The 2023 edition of the Mirxes Nations Cup saw Papua New Guinea Pepes secure their first win of the week-long tournament, which takes place at OCBC Arena until 28 October 2023.
On Sunday 22nd October, the Mirxes Nations Cup kicked off with an exhilarating showdown between Singapore and PNG on Sunday 22nd October, with the PNG Pepes winning by just two goals 52-50.
The first 15 minutes of the game were a back-and-forth battle, with the Pepes holding a slim lead at the end of first quarter 13-12. A strong performance in the second quarter allowed PNG to stretch their lead to seven goals at one point in the quarter. At halftime, Pepes extended their lead with a 29-24 score line.
Pepes continued their strong performance into the third quarter to further extend lead, ending the quarter with a seven-goal advantage 42-35.
In the final 15 minutes of the match, Singapore mounted a remarkable comeback to overcome the seven-goal deficit and even briefly take the lead 45-44. However, critical errors by Singapore allowed PNG regain the lead.
Despite a crucial intercept by Singapore’s Jamie Lim at 50-51 with one minute remaining, Singapore could not capitalise and instead turned the ball over, resulting in a Pepes goal that secured their victory 52-50.
Pepes co-captain Maddison Siyvia said: “We knew that each quarter, Singapore was going to come back really hard. We just had to take each quarter as it came. Every centre pass; just trying to convert it. And wow, they really brought it back in the last quarter, so we had to really fight for it. Amazing first game; love it!”
In Sunday’s second game, Canada scored a four-goal victory against their more experienced counterparts Sri Lanka to win 50-46.
In the day's final match, the Singapore A team faced the Cook Islands and came short in the last quarter, losing by three goals 53-50.
In today’s fixtures (23 Oct 2023)
- 3pm SGT – Singapore A vs Sri Lanka
- 5pm SGT– Canada vs Papua New Guinea
- 7pm SGT – Cook Islands vs Singapore