A failure to emerge from the cloud that enveloped them after a shock loss to Indonesia on Thursday could prove costly for Singapore's water polo players, who were held to a 6-6 draw by the Philippines in the SEA Games at the New Clark City Aquatic Centre yesterday.
The team, whose 52-year stranglehold on the SEA Games gold medal came to an end, could even be denied the silver if the hosts beat bottom side Malaysia in their final match tomorrow.
Indonesia (three wins, one draw) top the five-team table with an insurmountable seven points after completing their fixtures.
The Philippines (one win, two draws) sit second in the table with four points. They are followed by Singapore (one win, one draw, one loss) with three. Both teams play their final game tomorrow.
But, for Singapore to claim the silver, they will not only need to beat Thailand, but also depend on the hosts to lose to Malaysia, who have lost all their games.
A frustrated Singapore coach Dejan Milakovic admitted that his players were still reeling from Thursday's loss, saying: "It's the Guinness record I think, we missed more than I've seen in my life.
"We failed again today, mentally definitely.
"Half of them lost their confidence and a few of them even today didn't have an idea of what to do."
Against the Philippines, a profligate Singapore got off to a less than ideal start as the hosts led 4-2 by the end of the second quarter.
But the visitors fought their way back to level the score at 5-5 at the start of the final quarter.
The hosts scored another goal to take the lead but, once again, Singapore came from behind to salvage a draw.
Captain Koh Jian Ying lamented his team's failure to take their shots, but was unable to pinpoint what exactly went wrong.
They had been confident going into the SEA Games on the back of winning the Fina Water Polo Challengers Cup in Singapore last month, but hit a slump once the competition started.
Knowing that they could have done better in their last two games has left them frustrated.
Koh, who is competing at his fifth SEA Games, said: "I honestly have no idea (what went wrong), the whole team has no form.
"I think it's just that this time we hit a wall. Everyone is p****d off, we know that it's not our standard."
Still, Milakovic hopes to end on a high with a win tomorrow, saying: "We'll try to play better against Thailand, win and hopefully get a (silver) medal at the end."
