New Town beat Presbyterian High but both qualify for semi-finals in B Divison Basketball

By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

Jurong West Sports Hall, Friday, April 17, 2009 - New Town Secondary never trailed against title contenders Presbyterian High as they qualified for the semi-finals of the B Division Basketball Championship with a 59-52 victory.

With the victory, New Town also knocked out defending champions Catholic High after the latter lost to Presbyterian High by 22 points in the previous match. The three teams finished with identical 2-wins-1-losses records but the head-to-head matchups between the three teams left four-time defending champions Catholic High out in the cold.

Accurate shooting was the key as the West Zone champions rained down eight three-pointers on Presbyterian High's basket to dominate the first half and take a massive 17-point lead into half-time. Although Russel Low (Presbyterian High, #5) stepped up his game in the second half in an attempted comeback, New Town hung on for the deserved victory.

Hubert Neo (New Town, #12) got things going for his side with the first three-pointer as they jumped to an 11-0 lead to start the match. Presbyterian High had no reply and by the 5.30 minute mark, a timeout was called in a desperate attempt to regroup.

Russel got the first points for Presbyterian High with a layup, but New Town responded perfectly with Lor Weng Siang (New Town, #9) downing yet another three-pointer. Lee Shi Hao (New Town, #8) then rounded off the perfect quarter for New Town with another three, giving them a 19-7 lead.

Hong Kai (New Town, #10) continued where his team left off as he scored his second three-pointer of the match to start the second. Weng Siang and Shi Hao both also made their presence felt with plenty of layups, adding to the team's wonderful perimeter shooting. This allowed them to take an immense 19-point lead - the largest of the match.

At the other end, Presbyterian High were depending on Russel to put in points for them as he scored all 12 points in the second quarter through free throws and layups. His efforts, however, were not enough to significantly close the gap as New Town wrapped up the half at 36-19.

But Presbyterian High came back fighting as they went on an 8-2 run to start the third. Yao Ming (Presbyterian High, #8) scored some vital three-pointers of his own, and Russel also began to impose himself on the match, making use of his height to reduce New Town's lead.

With Presbyterian High playing at their best, it didn't take long them draw level; and with a Benjamin (Presbyterian High, #14) free throw, things were all square once again at 42-42.

Two free throws by Weng Siang, however, still gave New Town the slim lead at 46-43 at the end of the third.

Both team started out cautiously in the final quarter with Weng Siang only scoring through a free throw after two minutes of play. Russel responded with a free throw and layup of his own with six minutes on the clock, to trail New Town by three at 46-49.

Not to be outdone, Shi Hao downed a three-pointer, his team's ninth of the match, to give them a 52-46 lead. Shamir (New Town, #7) then extended New Town's lead with a layup.

Although Russel led a late push, it was not enough as Weng Siang topped off a great performance with his team's tenth three-pointer and a free throw.

"Our shooting in the first half was extremely sharp! I think that was key in the match. Russel played well, especially in the second half when he played much better and as a result, the match was much closer. We came into the match with nothing to lose. It is not like we are defending champions, so we just played our best," said Lor Weng Siang after the match.

When asked who they preferred in the semi-finals, he said, "Anglican High! Well, on paper we aren't the best team. So we would just play our best and see how it goes."

Top scorers
Russel Low (Presbyterian High, #5) – 28 points
Lor Weng Siang (New Town, #9) – 22 points
Shi Hao (New Town, #8) – 14 points

Presbyterian High Lineup#4 Sean
Russel (#5)
Bing Yao (#6)
Jonathan (#7)
Yao Ming (#8)
Andrew (#10)
Jun Jie (#11)
Nathan (#12)
Steven (#13)
Benjamin (#14)
Ivan (#15)

New Town Lineup
Shi Jie (#4)
Trevor (#5)
Jie Loon (#6)
Shamir (#7)
Lee Shi Hao (#8)
Lor Weng Siang (#9)
Hong Kai (#10)
Amir Irfan (#11)
Hubert Neo (#12)
Isaac (#13)
Chin Heng (#14)
Jun Jie (#15)