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Nervy Team Singapore see off Brunei in netball opener

SINGAPORE – Defending netball champions Singapore got their SEA Games campaign off to a winning start on Monday afternoon (Aug 14) by beating Brunei 62-37, though they were given a close fight.

Team Singapore's netballers (in red) defeated Brunei 62-37 in their SEA Games opening match at Juara Stadium on Monday (Aug 14). Photo courtesy of Leo Shengwei/Playmaker

Team Singapore's netballers (in red) defeated Brunei 62-37 in their SEA Games opening match at Juara Stadium on Monday (Aug 14). Photo courtesy of Leo Shengwei/Playmaker

SINGAPORE – Defending netball champions Singapore got their SEA Games campaign off to a winning start on Monday afternoon (Aug 14) by beating Brunei 62-37, though they were given a close fight.

It looked like it would be business as usual for Yeo Mee Hong’s charges at the Juara Stadium as they raced into a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bruneians grew in strength as the game wore on and Singapore had to dig deep for the win.

It was a far cry from their dominant 72-21 victory over the same opponents two years ago at the Games but Yeo, who has been the interim-in-charge coach since Ruth Aitken stepped down at the end of last year, is not too worried.

She pointed out that all but one of the seven Games debutants in the 12-strong team – only attacker Toh Kai Wei did not get time on court – were given game time and first-time nerves were to be expected.

“Today wasn’t about winning by a big margin,” she told TODAY over the phone from Kuala Lumpur. “We wanted to get (most of) our girls out on court for the first match and we did.

“In terms of (them) stepping up and continuing where the first line (left off), I thought those who came on, even though they were nervous, they managed to hold on.

“We finished well and it was a good experience for those playing for the first time.”

Yeo added that she was happy with the first half, where they took a 33-13 lead, aided by 100 per cent shooting from shooters Charmaine Soh (10 goals) and Zhang Ailin (eight) in the second quarter.

Only two Singaporean players lasted the whole game, as vice-captain Soh finished with 40 points from 46 shots for a 87 per cent accuracy, while Zhang sank 18 out of 20 attempts.

But Singapore’s rhythm was clearly affected with five positional changes made at half-time and Brunei took advantage, as they held their red-clad opponents 12-12 in the third quarter and rattled in a further 12 points in the final period.

“I must give credit to Brunei, they did really well in the third quarter and even the first five minutes of the last quarter,” said Yeo. “We were still trying to get rid of the nerves, but I thought they had some nice patches of play.”

She is also aware that Singapore will need to improve in their next game against their closest rivals Malaysia to stand a chance of a result.

While Singapore are ranked three places higher in the world rankings, the hosts have a more experienced side and are favourites to win the gold on home soil.

The 2016 Asian Netball Championships winners beat Thailand 73-30 earlier in the day in their opener and face Brunei on Tuesday (Aug 15), before playing Singapore a day later.

Singapore will have Tuesday off before the Causeway clash and Yeo said they will use it to shore up their weaknesses.

“I would like us to control the game more and minimise unforced errors (against Malaysia),” she said. “We were a bit rushed in the execution of passes at times and our build-up in terms of passing and ball placement today. We have to be more patient in delivering the (final) pass to our shooters, that’s something we’d like to work on for our training.

“We’ll be sorting it all out, tidying up our passing and team chemistry, and we hope to do better in terms of team performance.”

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