England, Canada and Scotland get wins under their belts as the Commonwealth Games continues.
Day 2 commenced with England taking on Malaysia in the men’s competition. Malaysia started off strong within the opening minutes courtesy of Freday Tan Yei Bing. However, Lee Manning soon levelled the scores and pushed England out in front. Once the hosts got into double digits it was hard for Malaysia to comeback. England were victorious 19-9.
After the game, England’s Charlie McIntyre spoke about how the 3×3 format benefits him as a player.
“My old coach Jack Gibbs introduced me to 3×3. We’d play it a lot in his back garden, that’s what helped me develop my skillset. I feel like I suit the 3×3 game, it’s definitely helped me get more confident as a player. With no coaches present you have to be a leader so the format has definitely helped me in that respect.”
The next game saw a impressive performance from Canada as they beat Kenya 17-1 in the women’s tournament. Kady Dandeneau top scored with 7 points.
Post-match she talked about how it felt to get on court for the first time.
“We wanted to start the tournament strong and I think we came out and did just that. It allowed us to get used to the environment and get a feel for what it’s going to be like as the competition goes on.”
Canada’s hot streak continued into the next game as they got the win over Northern Ireland, 13-5. Colin Higgins led the way with 6 points.
Post-game he elaborated on how Canada executed their game plan.
“We knew Northern Ireland were really fast but didn’t have much height. Because of this I was able to attack and get mismatches. This also allowed us to generate shots off that for Bo and Vince. Things went well today and hopefully it’s enough to get us to the semifinals.”
Scotland ended the day on a high note with a 16-2 win over South Africa. Robyn Love and Jude Hamer helped Scotland gain an early lead which the held onto for the entirety of the game.
Speaking after the match, Jude Hamer explained how essential this win was for the team.
“We needed this win to get to the semifinals so it was important for us to get that. Yesterday was tough for us, it was a big occasion and we weren’t necessarily ready for it. We’ve not played in front of big crowds recently because of COVID. Now we’ve gotten used to it and we know what it feels like to be out there. It was good to figure out what works for us and bounce back to remind ourselves what we can do.”
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Text: Dylan Cummings | Photo: Uli Gasper