NETBALL
5 Nations Netball Cup Final
Singpore vs Trinidad & Tobago
Saturday, 8 September 2007 at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall
Pictures by Leslie Tan. © Red Sports/soulbreath pictures
Story by Lorna Campbell.
Toa Payoh sports hall roared for Singapore as they raised the bar once again and defeated Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) 56-32 to lift the 5 Nations Netball Cup.
Kemba Duncan of Trinidad & Tobago gets high to defend against Chen Huifen of Singapore. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports
A delighted Singaporean coach applauded her victorious team: "The girls were fantastic today. We really wanted a good start and we got it. We focused on the tasks we had set ourselves, keeping it simple, sharp and well-planned."
Singapore settled into their stride much quicker than in Thursday’s encounter and were eight goals ahead after one quarter. T&T looked frustrated and struggled to link together, committing fowls and obstructions that Singapore were ready to take advantage of.
Singapore’s Pearline Chan grabs hold of possession while Simone Bowen-Sandy defends. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports
Another dynamic team display pushed Singapore in front 28-20 at the break. Stand-out performances once again from Vanessa Lee in WD, Premila Hirubalan in GD while Li Ling and Chen Huifen kept a high scoring percentage and tested the Caribbean defence throughout.
With a deficit of 18 goals going into the final quarter, the Caribbean girls tried to claw back into contention throwing their bodies (quite literally) into every passage of play and giving a physical fight to the death. Co-captains Jean Ng and Pearline Chan led by example and stayed focused to stretch ahead and wrap up the championship decider 56-32.
Jean Ng of Singapore tussles with Janelle Barker for the ball in a game marked by a very physical style of play by the T&T team. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports
T&T Coach Grace Parkinson-Griffith gave her thoughts on the match: "I am very pleased with our performance. I felt there was an interpretation issue between our style of play and the umpires decisions but we will go home having had a great experience and some great matches.
Singapore are going well and if they continue to play as they have been then they can certainly be a force at the World Championships."
Li Ling of Singapore takes a pass from teammate Pearline Chan. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports
Co-Captain and squad member since 1999, Jean Ng was extremely happy with the result: "It was a great team effort and we gave some great performances this week. The strength in depth of the squad has grown over the years and we were able to use various combinations on the court that all worked well.
This was great preparation for us and we are ready to put up a good performance at the World Championships in November."
Hannah Irvine of Northern Ireland beats Damayanthi Jayathilake of Sri Lanka to the ball. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports
Third spot was contested by Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland. Separated by just five points in Sri Lanka's favour in Thursday's match, the Irish turned it around winning 61-51. It was tit for tat in the circles, the Bowman sisters and Sivalingam at the other end, racking up the points to make a halftime score of 27-30 to the Irish.
Northern Ireland put in a great team performance, controlling the majority of possession and stretching for every ball. This young team with little international experience raised their level in the final quarter and took the game by a comfortable margin.
Elimear Wright gets all twisted around while trying to maintain her balance. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports
Results:
Day 1
Singapore 44 - 33 Canada (HT 22-18)
Trinidad & Tobago 70 - 28 Sri Lanka (HT 34-10)
Day 2
Canada 41 - 49 Trinidad & Tobago (HT 16-33)
Singapore 46 - 39 Northern Ireland (HT 19-22)
Day 3
Northern Ireland 37 - 59 Trinidad & Tobago (HT 16-31)
Sri Lanka 55-46 Canada (HT 29-28)
Day 4
Northern Ireland 50-55 Sri Lanka (HT 27-26)
Trinidad & Tobago 40 – 55 Singapore (HT 19-22)
Day 5
Canada 34-44 Northern Ireland (HT 20-20)
Singapore 60-54 Sri Lanka (HT 30-25)
FINALS:
Northern Ireland 61-51 Sri Lanka (HT 27-30)
Singapore 56-32 Trinidad & Tobago (HT 28-20)
1st: Singapore
2nd: Trinidad & Tobago
3rd: Northern Ireland
4th: Sri Lanka
5th: Canada
[…] Cup held in Singapore. © Red Sports file photo Singapore had reason to be confident, after beating Trinidad & Tobago twice at the 5 Nations Netball Cup in September. However, it was the Caribbean side that started […]