Despite a nervy beginning, Sri Lanka overcame Hong Kong 55-46 in the semi-final of the 11th Asian Netball Championship 2018 to clinch a place in the final, scheduled to be held tomorrow at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
Sri Lanka crush Hong Kong and march on to semis
Sri Lanka stamped their authority further in the Asian Netball Championships, registering a
Sri Lanka came into the semi-final defeating Singapore (74-61), Malaysia (62-59) and Hong Kong (71-48) in the group E (Cup category).
Similar to the previous games in the tournament, Sri Lanka got off to a relatively slow start, as Hong Kong kicked off the scoring. However, the Lankans slowly began to make their presence felt on the court as they ended the 1st quarter trailing by just one goal. (13-14)
The key to Sri Lanka’s success in the tournament has been their refusal to panic even when down by a few goals, always trusting their ability to come from behind and win. It was similar story this time too as although they took a few minutes to find their feet, Sri Lanka soon got into the lead and didn’t look back.
Read More: Sri Lanka hold off Malaysian fightback to stay unbeaten
More accurate shooting from star Goal Shooter Tharjini Sivalingam saw Sri Lanka outscore Hong Kong 15-10 in the 2nd quarter as they led 28-24 at half time.
Half Time – Sri Lanka 28 – 24 Hong Kong
The unsung heroes of Sri Lanka’s unbeaten run in the tournament have been Goal Keeper and Goal Defense Chathurangi Jayasooriya and Gayani Dissanayake respectively. The aggressive pair were in their element once again today, ensuring that the Hong Kong attack had to work hard for their goals.
The 3rd quarter was a low scoring one, but Sri Lanka managed to stretch their lead slightly to go into the break ahead by 6. (40-34)
Sri Lanka had faced Hong Kong in the last game of the previous round as well, where the latter fell away to concede a big loss. However, this time around, Hong Kong kept pushing the Lankans, largely due to the efforts of former Australian representative Goal Shooter Michelle Arkell.
Nevertheless, there was no coming back for the East Asians as Sri Lanka’s goal scoring machine kept going, as the scores read 55-46 at full time.
Full Time – Sri Lanka 55 – 46 Hong Kong
Sri Lanka will face Asia’s top seed Singapore in tomorrow’s final at 1.30pm SL time.
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