The Singapore Vandas produced a valiant display in front of more than 1,600 fans at the OCBC Arena, but ultimately fell 55-42 to defending champions Kenya in the Singlife Nations Cup 2025 final.
Both teams started brightly, trading goals throughout the opening minutes before Kenya edged ahead 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. Anticipating Singapore’s fast-paced attacking play, Kenya’s goal shooter Lydia Nyapere adjusted her role to support the team outside the circle — a move that paid off as she and Hellen Sinoya converted all their first-half attempts to take a 29-21 lead into the break.
However, Kenya’s rhythm faltered with passing errors, and Nyapere’s temporary ankle injury forced a brief reshuffle. Singapore capitalised in the third quarter with sharp shooting from Amandeep Chahal and Goh Wei Ping and strong defensive pressure that limited Kenya’s options. Backed by the fervent home crowd, the Vandas outscored Kenya 13-11 to trail by just six entering the final period.
Kenya’s experience ultimately showed as they rallied to seal the win. Nyapere and Sinoya were flawless in the final 15 minutes, converting all 15 attempts to secure back-to-back titles. The duo ended with exceptional shooting percentages — 95% and 93% respectively.
Kenya captain Parin Nasambu Simiyu credited their composure and communication for the victory: “Coming into the tournament, we knew that the other teams were tough opponents and winning the championship again would not be easy, so we prepared ourselves well. Above all, staying in unity and playing with love have also played a very big role in our team winning here today.
Singapore head coach Tara Steel praised her players for adapting under pressure: “We got off to a bit of a nervous start again in terms of skill execution under physical pressure. We weren’t moving with our speed and agility in terms of angles as much as we’d discussed, so we found it hard to score through our centre passes. We tried to address that with changes at quarter time, and we were able to do that for a period. I was super happy with our defensive response at times too.
“In the third quarter, we put ourselves in the opportunity to not have to chase the margin going into the last. We won that third quarter, cut down our error rates, but then weren’t able to win as much ball back. Sometimes the challenge with netball is you start to fix one area and you can’t be successful in another. Credit to the Kenyans, they were consistent, they played a really strong game, and they kept challenging us on the things that are their strengths. While we were able to come up with answers sometimes, we weren’t consistent enough to be able to get back into the match.”
The Australian added that the tournament served as ideal preparation ahead of next month’s Southeast Asian Games. She added, “We’re still building, and the depth for me is a big opportunity and challenge for our squad. This time last year, we lost to Kenya by 20 or 22 goals in two games. To lose to them by five and then 13 in the final, it’s still an improvement from last year. Everybody had growth moments throughout the week, so we’ll only be stronger as a team for that experience, and it prepares us really well going into the SEA Games.
“We’ll play different opponents in the SEA Games, and this was a good chance to look at Malaysia, who are one of our main rivals, and they will have learnt a lot too. For us, the next weeks are about rest and recovery, then fine-tuning our specifics for each opponent at the SEA Games. We were trying to win the tournament here, (but) a silver medal is still a good outcome and what better preparation for a tournament than playing in a tournament?”
Singapore co-captain Toh Kai Wei echoed her coach’s sentiments: “The team did well, and I appreciate everybody’s effort. Kudos to Kenya for giving us such a good fight. I think we will take good lessons from this game, like how to come back stronger to fight the opponents and how to chase the score. It’s still a learning process for the team. For us, we tried to open up our attacks so that we could pull the defenders wider and have someone come in through the middle. It was successful at times and unsuccessful at other times, so that is something we will have to work on.
“There are lots of positives from this season. We found out what we aren’t good at, so that’s what we’re going to brush up on while strengthening what we’ve done well. Throughout all these games, we learnt a lot about each other and we tried a few combinations. It’s a good sign to have things to work on because we’re always looking to improve.
“It’s been a year since we last played in front of a home crowd, and we’re very happy there are so many people here. When we were down, we heard them cheering for us, and when we scored a goal, it felt so good to have everybody cheering for us.”
Elsewhere, Papua New Guinea claimed third place with a 69-54 win over Malaysia, while Singapore A ended their campaign on a high with a 53-39 victory over debutants Isle of Man.
