Story and pictures by reader Ian Chew

An RI player fights his way through a Peirce defence. (Photo © Ian Chew)

CCAB, Thursday, February 21, 2008 – In the end, Raffles Institution (RI) had to go through a third consecutive nerve-wracking game to pip Peirce Secondary 38-35 at the buzzer. A last second lay-up and a subsequent free throw by a Raffles player ensured that RI won despite having trailed most of the game.

Once again, Wang Jia Cheng (#15) of RI came through for his team, scoring most of his 11 points in the final quarter. Ravins Cheung (#11) of RI also played well, scoring 13 points for his team.

Peirce only had themselves to blame, after they committed three consecutive costly turnovers in the last few minutes of the game to present RI with a golden opportunity.

The Peirce team was led by Zuo Kuan (#4) with 11 points and Darryl Tong (#7) with 7 points. They led 13-10 after the first quarter, 18-16 at the half, 27-24 at the end of the third quarter before losing the game 35-38.

Although the game was a low scoring one, it has a lot of bearing on the eventual qualifiers from the group, with the teams yet to play Gan Eng Seng.

Notes: In the latest match played on Friday, February 22, Gan Eng Seng had a surprisingly easy 55-28 victory over RI. Injury-prone Wang Jia Cheng (#15) of RI came down yet again with an ankle sprain. Peirce bounced back from their loss with a 48-37 win over St Andrew’s.

Despite key player Wang Jia Cheng (#15) suffering a cramp in the last few minutes, RI managed to eke out a win over Peirce. (Photo © Ian Chew)

A last-second layup and subsequent free throw won the game for RI. (Photo © Ian Chew)