Netball Nations Cup: Singapore let slip half-time lead to lose 41–50 to Samoa in final

Story by Colin Tung/Red Sports. Photos by Joseph Lee and Jerald Ang/Red Sports

Chen Lili (GK) and Monica Fuimaono (GS) fight for possession of the ball. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Saturday, December 13, 2014 — Singapore let slip a six-goal half time lead to fall 41–50 to Samoa, finishing runners-up at the Nations Cup for a second consecutive year. (Singapore finished second to Uganda last year.)

Having played and lost to world no. 14 Samoa, the highest-ranked team in the tournament, in a preliminary round match on Wednesday, the host nation were out for revenge and started well. The Singapore team first getting their noses ahead in the first quarter by a solitary goal, then establishing a firmer footing in the second by outscoring Samoa by another five to go into half-time 26–20 ahead.

But the reigning Asian champions and two-time Nations Cup winners (2006 and 2007) could not sustain their form thereafter.

A four-minute spell beginning with slightly over 10 minutes left in the third quarter saw Samoa score seven straight to take a 31–30 lead. Singapore would only score two more in the remaining six minutes through Charmaine Soh (GS), as Samoa’s Monica Fuimaono (GS) and Kendra Falefitu (Goal Attack) got into their groove. The Samoan pair netted six more — contributing to a combined 17 goals from 19 attempts for their most prolific quarter — to take a 37–32 lead into the final period.

The fourth quarter saw Singapore coach, Ruth Aitken, insert some fresh legs into the game, bringing in Ang Shi Qi for Kimberly Lim (WD). Shi Qi slotted into the Centre position, while Nurul Baizura shifted into Wing Attack. The change, however, did not have the desired effect as two scoring spurts from Samoa, the first a four-goal one over the first four minutes and the second a five-goal one lasting just over two minutes, allowed them to comfortably see out the victory.

Samoa captain, Sanita To’o, attributed her team’s slow start to nerves and said after the match, “Amazing. To go through unbeaten and to come out after Singapore were leading through the first half, I’m so proud of the girls to finish off with that win.

The Singapore players, however, could not hide their disappointment at their second-half performance. Team captain, Lin Qingyi, said after the match, “I think we started off really well but didn’t have enough to finish the game. Quite disappointing actually but … we were ranked fourth in the tournament, worked all the way through the week, and managed to get a place in the final. So, overall, still a good performance for us.”

Premila Hirubalan, who was named Singapore’s Most Valuable Player, echoed Qingyi’s sentiments. She said, “We can’t lie and say it was not disappointing. But we fought really well. If only the game lasted only a half, then we would win. Up by six (at half-time), but [outscored] by 11 in the third quarter so a lot of things to work on. But we know we can compete against world-class teams so that’s a good thing for us to build on as well especially with World Champs coming up next year.

Singapore coach Ruth Aitken highlighted wins over Botswana and Papua New Guinea, from Africa and Oceania respectively, as proof that Singapore can compete with teams from different geographical regions, which is important with the World Championships part of the world no. 19’s itinerary next year. But there is still room for improvement.

The New Zealander said, “We still are disappointed and that’s good too because we want to be a four-quarter team. They (Samoa) stepped up a notch. We got to go to another level but they’re still ahead of us. So that’s what next year will be all about.” The Singapore netball team will also look to win Southeast Asian Games gold on home soil next year.

In other matches on the concluding day of competition, Botswana beat Malaysia 44–41 for third place while Papua New Guinea beat Ireland 58–33 to finish fifth.

Singapore Starting Line-up
Lin Qingyi (Goal Defence, co-vice-captain), Premila Hirubalan (Wing Defence), Chen Lili (Goal Keeper), Nurul Baizura (Centre), Kimberly Lim (Wing Attack), Chen Huifen (Goal Attack, co-vice-captain), Charmaine Soh (Goal Shooter)

Samoa Starting Line-up
Kendra Falefitu (Goal Attack), Monica Fuimaono (Goal Shooter), Opheira Harder-Karatau (Wing Defence, vice-captain), Hanalei Temese (Centre), Natalie Jones (Goal Keeper), Sanonu Robertson (Goal Defence), Sanita To’o (Wing Attack, captain)

Scores by Quarter
Singapore vs. Samoa
1Q: 11–10
2Q: 15–10 (26–20)
3Q: 6–17 (32–37)
4Q: 9–13 (41–50)

Results

Sunday, December 7
Singapore vs. Papua New Guinea: 47–42
Ireland vs. Botswana: 39–50
Samoa vs. Malaysia: 56–30

Monday, December 8
Ireland vs. Malaysia: 36–40
Papua New Guinea vs. Samoa: 44–58
Singapore vs. Botswana: 46–41

Tuesday, December 9
Samoa vs. Botswana: 49–34
Malaysia vs. Papua New Guinea: 52–43
Singapore vs. Ireland: 47–20

Wednesday, December 10
Botswana vs. Malaysia: 51–36
Papua New Guinea vs. Ireland: 56–35
Singapore vs. Samoa: 47–53

Friday, December 11
Botswana vs. Papua New Guinea: 59–46
Ireland vs. Samoa: 29–84
Singapore vs. Malaysia: 41–34

Saturday, December 12
Papua New Guinea vs. Ireland (5th/6th placing): 58–33
Botswana vs. Malaysia (3rd/4th placing): 44–41
Singapore vs. Samoa (1st/2nd placing): 41–50

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