Brunei Darussalam fell to a 55-20 defeat to Sri Lanka to finish third of Group 'B' in the Asian Netball Championships at Bangkok, Thailand yesterday.

Sri Lanka finished second and qualified for the semi-finals against Singapore with Malaysia already confirmed top and will face Hong Kong.

Brunei will play Chinese Taipei tomorrow while Japan have a tough test against Thailand in the 5th to 8th place playoff.

The Asian final has been contested between Singapore and Sri Lanka in each of the last three occasions with the former edging the latter by two titles to one.

Sri Lanka have been the most successful team in the competition's history with four wins including the 2009 side which romped to the title under current Brunei coach Thilaka jinadasa.

Reigning holders Singapore is aiming to equal the record and become the first side to win the title for a third consecutive time.

Brunei opened their Asian Netball Championships in a 51-20 victory to Japan but endured a 63-17 defeat to Malaysia who won the inaugural competition.

However, the Royal Bees have shown marked improvement compared to the previous edition and despite a 55-20 defeat it was a better game compared to their last meeting in Singapore.

Sri Lanka stormed to a 78-25 victory over the fast-improving Brunei who was forced in making two late replacements close to the continental meet.

The captain and co-captain of the Brunei team told the Bulletin last month that they are setting their sights for a 5th place finish.

The Royal Bees have fresh memories over their 56-33 loss to Chinese Taipei in the group stages in the last edition and will expect another tricky tie.

Brunei could only finished seventh at best in the last tournament in Singapore following a dramatic 58-56 defeat to India after extra time in the playoffs.

They beat Japan 44-37 in the subsequent game which they also improved in enlarging the victory margin this year against the same team.

Brunei hope to meet the winner of the Thailand and Japan game if they successfully negotiate the Chinese Taipei.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]