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NEWS & EVENTS
Thailand drop Brunei to 6th
Sunday, July 7, 2013

Brunei's Nur Afiqah Samat (L)
tries to defend a shot against
Thailand in their 8th Asian
Youth Netball Championships
game yesterday. Brunei finished
sixth in the competition.
Picture: BT/ Syarif Rasani

Thailand defeated the Brunei Under-21 squad 53-34 in the 8th Asian Youth Netball Championships yesterday to seal themselves fifth in the competition.

Brunei landed themselves in sixth position overall for the tournament, mimicking the seniors team in last year's 8th Asian Netball Championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Thailand started the game on a mission, opening up an early lead in the first quarter.

Brunei, on the other hand, struggled and failed to put on their best performance, compared to their other matches in the previous few days.

They were not confident and their hesitation when passing the ball around gave time for Thailand to set up their defence.

Thailand further capitalised on this by getting in the passing lanes for interceptions.

Brunei only managed to score three points in the first six minutes to fall behind 13-3.

The hosts slowly got into their groove, playing a stronger game in the second quarter.

The crowd at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas showed their support by cheering the team on.

The last five minutes of the first half saw Brunei outscore Thailand 5-4 to end the quarter down 24-15.

Both teams were evenly matched in the first few minutes of the third quarter.

Thailand would however shift gears half way through the quarter to score multiple shots over Brunei's defence with ease.

The accurate shots from Thailand's offence led them to end the third quarter with a 40-27 lead.

Thailand carried on their dominance at both ends in the fourth quarter, up till the final whistle.

Their height advantage over Brunei definitely played a big part in their win.

"The girls did play hard against Thailand but for me they didn't do too well today," national netball coach Thilaka Jinadasa said.

"I'm not that happy about the results and a bit disappointed because, today's match, I had three of my best players on the bench due to injury," she told The Brunei Times.

"It was really unexpected at this level of competition but I didn't have much of a choice. From time to time they would lose focus.

"Our offensive players were okay but as usual if (the) shooters don't finish, it's hard to stay focused," she said.

"That happened in the first quarter but in the second quarter we won it 12-11... Now they will have a break from netball," she added.

India defeated the Maldives 63-26 to seal seventh overall in the competition.

Defending champions Malaysia are set to battle Sri Lanka in the final today at 1.30pm.

Singapore will face Hong Kong in the third-place playoff at 9.30am.

Courtesy from Brunei Times