The Singapore Vandas earned their second win from as many games at the Singlife Nations Cup with an impressive 61-32 win over Papua New Guinea on Monday (3 November). Development squad Singapore A earned their first win of the tournament with a nailbiting 39-38 victory over the Isle of Man, while defending champions Kenya comfortably beat Malaysia 62-47 on Day 2 at the OCBC Arena.

Singapore v Papua New Guinea (61-32)

In a repeat of the 2023 final, the Singapore Vandas convincingly beat Papua New Guinea by a whopping 29 goals for a massive confidence boost ahead of their game against Kenya tomorrow. 

While the 2023 final saw Singapore edge the Pepes 59-56, today’s game was a more one-sided affair. The Vandas ran the scoreboard from the beginning, scoring 17 goals while maintaining a tight defence to limit their opponents to just six in the first quarter. Even as the gap continued to widen, the hosts never let up and all their shooters took turns to combine for an overall 91 per cent conversion rate and a 61-32 victory. 

Defenders Reena Divya and Jamie Lim were again alert to slow balls into the Papua New Guinea circle and made many key interceptions. Papua New Guinea also could not capitalise on their chances, converting just 73 per cent of their attempts overall. 

Lim said: “After today’s win and how the team performed, we’re pumped for the next few days. It’s definitely a confidence booster for us. The margin that we won by was big, and we didn’t expect it because the 2023 final against them was really close, and we know that they will always give us a good fight. Our teamwork on court was good, we just trusted each other, executed our game plan and went all out no matter how big the score margin was. 

“We train three times a week with each other, so it’s not just Reena and I. Anyone we put out on court will work well together. But off court, we’re really close and we have lots of fun together, and that shows on court. 

“Although today was all right, we can be better. Kenya’s going to be a stronger team. We competed against them in the UAE Netball Cup, and it was a really close game, so we know how strong and physical they are. We’ll just need to prepare our body and mindset going into tomorrow’s game.” 

Singapore A v Isle of Man (39-38)

Singapore A clinched their first win of the tournament in a thrilling encounter with the Isle of Man. The Singaporeans entered the first quarter with their guns blazing. Shooters Priscilla Wong and Zulfa Rashad’s partnership in the circle saw them score a combined 13 goals while the defence led by Sindhu Nair and Faithmaria Lawrence limited the Isle of Man to just seven. But Singapore A were hit by lapses of concentration in the next quarter as Isle of Man tightened their defence to claw back the score and tie the game 18-all at half-time. 

The Manx built on their momentum to take a two-point lead into the final 15 minutes, but Singapore A did not back down. Goal shooter Charlotte Lee was a picture of composure as she contributed 11 of her side’s 12 goals in the last quarter to help Singapore A regain the lead and snatch a hard-fought 39-38 win.

The 20-year-old had developed a habit of telling herself “clear” before shooting since September’s Netball World Youth Cup, which helps to remind her to remain calm, clear her mind, and make a clean shot. 

She added: “I was watching the game from the sidelines trying to understand what went wrong and what went well, so that I could adapt and learn from that. Everybody played well together, so I just had to focus on putting in the shot. Before the game, we mentioned connections, passion and possession, and the team really showed that today. While there were some patches when we were a bit unsteady, the team came back so strong.”

Buoyed by the team’s first win, teammate Lawrence is looking ahead to their next game against Malaysia and is relishing her fourth Nations Cup outing. She said: “It’s about knowing what we want to do, taking it one step at a time, one pass at a time and sticking to our basics. Today we just wanted to keep it easy and have a clear mind; that’s what we’re going to do for the next game too. 

“I’m really thankful for this opportunity because we get to show our skills and prove to ourselves that we’ve got this. This is a very good development opportunity for me since I want to enter the national team one day. This way, I can work on my skills, and know what I’m lacking and doing well, so I know how I can move forward and make my way up there.” 

While Isle of Man shooter Chloe Swales was disappointed to lose by just a point, she hopes the team’s maiden Nations Cup appearance will be a good experience for her team and an inspiration for the next generation of netballers. 

She said: “It was a game of perseverance, and we really stuck at it for the whole game. It’s a shame we lost by just one goal, but Singapore A are a great team, and we’re learning from every experience we get. I don’t think we necessarily did anything wrong. In netball, things can change so easily. In one turnover, you can take a two-goal lead, and that just shows you how tight the game was throughout. We would absolutely love to get a win, but we’re just learning to adapt to different styles of play and building game by game.

“This is our first time here, and it’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me. Us being here, I hope it gives our younger girls coming through our performance programme similar opportunities in the future, and I hope they will aspire to be in our position when they’re older.” 

Kenya v Malaysia (62-47)

Defending champions Kenya made light work of Malaysia, outmuscling them for a convincing 62-47 win and their second of the tournament. The Africans raced to a 13-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, slowly building their lead over time. A pivotal third quarter saw them extend their lead by more than 10 for the first time, and they did well to capitalise on Malaysia’s mistakes to see out the win.

Midfielder Elsa Anyango Ndong said: “I’m feeling very happy with the win. We have come very far and are very grateful for this opportunity. We played against Malaysia before, so this time, we came prepared and we were determined to come away with the win. We watched their games and analysed how they play. We tried to match them, although they are very speedy. We were not expecting to win by such a big margin, but we are happy that we worked hard together as a team.  

“We made a couple of mistakes, but we are going to rectify them to play better against Singapore in the next game. We made some mistakes as well when we lost to Singapore in the UAE Netball Cup, but we have worked on them and we are going to play a great match tomorrow.”

The action at the Singlife Nations Cup continues tomorrow with the following fixtures:
3pm – Malaysia v Singapore A
5pm – Isle of Man v Papua New Guinea
7pm – Kenya v Singapore

Tickets are available here on Ticketmaster.