Pepes finish sixth

AN injury-hit PNG Pepes lost to Sri Lanka 73-71 in the fifth place playoff of the FairPrice Foundation Nations Cup on Sunday afternoon. 
It was finals galore at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall in Singapore on Sunday with the final standings in the Nations Cup being determined and Fiji lifting the trophy for the first time after an enthralling fight against hosts Singapore winning 51-42.
The Pepes went up against Sri Lanka for the second time in less than 24 hours with a reversal of fortunes this time as Sri Lanka got their first win of the competition to secure fifth position on the table.
Despite winning three of the four quarters, a 10-goal margin in the second period giving Sri Lanka a 32-38 advantage which proved too much for the Pepes to bounce back from.
Sri Lanka came out fighting and looked the fresher, hungrier side throughout while the injury-riddled PNG squad looked tired as they had played most of the week with only a nine player roster after three players succumbed to injuries.
Pepes co-captain Lua Rikis conveyed the team’s disappointment. 
“Really disappointing. We beat them yesterday (Saturday).
“But they wanted the win and they went out hard. We were too relaxed. We reduced the deficit to three goals but it’s been the nine of us trying to pull it all together.
“There has been seven of us playing the entire last three games so our bodies are a bit tired,” Rikis said
“But it was good. It is the first or second internationals for most of our girls.
“The different teams have been a great learning experience.
“It’s been good and I have enjoyed it,” Rikis, who also won the Most Valuable Player for the Pepes, said.
In the cup playoff Singapore, as expected, came out firing and held Fiji to a 14-11 lead after the first quarter.
The fast-paced play continued and Fiji, ranked No. 7 in the world got into a scoring-stride and finished the half 28-18 ahead.
Singapore threw everything they had at Fiji after the break and won the quarter 10-13, thanks to some confident shooting from Charmaine Soh (GS) and support play from Chen Huifen (GA).
In the final quarter the hosts tried valiantly to rein Fiji in but the Pacific Islanders stayed strong and took the quarter 13-11 for a final score of 51-42.
Winning coach Una Rokoura said: “It was an awesome game.
“We knew Singapore were not going to be easy, they wanted to win.
“We had a few tricks up our sleeves and the second quarter was our best to give us lead.
“I told the girls that they had to imagine the second half of the game as the last 30 minutes of their life.
“They put in that extra mile and I am very proud of them.”
Singapore’s coach Kate Carpenter was pleased with the performance.
“It was a good final and Fiji are a strong team and I thought we played well.
“Maybe just not good enough against this Fiji side, they were just too good,” Carpenter said.
In the third place playoff Malaysia beat Namibia 52-47.