By Rebecca Yip/Red Sports
The battle of the big boys — Lakksman (#13) of Ahmad Ibrahim lays up over Toh Tze Cong (#15) of Catholic High. Lakksman fouled out in the fourth quarter, but not before scoring 24 points for his team. Tze Cong had a game-high 33 points, and remarkably, he did all his scoring before fouling out in the last minute of the third quarter. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Thursday, August 16, 2012 — In an emotionally-charged game which saw five players foul out, Catholic High overcame a resurgent Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary to repeat last year’s performance of making the final of the National C Division Basketball Championship.
Catholic High came into the match with the reputation as South Zone Champions, while Ahmad Ibrahim were riding on a high after beating North Zone Champions Presbyterian High and West Zone Champions Unity Secondary in Round 2.
Catholic High led throughout most of the first half as Ahmad Ibrahim had a hard time trying to break through Catholic High’s tight defence. When they did get near the basket, Ahmad Ibrahim’s lack of accuracy let them down. Ahmad Ibrahim’s defence also could not contain Catholic High’s top scorer, Toh Tze Cong (#15), as he racked up a game-high 33 points despite fouling out just at the end of the third quarter.
However, slight complacency by Catholic High saw Ahmad Ibrahim slowly creep back. Ahmad Ibrahim managed to narrow the deficit to just two points at 46-48 in the 3rd quarter, due to Choo Yi Zhao’s (#9) and Lakksman Ganapathy’s (#13) strong offensive partnership.
Catholic High managed to pull away to lead by 11 points at 60-49, but in the last minute of the third quarter, Tze Cong (#15) became the first player to get fouled out after an apparent offensive foul on Yi Zhao (#9), amidst loud protests by his bench and cheers by the Ahmad Ibrahim supporters. This significantly changed the morale of both sides and turned the game around as the third quarter came to a close.
With three of Ahmad Ibrahim’s players, Yi Zhao (#9), Lakksman Ganapathy (#13) and Wong Chee Kian (#15), on four fouls each, the last quarter was a tense affair as none of them wanted to suffer the same fate as Tze Cong (#15). Chee Kian (#15) was the first to accumulate five fouls two minutes into the fourth quarter, but Ahmad Ibrahim never lost steam. With five minutes left in the quarter, Ahmad Ibrahim were only two points behind at 63-65.
Ahmad Ibrahim found themselves in unfamiliar territory when both Yi Zhao (#19) and Lakksman (#13) subsequently fouled out as well. Ahmad Ibrahim have rarely played a game with any of their main five players missing from the court. Catholic High’s Hu Zhi Cang (#8) then became the fifth player to get benched after accumulating five fouls.
Without their key players, the remaining Ahmad Ibrahim players were completely outplayed by Catholic High in the final minutes and could not put in any points after Lakksman (#13) left the court.
Catholic consistently put in 20 points or more every quarter to win the match 83-69 and book their place in the final.
Catholic High will play against Dunman Secondary, who beat Unity Secondary 73-65 in the other semi-final, next Thursday, August 23rd, at Jurong East Sports Hall at 2.30pm.
Ahmad Ibrahim will face Unity Secondary for third on Wednesday, August 22nd, at Clementi Sports Hall.
Score by Quarter
Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary v Catholic High
1st Q: 13-20
2nd Q: 19-20 (32-40)
3rd Q: 19-20 (51-60)
4th Q: 18-23
Final: 69-83
Top Scorers
Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary
Choo Yi Zhao (#9) — 25 points
Lakksman A/L Ganapathy (#13) — 24 points
Wee Zhi Ming (#7) — 8 points
Wong Chee Kian (#15) — 7 points
Catholic High
Toh Tze Cong (#15) — 33 points
Nicholas Woon (#13) — 11 points
Darryl Soh (#9) — 8 points
Zhen Yu Hui (#5) — 7 points
Hu Zhi Cang (#8) — 7 points
Ahmad Ibrahim Roster
Wayne Ng Joon Heng (#4), Benedict Oh Sheng Yang (#5), Daeson Tang Zhi Yi (#6), Wee Zhi Ming (#7), Dylan Chia Wei Wen (#8), Choo Yi Zhao (#9), Javier Chew Jun Hao (#10), Eugene Koh Lian Qun (#11), Soh Ming Wee (#12), Lakksman A/L Ganapathy (#13), Lau Beng Yew (#14), Wong Chee Kian (#15)
Catholic High Roster
Teo Yew Teng (#4), Zhen Yu Hui (#5), Woo Jian Zhe (#6), Seow Li Da (#7), Hu Zhi Cang (#8), Darryl Soh (#9), Zong Ming Shin (#10), Ryan Lee (#11), Warren Wong (#12), Nicholas Woon (#13), Lloyd Ng (#14), Toh Tze Cong (#15)
National C Division Basketball Championship – full fixtures and results
More photos in gallery next page
[…] Thursday, August 16, 2012 — In an emotionally-charged game which saw five players foul out, Catholic High overcame a resurgent Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary 83-69 to repeat last year’s performance of making the final of the National C Division Basketball […]
[…] With this win, Dunman will now progress to the final to meet Catholic High, who managed to beat Ahmad Ibrahim 83-69 in the other semi-final. […]