Papua New Guinea appeared in a confident, controlled and dominant display in the Mission Foods Nations Cup 2016, beating opposition Canada in a remarkable score of 73 – 30.
Kick starting the momentum, shooter Tulapi scored the first goal for Team Papua New Guinea just 30 seconds into the first quarter. In a display of quick reflexes and constant communication, Papua New Guinea achieved a 7-goal streak before Team Canada scored their second goal in the last 6 minutes of the quarter. The first quarter concluded with an astonishing score of 4 – 20, with Papua New Guinea finishing strong to edge Canada.
Off to a strong start yet again, Papua New Guinea scored their first goal 30 seconds into the quarter, credits to Ottio. Despite the unassailable attacks put forth by the 2008 Nations Cup champion, Canada put up a strong fight, with the 183-centimetre tall McLaughlin seizing opportunities to score for the team. Papua New Guinea won the second quarter, netting a score of 20 – 5 against Canada.
Attacker Wong debuted on court in the heart-pumping third quarter, reinvigorating the Canadian’s spirits and closing the deficit for the team. Canadian defender Binns showcased strong defence despite the powerful attacks by Ottio and Tulapi in the third quarter, bringing the scores to 10 – 16, in favour of Papua New Guinea.
The Canadian team regained lustre in the fourth quarter, introducing wing attacker Chen into the game. Making a comeback, the Canadians scored the first net and made a three-goal lead, but relinquished it to Tulapi, whom like defender Ovia, played through all four quarters of the game and displayed sheer consistency, accuracy and agility. The game concluded a score of 11 – 7 – the tightest performance in all four quarters.
Players from both teams exhibited sportsmanship and high quality performance, bringing spectators through an enthralling game, setting the mood for more sporting action in the week to come.
Vice-Captain of Team Papua New Guinea, Winnie Mavara
“We need to release the ball and let the ball do the work – when you let the ball go, the ball does everything. Our team may be the highest ranked, but we are not being complacent. We won’t take any team lightly. If we become complacent, we tend to lose focus. We saw Team Singapore play earlier on today and we never under-estimate the team. Our team is on par as Team Singapore – we win some, they win some.”
Captain of Canada, Morgan McLaughlin
“I’m really proud of the effort that we put in today, and the fact that we didn’t give up for the whole entire game. We started out a little bit against our zone, but we kept working at it, and eventually we figured it out. The team had a much better 2nd half and I think that this was a really good game. To face Papua New Guinea, the top ranking team in this tournament, was pretty tough but has definitely suit us up for the rest of the games. Our goal for the next match is to play our type of Netball and try not to let the other team dictate the pace of the game or our movements.”
HIGHLIGHTS
- Top scorer of the match: Ottio of Team Papua New Guinea, netting a total of 29 shots
- Team Papua New Guinea scored 73 of 87 attempts – an accuracy of 84%
- Team Canada’s Wong performed with 100% accuracy in the last quarter, scoring 9 out of 9 shots
- The biggest lead in the match: 16 points in the first quarter
MATCH STATISTICS
| CANADA | PAPUA NEW GUINEA | |
| Score | 30 | 73 |
| Total Attempts | 48 | 87 |
| Goal % | 63 | 84 |
Photo Credit: Netball Singapore
Source: Nur Fahimah, Netball Singapore
