Sri Lanka secured a narrow 55-53 goal win over Malaysia in their 1st Group E fixture at the OCBC Arena in Singapore earlier today (6).
Being one of the title contenders of the competition, SEA Games defending champs Malaysia were expected to push Sri Lanka in the 1st Game of the 2nd round, where the two teams have been grouped alongside powerhouse Singapore and Hong Kong.
They started off in exciting fashion, using their quick ball speed and accurate shotting to take a 2-goal league at the end of the 1st quarter (15-13). Sri Lanka seemed to be caught by surprise, playing a top team after a long break and committed a number of unforced errors early in the game.
However, the defending Champs could not be held down for long, as raced to 16 all and then took the lead. Malaysia found their feet once again late in the 2nd quarter, tying things up 30-30 just before the half-time whistle.
It was in the 3rd quarter that Sri Lanka really pulled away, outscoring Malaysia 15-08. The mid-court work by Captain Gayanjali Amarawansa and Wing Attack Dulangi Wannithilake was exceptional, as was the defensive work by the two veteran former captains Gayani Dissanayake and Chathurika Jayasooriya, who managed to turn over the ball on a number of occasions as Malaysia tried to catch up.
Malaysia knew they had it all to do in the last quarter and they came out all guns blazing, looking for more long-range shots through GA and GS Karishma and Ajwa. Their late surge definitely made the game more interesting, but it was too little too late, as Sri Lanka came away with the win.
Sri Lanka will face arch rivals Singapore in their next game tomorrow, at 4.30pm Sri Lankan time.
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