Unity beat Raffles Institution in basketball semi-final to set up final date with Anglican High

Story by Les Tan. Pictures by Lai Jun Wei.

Singapore Basketball Centre, Thursday, August 21, 2008 – Unity Secondary beat Raffles Institution 76-47 in the C Division Boys Basketball Championship semi-final this afternoon to set themselves up for a mouth-watering final clash with Anglican High.

A strong RI performance in the first quarter held their supporters enthralled and contemplating a final appearance but a dominant second quarter display from Unity set the stage for their ultimate victory.

The first quarter saw RI set a blistering pace to take the early lead and it was only at the 5:02 mark that Unity finally clawed their way into the lead through Remus Low (#9). However, that proved shortlived as Jordaan Goh (#8) of RI put them back up at 9-8.

Desmond (#6) of Unity then lit up the court with an baseline-to-baseline charge that ended in a layup to get his team to within one at 10-11 but RI pulled ahead and led 15-11 when a beautiful angled pass through by Justin Chua (#9) to his teammate #11 ended in a basket.

Remus Low (#9, Unity) then went off clutching his left leg from a collision but Unity were not dismayed as Peter Soo (#5) sank a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left for a 17-16 Unity lead. Jordaan Goh then missed an easy layup at the death of the first quarter and RI walked off trailing by one.

Any questions spectators had about whether RI could sustain the same frenetic, hustling defence they employed in the first quarter were soon answered early in the second quarter. By 8:01 on the clock, Unity had established a 10-point 26-16 lead. Dominant on the rebounds, the longer limbed and taller Unity boys were scooping up offensive rebounds to give themselves second and third chances on their attacks.

RI, when the opportunities presented themselves in simple jumpers and layups but probably too harried by Unity, missed. Alex Loh had a standout quarter for Raffles with a seven-point contribution, including one 3-pointer. But the damage had been done as Unity outscored RI 21-11 in the second to establish a 12-point 39-27 half-time lead.

By 6:42 of the third quarter, a 3-pointer by the Unity #10 gave his team a commanding 46-27 lead and they hit the half-century mark with a two from Delvin who grabbed a rebound and nailed the basket with his second chance. It was now 50-28 and Unity took the opportunity to rest their tall starters and give the bench a run out. They were still strong enough to outscore RI 20-10 in the third quarter, with Peter Soo of Unity standing out with two 3-pointers.

The fourth quarter was now academic, with RI still giving their best but the early exertions had taken their toll, having fought from the first quarter to overcome the significant height advantage of the Unity players. Unity again outscored RI in the fourth quarter 17-10 to wrap up the semi-final by a whopping 29-point margin at 76-47.

Unity will now face Anglican High in the final on Tuesday, August 26, 3.30pm at Toa Payoh Sports Hall.

More pictures in the gallery.

Editor’s note: If you recognise yourself or your team mates in any of the photos, feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update the captions accordingly. Thanks!