Netball: Singapore book place in Nations Cup final after beating Malaysia 41-34

Singapore beat South-east Asian rivals Malaysia 41-34 in their final round-robin match of the Nations Cup on Friday evening, booking a place in the final of the annual tournament.  -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
Singapore beat South-east Asian rivals Malaysia 41-34 in their final round-robin match of the Nations Cup on Friday evening, booking a place in the final of the annual tournament.  -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

Singapore beat South-east Asian rivals Malaysia 41-34 in their final round-robin match of the Nations Cup on Friday evening, booking a place in the final of the annual tournament.

The hosts, making their second straight final, will play Samoa on Saturday at the OCBC Arena. The Oceania side, unbeaten in the tournament, booked their place after beating Ireland 84-29.

The win against Malaysia, however, did not come easy. Singapore started shakily, and were caught chasing the scoreline until bouncing back in the third quarter. The team opened the third quarter with five straight goals, before extending the lead in the final quarter with seven straight points.

Said team captain Lin Qinyi, shortly after the win: "Credit to Malaysia, for playing a really good game. We really wanted to win and we knew how important this match was.

"Samoa are a very strong team, and higher-ranked than us. We're glad to have another chance to play them again."

Botswana beat Papua New Guinea 59-46 in the other match of the day.

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