4 September 2018 10:03 pm Views - 1715
By Pathum Sri Wijeratne reporting from Singapore
Sri Lanka brought an end to Singapore’s dominance in Asian Netball when they recorded a thrilling 74-61 win in their Cup Segment encounter worked off at the OCBC Arena in Singapore on Tuesday (4).
Sri Lanka made the perfect start and took an early lead as they clinched the first quarter 18-12 with Dulangi Wannithilaka and Hasitha Mendis creating several scoring opportunities.
In addition, Gayanjali Amarawansha excelled in the centre court and was able to provide Goal Shoot Tharjini Sivalingam with more possession.
Sri Lanka consolidated their position and went on to win the second quarter 19-16 as they went into half time with a commanding lead of 37-28.
Sri Lanka maintained the same momentum and took the third quarter 21-14 with Skipper Chathurangani Jayasooriya and Gayani Dissanayake leading the way.
Going into the fourth and final quarter with a comfortable lead, Sri Lanka decided to include a couple of newcomers while replacing some of their key players.
As a result, Sri Lanka conceded the fourth quarter 16-19 but their early lead was sufficient for them to emerge victorious.
In other matches, Thailand beat Brunei 66-33, Philippines beat Pakistan 62-36, India beat Japan 65-57 and the Maldives beat Chinese Taipei 73-10 and Malaysia beat Hong Kong 53-43.
Sri Lanka will take on Malaysia in their Cup Segment second game on Wednesday (5).