It was disappointment for the Sri Lankan men and women as the two teams fell one game short as Thailand and the Borneo Eagles defeated the two teams in the semifinals respectively.
The Borneo 7’s progressed on to it’s third and final day, kicking off with the important cup semifinals. Yesterday, the two Sri Lankan teams qualified for the semifinals with the men defeating Mellowpuff and the women winning it over the Sabah Eagles.
It was a replay of the 2017 women’s cup final when Sri Lanka confronted Thailand. The Lady Tuskers were quick to make use of the opportunities as Sandika Hemamali touched down for the first. Speedster Ayesha Kaluarachchi later made a wonderful break with an end to end run to score the second for the side.
Thailand fought back in the next few phases to score two back to back tries to level the scores and it all came down to the final minute of play to decide on who will make it to the finals. With time running out, a gifted 10m penalty saw the Thailand player side stepping her way to score the match-winner.
The ladies showed a lot of heart but couldn’t get themselves together in the final phase and will meet Malaysia for the 3rd and 4th place play-off later in the afternoon.
Confronting the defending champions, Sri Lanka kicked off their game against the Borneo Eagles at 11.20 a.m. (SL time) and fell a score short of victory. The Eagles, who are a representation from New Zealand, were in the lead when the Tuskers staged a comeback later in the game.
The two debutants, Sithum Peiris and Adeesha Weerathunga, impressed for the side as Sri Lanka cut the deficit to just 5 points with two minutes to go but it was not enough to change the result.
Sri Lanka will meet their Achilles heel Hong Kong in the 3rd and 4th place play-off later in the evening.
Fixtures:
Sri Lanka Women v Singapore (3rd / 4th Play-off) 1.20 p.m. (SL time)
Sri Lanka Men v Hong Kong (3rd / 4th Play-off) 2.00 p.m. (SL time)
