SINGAPORE — Words were scribbled in black ink across the wrists of the Singapore national netballers before they took on Myanmar yesterday at the OCBC Arena.

Singapore veteran defenders Premila Hirubalan and Micky Lin had the word “glue” written on their arms. It was to remind themselves of their task to “stick to their opponent” closely. Shelby Koh, who plays in centre, had the words “run lah” on her arm, while Charmaine Soh’s was “focus”.

The quirky reminders certainly worked as Singapore, the reigning Asian Champions, eased past Myanmar 85-20 in their last round-robin match to set themselves up for a semi-final clash with world No 32 Thailand tomorrow.

The mood in the Singapore camp was noticeably lively following their win, and Singapore national head coach Ruth Aitken said it was important to keep their spirits up ahead of the potential showdown with SEA Games defending champions Malaysia at the finals on Sunday.

She said that was particularly important given how the Republic’s netballers suffered a blow to their confidence after they allowed their Causeway rivals and fellow title-contenders to come from behind and snatch a draw 35-35 in their game on Tuesday.

“It has been a long week, and they had to do something to keep themselves going,” said Aitken, when asked about the scribbling on her players’ arms. “The scribbling are just little reminders, and things that unite them too ... Otherwise, if it is all about ‘business, business’, then it can be really intense and sometimes pressurising.

“The girls need to enjoy their game and that is when they can play their best. The game against Malaysia was intense, but morale, team spirit and confidence has since picked up and are on a high.”

The team get a day off today and the players will undergo recovery sessions and have a few hours off in the afternoon before they head to the SEA Games opening ceremony as part of the 749 Singapore athlete contingent competing at the Games. National netball captain Micky Lin is expected to lead the athletes’ oath at the opening ceremony.

“It is an important mental break for them,” said Aitken. “For the semi-finals, we cannot be complacent as well. Thailand have really been improving and we have to bring our ‘A’ game all the way to the finals.

“We have to tidy up a few aspects, such as not giving the ball away too cheaply, and improve our man-to-man defence.”

Tomorrow’s matches:

2pm: Malaysia vs Brunei

4pm: Singapore vs Thailand