By Lorna Campbell
The Cheers Netball Super League now heads into a crunch weekend at Toa Payoh Sports Hall. (Photo by Voxsports. Courtesy of Netball Singapore)
In the blink of an eye, ten rounds of the 15th edition of the Cheers Netball Super League are done and dusted and now we move into the crunch matches where it’s a must-win situation for all six teams to claim the highest finishing position possible.
Mission Mannas end the round stages tied on points (22 each) but it is Mannas who take first spot on goal difference. The two sides will face off on Saturday to vie for their Grand Final spot.
Meanwhile, Marlins – the 2013 champions – ended the league stage in fourth but we all know that anything can happen in the semi-final stage and the trophy is still definitely within Marlins’ grasp again.
At the other end of the table, Vipers prop things up and will play M1 Sunfish to determine 5th and 6th places on Sunday. Both teams have had mixed seasons and will be playing with plenty pride and passion for their family, friends and fans.
Saturday 10th May (Round 9)
Dolphins and Marlins ended the rounds with one win a piece after Dolphins got the upper hand in this match up (Marlins won 51-41 on 12th April) with a 45–38 victory to secure their second spot in the league.
Said Blaze Captain Lin Qingyi, “Marlins are a tough team and despite many injuries they have proven to be able to come back strongly in their games. Our girls knew the importance of this weekend’s games and worked hard quarter by quarter to maintain our lead from the start. The second half of the game was closely contested but we managed to settle down and widen the lead towards the last few minutes of the game. Our standout areas would have been the high turnover rate and great defensive effort through the court.”
Mannas recorded their highest score of the league so far with their 81–43 win over the Vipers which proved valuable when top spot came down to goal percentage.
Vice captain of Mission Mannas, Premila Hirubalan, said, “Everyone got a run and played well on Saturday. No matter who was on court, we maintained our team goals and it showed on the very even quarter scores. It was a team effort and all players on court were standout. Special mention must go to Ailin, who not only connected well, but shot exceptionally.”
Captain Nurul Baizura added, “Saturday was one of the best games Diana Tjejamba has had with us. Diana has been playing rather well and settling in steadily. Having her on court provides some size to the defensive end. She is good aerially and has good attacking skills as well.”
M1 Sunfish went into their first match of the weekend knowing they had to put in a strong performance and push for a win if they had any hope of making it into the final four and the semi-finals. It wasn’t to be as Sneakers Stingrays took control and ran away 50–39 victors to take third place on the table.
M1 Sunfish coach, Joanne Loo, summarised the disappointment, saying, “It was yet another inconsistent performance where we lack workload and team support which meant we couldn’t compete as we had hoped. Out almost static movement at times led to our loss and the team is very disappointed after some strong matches in previous weeks.”
Sunday 11th May (Round 10)
So Sunday came around once again and the players had to wipe of the sweat and tears from Saturday and focus on the match ahead which were the final clinchers for table positions ahead of the semi-finals.
Vipers bounced back from the big loss on Saturday to keep Dolphins working hard for their 69–53 victory.
Qingyi (Micky) added, “Blaze got to a great start with improved flow through the court. Vipers returned with a strong third quarter with higher involvement of the GS, Becky. We managed to maintain our lead by securing our own center pass and finished the game well. We will now be playing Mannas in the semi-finals. Both are strong teams, I believe the group that settles in the earliest and makes the least error will come up on top.”
Sunfish had clearly listened to their coach after Saturday’s defeat and turned things around significantly to drill down a 36–36 draw with Mission Mannas. Sadly for them though, it was not enough to push into the top four. However, this score showed the level playing field and quality of all six sides this season.
Loo was much happier with this performance saying, “Lest to be written off as the youngest and inexperienced team in NSL, having been ousted from top four with the defeat yesterday, we have all proved ourselves as a team today with a gritty team performance. Playing against Mannas as the last match presented us with a great opportunity to rise to the challenge and we did just that.
“Mannas consist of many former and current Singapore Opens player so the battle was a tough one which our players stepped up to. For example, ending the third quarter with only three goals down, speaks well of the team play. With some awesome, teamwork, we finished the game with a draw which I am very pleased about.”
Baizura gave Mannas’ perspective, saying, “The match started off quite well for Mannas as we got on with the task and executed the game plan. However, subsequent quarters saw a dip in our performance as our number of unforced errors started building up and Sunfish took advantage of the situation.
“Sunfish were very patient when attacking, squaring the ball when necessary. Defensively, they did disrupt some of Mannas’ attacking play and converted from them. Raijieli, the Sunfish international player, contributed a lot both in defence and attack. She intercepted some crucial balls to put Sunfish back in the game.”
Mannas coach, Yeo Mee Hong, gave her thoughts ahead of next weekend adding, “We will play Blaze Dolphins in the semi-final and we are expecting another keenly-contested and exciting match this Saturday. Both teams have the depth, experience, skills and ability to convert turnover opportunities for their teams. Team who has the most scoring opportunities and make the least errors on match day will go through to the grand final. This is exactly what we are going to focus on as a team this Saturday.”
The final match of round ten saw Sneakers Stingrays beat Magic Marlins 59–2 in an unexpected one-sided result. Marlins will have to learn from this and pick themselves up as the two sides will meet again on Saturday to determine who gets the preliminary final place on Sunday.
So now we are in the business end of the league and a huge weekend ahead with all six teams in action again. For two of the teams playing on Saturday, they will have to get back on court on Sunday if they are to have a chance of making the big final on Saturday, May 24, and the ultimate prize of league champions for 2014.
Upcoming Matches
Venue: Toa Payoh Sports Hall
Saturday, May 17
Semi-final 1
2pm Sneakers Stingrays (3rd) vs Magic Marlins (4th)
Semi-final 2
4pm Mission Mannas (1st) vs Blaze Dolphins (2nd)
Sunday, May 18
Playoff
1pm M1 Sunfish (5th) vs Bedok King Vipers (6th)
Preliminary Final
3pm Loser of Semi-final 2 vs winner of Semi-final 1
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