A Brunei netball player (L) in action against Sri Lanka. – NETBALL SINGAPORE
BRUNEI Darussalam netball team fell to a 33-66 defeat to Thailand in the second round of the Asian Netball Championships at the OCBC Arena of the Singapore Sports Hub in Singapore yesterday.
Both sides were equally poised 13-13 in the first quarter before Thailand pulled ahead with strong through-court play and an impressive 93 per cent shooting conversion rate which catapulted them to a 30-point winning margin.
Thailand coach Chng Li Li said of her charges’ showing: “We started very messy and managed to settle down a bit and be more composed. We have some new players coming into the team so it’s a building phase for us, but overall I’m quite happy.”
The Royal Bees are drawn in the plate grouping (Group ‘F’) alongside Thailand, India and Japan.
Meanwhile, defending champions Malaysia continued their perfect start in their title defence after a 53-43 victory over Hong Kong in the cup grouping (Group ‘E’).
Sri Lanka continued their fine start in the Asian Netball Championships with a 74-61 win over Singapore under the guidance of the returning coach Thilaka Jinadasa, who took over the reins after a lengthy term with the Brunei national team.
Jinadasa said: “It was a decision making game for the players on both teams. Both teams have the same kind of fitness but we have a better advantage with the shooting. So we worked on our passes to Tharjini – that was our game plan and we have been successful today.”
