Singapore netballers remain upbeat despite 52-57 Nations Cup loss to Botswana

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s national netballers fell 52-57 to Botswana in their second match at the annual Netball Nations Cup at the OCBC Arena on Monday (21 October).

It was a tightly-contested match between two well-matched sides (Singapore are ranked No. 28 in the world, Botswana are No. 26). While Singapore took the lead early in the third quarter, Botswana’s fast and direct passing enabled them to counter-attack effectively for a decisive 45-41 lead going into the final quarter.

Despite the loss, captain Charmaine Soh remained upbeat about Singapore’s performance.

“I thought it was a very close fight because the last time we played them I think we lost with quite a bit. With Botswana having a higher ranking than us, we went in with the mentality that we will go all out,” she said.

“We have to continue that fighting spirit. Although we were down, the team kept going. There was resilience and we were determined to get every ball. We started the last two games pretty strongly, we just need to maintain it and be more consistent.”

In other Nations Cup matches on Monday, Namibia defeated Ireland 52-31, and Cook Islands beat Papua New Guinea 62-34.

The Netball Nations Cup features six nations – Singapore, Namibia, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands and Botswana – and will be held at the OCBC Arena until Saturday.

Tuesday will see Papua New Guinea taking on Botswana, followed by Namibia vs Cook Islands, and concluding with Singapore vs Ireland. For more information, please visit Netball Singapore’s website and tickets to the tournament are available here.

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