Pepes finish fifth

 PAPUA New Guinea recorded its second worst finish at a Singapore Nations Cup netball tournament in five outings with a 58-33 win over Ireland in the fifth place playoff on Saturday.

PNG finished last in 2011 in a tournament that involved Fiji, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Namibia.

Samoa lifted the 2014 trophy on their debut at the competition, beating hosts Singapore 50-41 in an entertaining final at the OCBC Arena. Bostwana claimed third spot beating Malaysia 44-41.

The ninth edition of the competition was the most competitive yet and all the teams will take valuable lessons back to their respective regions and look to build on their results for 2015.

Since its inception in 2006, PNG has taken part in five tournaments: 2006 – 2nd, 2008 – 1st, 2011 – 6th, 2013 – 3rd, 2014 – 5th.

The Pepes were beaten 59-46 by Botswana in their crucial final game of the round robin on Friday and as a result were relegated to playing for fifth spot against Ireland. 

Ireland was thrashed 84-29 by top seed Samoa on Friday and were arguably the weakest side at the tournament.

The Pepes’ two victories in six games at the 2014 tournament were against Ireland (56-35 and 58-33).   

Vice-captain Kilala Owen remained positive despite her side’s disappointing form at the tournament.  

“We played to our game plan today and did what we wanted to improve on. 

“We got the consistency right today — from the start to the finish. 

“I am happy that we are ending on a high note this week after a tough start,” Owen said.

Under new Fijian coach Unaisi Rokoura, PNG struggled with their consistency, unable to sustain controlled passages of play beyond one or two quarters. 

On Saturday, they looked more like the tough side that took third place in the competition last year but did not get it right in their earlier matches this week. 

The only New Guinea Islands region representative in the team, Owen had a strong game at goal-keeper, cutting out many of the Irish scoring chances and driving the attack from the back.  

Irish goal shooter Jan Hynes, who had been one of their strongest players all week had to come off injured after the first quarter so it was left to Emma Wakefield and Amber Piercy to do what they could to keep the scoreboard ticking over when the chances came their way.

Wendy Howell had a standout game for Ireland in their defensive circle, paired with Kirsty Owens. 

The PNG shooters were on-form but Howell broke their flow several times and gave her weary team a much-needed lift.

By half time, PNG were 35-14 ahead and their drive and focus did not fade in the second half. 

Both sides made several changes on court — PNG giving everyone a run on the last day.

Final standings: 1st: Samoa, 2nd: Singapore, 3rd: Botswana, 4th: Malaysia, 5th: Papua New Guinea, 6th: Republic of Ireland, Most Valuable Player Awards:, Botswana: Gosego Tsele, Malaysia: Yap Suo Kuen, Papua New Guinea: Lua Rikis, Republic of Ireland: Niamh Murphy, Samoa: Opheria Harder-Karatau, Singapore: Premila Hirubalan.