Tanzania tame Malaysia to clinch Nations' Cup
YASARATNE GAMAGE Reporting from Singapore
Tanzania overcame Malaysia to win the final by 45-38 and be crowned
champions of the Nations Cup 2012 on Saturday at Toa Payoh Sports Hall
in Singapore.
The unbeaten Africans were favorites to lift the trophy in the final
and they lived up to the expectations fighting against strong
Malaysians.
Sri Lanka had to satisfy with the fourth place when they were
defeated by Namibia by 76-71 earlier on the same day. Sri Lanka seemed
well on the track when they won the first quarter by 19-17 and tied the
second at 17 goals each. But Namibia fought back after the second half
and finished the third session with a margin of 8 goals in favour of
them.
The last 15 minutes saw Sri Lanka attempting to repair the damage.
Although they led the final quarter by one goal Namibians had already
maintained a considerable goal difference to secure victory. The game
ended at 76-71 in favour of Namibia.
It was quite disappointing for the Lankans as they earlier in the
round robin stage defeated Namibia and hoped to repeat the same.
A fact evident throughout the tournament, that is Sri Lankans set
back in the third quarter was the same in the match with Namibia. Lack
of defensive tactics, change of playing style according to oncoming
challenge and physical strength to move with the opponents foot work
were clearly seen causes for Sri Lanka's defeat.
Final standings:
1st: Tanzania, 2nd: Malaysia, 3rd: Namibia, 4th: Sri Lanka, 5th:
Singapore, 6th: Republic of Ireland,
Most Valuable Player Awards:
Tanzania: Irene Sylidion, Malaysia: Siti Nor Farhana Mustafa,
Namibia: Bemhardine Makari, Sri Lanka: Gayathri Lankathilake, Singapore:
Cassandra Soh, Republic of Ireland: Genevieve Slater |