SINGAPORE - Singapore's netballers clinched third spot at the Mission Foods Nations Cup by edging out Botswana 44-43 in a nail-biting third-fourth place match on Saturday afternoon.
Singapore were always made to play catch-up, and trailed 31-34 going into the fourth quarter of the game. But a late surge lifted them to victory to cap off a successful year for the SEA Games gold medallists.
Coach Ruth Aiken praised her team, saying: "We played with a bit more speed and played into open spaces, and we had to dig deep to finish in style. The (outcome) was on a knife- edge and it's exhausting from a coach's point of view, but it's uplifting to see the girls come through."
Team captain Micky Lin added: "It's a nice ending and closure to the year of more ups and downs."
In the six-team round robin tournament, Singapore won just two matches (beating Chinese Taipei 71-20 and the Singapore Invitational side 44-32) but lost three (to Bostwana 38-46, Northern Ireland 35-46 and Papua New Guinea 43-44).
Northern Ireland play Papua New Guinea in the final at 4pm.