Contributed by reader

Singapore Basketball Centre, Sunday, April 12, 2009 – Home United saw off bogey team Chong Ghee 63-58 on the opening day of the National Basketball League.

From the start, it looked like it was going to be Chong Ghee’s day. The team that had beaten Home United the most number of times in the last five seasons was firing on all cylinders, playing fearsome defense and causing many turnovers and missed shots.

On offense, Chong Ghee made a strong start and had a mix of inside baskets and 3-point bombs. Chong Ghee looked to be controlling the tempo of the match. However, Home United managed to keep the score close and played some strong defense of their own. At the end of the 1st quarter, Chong Ghee were leading 13-11.

By this point, it seemed obvious to the crowd that this match was not going to be anything like the first two matches of the day. Defense was dominating the day and both teams looked set to struggle on offense. For Chong Ghee, they could not find a way to break an experienced Home United defense, who seemed to be in the passing lanes all night long.

Turnovers started to pile up for Chong Ghee as the game went by. However, Home United could not capitalise and played some horrendous offense with missed layups and rushed 3-point shots. Even when they fought hard to get the offensive rebounds, they missed point-blank put-backs from right underneath the basket.

It was only some key steals toward the end of the 1st half and fast break layups that pulled Home United back and kept the score close. At half-time, Chong Ghee were leading 32-26.

The offensive struggles for both teams continued through the third quarter. No team had scored more than 20 points in a quarter yet and the third was no different. Home United scored 14 while Chong Ghee had 15 points.

Chong Ghee appeared to have the match in hand, having won all three quarters so far and they led 47-40 at the end of the third. However, this was when Home United was most dangerous.

Perennial slow starters, Home United have a reputation for starting off really slow in the first half, only to come back and win big in the second half. Was it going to be the same today?

It was clear that the crowd was behind Chong Ghee on this day. Cheers greeted each Chong Ghee score and the crowd was urging them on when they played defense. They had been playing well the whole match so far and they had the experience of beating Home United in previous seasons as well.

The turning point of the game came when Home United subbed in their key veterans who started to play with purpose and control. The tempo of the game started to shift towards Home United and their defense seemed to pick up an additional gear.

Offensively, Home United finally made their first 3-pointer of the day and scored their first 20-point quarter. In the end, the crowd started to disperse when it became clear that Home United had the match sewn up with a 7-point lead with only two and a half minutes remaining.

Chong Ghee, always the battler, never gave up and continued to chase the game. One fast break layup and one 3-pointer later, it became a one-possession game. Chong Ghee were simply not going to give up.

In the end, free throws decided the game and to Home United’s credit, they made their free throws when it counted. Having missed almost 15 free throws in the first half alone, they made the final four free throws to ice the game and walk away 64-58 winners.

The opening match of the 2009 National Basketball League season began with a triple header of marquee matchups. Traditional powerhouses Tong Whye and Eng Tat met in the first game where 3 pointers rained in from all over the court.

In the second match, young upstarts Minyi matched up with a SAFSA team rejuvenated with veterans and produced possibly one of the highest scoring matches of the tournament.

The first day ended with Eng Tat, SAFSA, and Home United coming out winners. All the matches were close till the end (and would have been closer if Pathman from Tong Whye had not fouled out in the first game), and this season looks the most wide open in recent memory.

With such keen competition and crowd interest, the 2009 NBL season promises to be one of the best in years.

Quarter by Quarter Score

Home United vs Chong Ghee
1st Qtr 11:13
2nd Qtr 15:19
3rd Qtr 14:15
4th Qtr 23:11

Home United (HUBC)

Jersey #/Name/Points/Fouls
#4 Mitchell 5 2
#5 Alan Lim Shijie
#6 Shanmugadas 8 2
#7 Tan Kee Chai Jason 5 3
#8 Derek Aw Chi Tong 5 0
#9 Koong Kum Hoong 5 4
#10 Koh Meng Koon 27 4
#11 Chua Boon heng 3 2
#12 Gary Koh Kok Siang
#13 Khng En Ning 0 0
#14 Wang Weizhi
#15 Teo Chun Hoe 0 2
#16 Tay Wee Khong 0 0
#17 Victor Tan Han Qiang 5 2
#18 Melvin Tan Wee Yao 0 0

Total team pts: 63
Total team fouls: 19

Chong Ghee

Jersey #/Name/Points/Fouls
#4 14 2
#5
#6 4 5
#7 9 3
#8 2 5
#9 4 4
#10 0 1
#11 16 3
#12 4 2
#13 4 5
#14 0 0
#15 0 2
#16 1 4
#17
#18

Total pts: 58
Total fouls: 36