| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam completed the series against Maldives with a morale-boosting 76-18 victory as they tweak the final touches of their preparations ahead of the much-anticipated Asian Netball Championships (ANC) in Bangkok, Thailand later this month.
National coach Thilaka Jinadasa is adamant that her charges have been moving progressively well since the first game of the series.
The national coach has set a target of 18 to 20 goals per quarter which the team carried out and even spectacularly given the arrival of new players in the squad.
The national team has been hit with two withdrawals due to unforeseen circumstances with Siti Norsaihah Mohammad Adi Najmi and Noor Zinatul Azimah Haji Ibrahim replacing Nur Aimi Amalidya Zainidi and Nursazwilla Rosdie.
The withdrawn pair has been training for six months with the rest of the national squad putting players like Siti Norsaihah racing for fitness with the championships less than a fortnight away.
Norsaihah was not originally named in the senior squad but earned a recall to fill the void left by the defensive players.
Brunei Darussalam Netball National Team and Maldives Netball National Team in a group photo. – KHAIRIL HASSAN
Jinadasa and the national team will be encouraged with Norsaihah’s experience having been part of the team that captured bronze in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
However, the goal defender has not been in court for six months and has only linked up with the youth team a week before the youth trials at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex.
Norsaihah has been named in the youth team that will leave for the South Korea Invitational Netball Tournament next month.
Jinadasa said that the newly selected players will need to be attuned with the rhythm of the game with the rest of their teammates.
“We change the team’s strategy every year. It’s not the same centre passes strategy which we play every year. We need to change from time to time otherwise other countries will catch up your centre passes,” the former Sri Lanka coach said.
“Sometimes we play with goal attack and goal shooter but sometimes we call it overload so all the players go to one side. When new players join this kind of training, it is something hard to get straight away.”
“Getting into the team strategy is really important and she (Norsaihah) has a very short period. I’m hoping that she will catch up soon.”
Jinadasa was pleased with Norsaihah’s performance but still feel the need to increase her fitness levels with defensive players needing more than the attacking players.
“I’m happy with her play but her fitness has not met my expectations yet,” added Jinadasa.
Thilaka also expressed satisfaction of her team’s firepower with the shooters surpassing a successful conversion rate of more than 75 per cent with one shooter hitting a high of 83 per cent.
Brunei will play newcomers Afghanistan in the ANC first and their clash against inexperienced opponents has been portrayed as welcoming news.
“I’m still testing because I only have one game to play the two newcomers. Playing Afghanistan in the first game is good for us rather than meeting Sri Lanka or Malaysia who have experienced players,” she said.
“We can still set up with our play against Afghanistan before we play Japan, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.”
I see it as an advantage for the team to face the inexperienced teams first before the more experienced teams. The draw is good for us,” she said.
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