NWYC2025 - Tonga beats Singapore with narrowest of margins

Tonga won the battle for 13th/14th place against Singapore at the Tercentenary Sports Hall.

A toughly contested opening saw the first two quarters played out with only narrow margins between the teams. At halftime, Tonga led 29-25 in what was an entertaining and tightly matched encounter.

Tonga had been pushed hard by Gibraltar the previous day, facing a vibrant home crowd to reach this 13th/14th place playoff. Singapore, meanwhile, had faced Trinidad and Tobago in another hard-fought contest. Both sides now played for pride, having already secured the wins that brought them to this stage.

Singapore showed determination in the third quarter, levelling at 29-29 with four straight goals. They added a fifth to take the lead, forcing Tonga to respond quickly to make it 30-30. Tonga then regained control with a two-goal cushion at 32-30.

Missed opportunities began to cost Singapore, with lapses in delivery and finishing cancelling out the impact of their strong start to the quarter. They managed to regain some composure under the post, staying within two goals, but Tonga stretched their advantage to 36-33 with five minutes left in the third.

The contest continued with just three or four goals between the teams, Tonga working to protect their lead while Singapore kept chasing. By the end of the third quarter, Tonga led 41-38 with everything still to play for.

Singapore’s challenge began to falter early in the final quarter as Tonga pulled ahead 43-38. Singapore responded strongly, closing the gap again to three goals. With ten minutes left, they pulled it back to just two following a warning against Tonga’s defenders. A defensive turnover offered a chance to cut the margin further, but Singapore failed to capitalise.

After a scoreless spell, Tonga struck twice in quick succession to lead 46-42 with seven minutes remaining. They extended the gap to six, putting extra-time hopes out of reach as Singapore began to tire.

Despite some good defensive interceptions, Singapore couldn’t make their chances count. Tonga themselves missed opportunities, and with two minutes left the score was 49-45. Singapore reduced it to three, but Tonga finally netted their 50th goal to make it 50-46.

Tonga held on to protect their lead and finished 50-47, securing 13th place in the final rankings.