliminary round match.
The match began at a frantic pace, both teams trying to get the early advantage and it was Uganda who got out in front by six goals in the opening quarter (14–8). They didn’t look back and the formidable shooting combination of Proscovia Peace and Hadijah Nakabuke with her one-handed technique helped Uganda to amass 29 points by the half, with Singapore only able to claim 12 in return.
It was proving very difficult to work the ball round the athletic Ugandans but Singapore found ways to combat this in the third quarter where they outscored by only one point (12-13) but the early deficit was too much to pull back against such a strong and physical side. Uganda remained ahead for the final period and took the title on their inaugural visit to the Nations Cup with a 52–29 win.
Peace of Uganda said: “We are very happy. This has been overwhelming, thank you to the crowd for supporting us and thank you to Netball Singapore for this opportunity.”
Singapore Coach Ruth Aitken gave her reflection on the final saying, “The first two quarters we really challenged in terms of getting some flow into our attack. We adjusted so much better in the second half. It is a tough ask to come back from that far down but the commitment from the team to finish strongly was really commendable.”
Captain Lin Qingyi added: “We did very well this week and have a very good squad and were happy to use all our players and this is really positive for us in aiming for the Asian Championships. That is nine months down the road though so we must work really hard as we want to have the best chance to defend our title.”
An African side has now taken the Nations Cup title twice, following Tanzania’s success in 2012. Singapore were the last Asian country to win the Nations Cup back in 2007 but their performance is a vast improvement from their fifth-place result in 2012.
Singapore now look ahead to the Asian Championships in 2014 which will be held in the OCBC Indoor Arena from September 7-14.
Shooting Statistics for Singapore
Yu Meiling: 11/13 (85%)
Chen Huifen: 5/7 (71%)
Charmaine Soh: 13/16 (81%)
Final Standings
1st Uganda
2nd Singapore
3rd Papua New Guinea
4th Sri Lanka
5th Republic of Ireland
6th United States of America
Most Valuable Player Awards
United States of America: Pheona Forbes
Republic of Ireland: Genevieve Slater
Papua New Guinea: Kimberly Alex
Sri Lanka: Gayani Dissanayake
Uganda: Nakachwa Halima
Singapore: Olivia Flanagan
Results
Ireland 61 USA 26 (Half-Time: 30–11)
Papua New Guinea 60 Sri Lanka 48 (HT: 29–26)
Singapore 29 Uganda 52 (HT: 12–29)
Day 5
Papua New Guinea 66 Republic of Ireland 33 (HT: 33–17)
Sri Lanka 38 Uganda 75 (HT: 21–35)
USA 23 Singapore 75 (HT: 13–33)
Day 4
Papua New Guinea 72 USA 31 (HT: 38–18)
Republic of Ireland 49 Sri Lanka 65 (HT: 27–34)
Uganda 60 Singapore 32 (HT: 27–20)
Day 3
Uganda 52 Papua New Guinea 52 (HT: 21–35)
USA 33 Republic of Ireland 62 (HT: 7–37)
Singapore 60 Sri Lanka 43 (HT: 34–21)
Day 2
Sri Lanka 67 USA 37 (HT: 35–20)
Republic of Ireland 41 Uganda 54 (HT: 17–25)
Singapore 44 Papua New Guinea 43 (HT: 23–23)
Day 1
Singapore 42 Republic of Ireland 31 (HT: 22–15)
Sri Lanka 52 Papua New Guinea 76 (HT: 30–38)
Singapore ‘A’ 50 United States of America 53 (HT: 21–31)
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