Contributed by reader Ian Ho

Singapore Basketball Centre, Sunday, July 26, 2009 – Minyi edged out Tagawa 63-60 in the boys Under-19 final to claim the title at the 2009 Milo Junior Basketball Championship, also known as the Youth Cup.

As usual, Minyi’s opponents were always going to be considered the underdogs, but with both teams unbeaten throughout the tournament, most were expecting a close contest.

Tagawa, jumped out to a big lead as national player Tan Chin Hong led the way with two consecutive three-pointers in the first quarter alone. His team held the largest lead of the game at 23-11, as Raven scored two layups to help fuel the 15-6 run.

Pung Jiawei, however, hit four straight jumpers, most of them well-contested, to help close the gap for Minyi. Kok Wai also drained a 3-pointer during this stretch as Minyi started to claw their way back into the game.

In the second quarter, however, Minyi started to rally behind point guard Edwin, whose crisp passes and accurate three-point shooting narrowed Tagawa’s lead to only one at the half.

Tagawa continued to maintain their lead in the second half, with Minyi hot on their heels. Jiarong hit a three-pointer to open a four-point lead for Tagawa at 38-34. However, Minyi’s Alfie grabbed a huge rebound on the next possession and almost had an opportunity for the three-point play as he was fouled on the shot, but the ball rolled harmlessly off the rim.

He then made one of two free throws to reduce the deficit to three. After a turnover and some nice swinging passes, Edwin found Minyi’s #12, who scored his first field goal of the game with a calmly-hit 3-pointer from the right baseline to tie the game at 38.

Victoria Junior College student Macus Yap then did a nifty spin move, followed by a tough shot to give Tagawa a 40-38 lead. Jiarong stole the ball from Edwin and fed it to a trailing Chin Hong for what seemed like an easy 2 and a four-point lead, but he was blocked emphatically by Kok Wai.

Minyi then ran the ball down the court with Jiawei feeding Hong Kwang, who drove past Macus and laid in a sweet two points as the game was tied once again at 40-40.

Tagawa were doing a great job on Minyi star center Alfie, as he struggled to make his usual shots and offensive rebounds. But they could not contain his teammates, as Jiawei ended the third quarter by hitting a shot from about 20 feet to cap a brilliant Minyi comeback, their early 12-point deficit long forgotten as they took the lead going into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Tagawa were in serious foul trouble, and their situation was compounded even further when Clarence Leong missed 5 straight free throws at one point.

Meanwhile, Edwin continued his domination of the fourth quarter as he hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline before assisting his teammates on numerous easy layups. He also stole the ball from Jiarong while the latter was dribbling upcourt, and skied for an easy two to extend Minyi's lead to four.

After Alfie scored a rare basket, Jiarong hit yet another 3-pointer to reduce the deficit to three. At the other end, Tagawa struggled to convert easy baskets with Macus and Tagawa’s #4 missing easy layups. Clarence drew numerous fouls but was unable to convert his free throws. Jiawei and Kok Wai, however, went down with injuries as physical play from Tagawa clearly took its toll on them.

But Minyi managed to hang on to claim the championship, as the final buzzer eventually sounded to signal a well-deserved 63-60 win for them. Minyi have now won back-to-back Boys’ Under-19 titles.