UNBEATEN SRI LANKA SECURES SEMI-FINAL SPOT
Unbeaten Sri Lanka secured their place in the semi-finals with another close 62-59 victory over Malaysia in their Asian Netball Championship Cup Segment second encounter worked off at the OCBC Arena in Singapore yesterday. Even then, Sri Lanka were trailing in the beginning before they recovered magnificently to seal the first quarter 15-13 following an exciting contest.
However, the former champions came into their own during the second quarter and completely outplayed their opponents 19-12 as they went into half time with a commanding lead of 32-27.
Dulangi Wannithalaka and Hasitha Mendis put up a splendid performance and were responsible in providing Goal Shoot Tharjini Sivalingam with plenty of possession.
Sri Lanka came under tremendous pressure during the third quarter following a late rally from their opponents but yet managed to snatch the game by a solitary point 16-15.
Skipper Chathurangi Jayasooriya and Gayani Dissanayake played a key role in maintaining their authority as Sri Lanka built up an overall lead of 48-42.
Sri Lanka of course conceded the fourth and final quarter to their opponents 14-17 as they missed out a number of scoring opportunities while performing under pressure.
But they were able to come out victorious by a convincing margin in the end after their heroics in the early stages of the game.
Sri Lanka will take on Hong Kong in their third match of the Cup Segment at the same venue today.
In other matches, the Philippines outplayed Chinese Taipei 73-21, Maldives trounced Pakistan 60-34, Brunei defeated Japan 60-32 and Thailand beat India 64-42.
Even then, Sri Lanka were trailing in the beginning before they recovered magnificently to seal the first quarter 15-13 following an exciting contest