SINGAPORE — It was a title they had not won in 23 years, but there was no stopping Singapore’s Under-21 netballers on Saturday (May 13).

Facing Causeway rivals Malaysia in the 10th Asian Youth Netball Championships final, the Republic came out on top in a 47-43 thriller to win the tournament for only the second time.

Head coach Huang Po Chin was delighted with the team’s breakthrough, having set their sights on ending the title drought.

“It’s a really amazing experience and I am still quite overwhelmed,” she told TODAY over the phone, an hour after their triumph at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium.

“I am very happy for the team and the management… it (winning the title) is something we had been very focused on.”

Singapore, who won the inaugural edition in 1994 before finishing runners-up at the next in 1998, had not managed to reach another final since until Friday, when they beat defending champions Sri Lanka.

That set up a showdown against five-time champions Malaysia, who were playing in their eighth consecutive final.

Singapore had lost 50-53 to the same opponents in the group stages earlier despite going into the final quarter then in the lead.

An almost similar situation occurred in the final, with both teams entering the last 15 minutes locked at 34-34.

It was crunch time, but there was no rousing motivational speech as Huang knew her charges were not short on spirit and motivation.

“Basically, my instructions were pretty short,” she said. “Just keep it simple and focus on the process; ensure that we take care of the ball and are working (it) through from the centre pass to get the (goal) conversion.”

It worked, as a blitz in the first five minutes paved the way to glory, despite a strong Malaysia response in the closing stages.

“I thought my girls contained themselves really well, to ensure we were still focused after we got quite a big (winning) margin, and were able to persevere through to the last whistle,” Huang added.

Co-captain Olivia Wu agreed: “It was the focus that every one of us had and we all believed we had the capability to beat Malaysia. We were focused on making our own moves and taking care of every single ball, so that helped us (edge it).”

Wu added that the title triumph was a vindication of the team’s efforts, relating how they had been written off after poor showings in the Netball Super League (NSL) earlier this year.

All but one of the 12 members had competed as the M1 Sunfish team that lost all 11 of their matches.

“This is quite an amazing moment, one of a kind and indescribable,” said a breathless Wu, who could not hold back her emotions.

“A lot of us have shed tears of joy. We have definitely earned this and I am very proud of this team. If you had watched our NSL matches, everyone didn’t believe in us and here we are, standing on the podium.”

“I am really pleased with the team, we have really come a very long way,” added Huang, who picked up her first title as U-21 head coach. “The team really stepped up and it’s very encouraging for me as a coach to know there’s still a lot more they can offer.”

The U-21s next assignment will be July’s Netball World Youth Cup in Gaborone, Botswana, which they will start preparing for after a one-week break.

Wu said: “This win is a confidence-booster for our team and we will continue to work hard towards the world youth championships.”