Fadhil Yunus
Brunei Darussalam national netball team fell to a 42-38 defeat to the Philippines in the playoffs round of the Asian Netball Championships (ANC) 2022 at the OCBC Arena, Singapore Sports Hub in Singapore yesterday.
In the early stages of the first quarter, both teams took their time to settle but they slowly found some rhythm with their play as the match progressed.
Philippines took an early command of the match but the Bruneians duly replied looking to re-establish themselves by charging into the offensive.
Nevertheless, a see-saw encounter ensued as both teams traded points and cancelled out one another. The Filipinos’ resurgence to create waves of attacks allowed them to be ahead of Brunei in the second and third quarter.
Brunei, also known as the Royal Bees, breathed a new lease of life after trailing by a single point with under eight minutes of the fourth quarter remaining.
But the revival was cut short as a five-point gap with two minutes of the clock remaining steered the Philippines across the finishing line.
It was a huge result for Philippines who was determined to beat their rivals having conceded defeat against them during their home Southeast Asian Games (SEA) in December 2019. The Royal Bees will conclude their campaign against Maldives today.
