Story by REDintern Koh Yizhe.

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Saturday, July 12, 2008 – The adidas Sneakers Ace netball team beat Nike Air 50-47 in an exhilarating Division 1 Energizer National League Final last Saturday. They did so in breathtaking fashion: coming back from a seven-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to win in extra-time. It was sweet revenge for the defending champions as they had lost to Nike Air in the preliminary rounds. For Nike Air, it meant another lost chance at the crown and they will have to wait until next year for another shot.

Both teams started extremely well, with Nike Air scoring with the first attack and Sneakers immediately replying with the next one. That set the pace for the rest of the game. Making full use of their chances, Sneakers stormed to a comfortable five-goal lead. However, the story of the first quarter was not over. Not to be outdone, Nike Air controlled the ending minutes of the quarter, scoring four goals and leaving Sneakers with a slim 10-9 lead.

Nike Air started the second quarter where they left off and continued controlling the game. It wasn't long before they took the lead. Just like Sneakers in the first quarter, Nike Air began to pass with amazing accuracy. The Sneakers GS did not help their cause by making unnecessary contact with Nike Air defenders. The half ended with Sneakers switching players around in an effort to shake up the game, as they trailed 17-22.

The changes done to the Sneakers attack showed results as both teams matched each other point for point for the first eight goals of the third quarter. Neither team controlled the game in the early part of the third but Nike Air had the upper end as the quarter wore on and extended their lead to end the quarter with a comfortable 34-27 lead.

Knowing this was their last chance at staging a comeback, Sneakers came into the fourth quarter playing at a higher energy level. Within four minutes of the start of the fourth quarter, they cut the Nike Air lead down to three points. It might have been nerves, but Nike Air passes started to go astray. The game was dominated by Sneakers and seven minutes into the quarter, the lead was down to one.

A stray Nike Air pass later and Sneakers were level with the crowd going wild. This momentum carried on for the rest of the quarter and it was no surprise when they took the lead with less than two minutes remaining. All pressure was now on the Nike Air GS with less than 30 seconds remaining. She made the shot, sending the match into extra-time with the score at 39-39.

With the crowd clearly behind them, Sneakers had the momentum going into extra-time. This unsettled Nike Air and after two-and-a-half minutes, Sneakers had a two-goal lead. The intensity of the game reached fever pitch as everyone in the stadium was on the edge of their seats. The first half of extra time ended with Sneakers leading 46-44.

Exhaustion was now clearly showing on the faces of all players in the second half of extra-time. A short break was even necessary for the Nike Air WD. Once again, the pressure was obvious with Nike Air making plenty of stray passes while Sneakers were able to keep up the pace of the game and extended their lead to three goals. Sneakers sustained the winning pace to the end and a deafening cheer from the crowd went up at the final whistle.

When asked about how she felt about the win and the tournament in general, Chan Hui Chiah of Sneakers said, "After losing to them (Nike Air) in the preliminary rounds, it feels great to beat them in such a fashion. The effort and focus that we put into training paid off. We had to overcome many hardships for this tournament, with players out for various reasons. Personally, I feel that I could have played better, however, any individual shortcomings, were overcome by the effort of the team. This tournament has brought new and exciting challenges to both teams."