Story By Zachary Foo/Red Sports
Benedict Ong (#7) of Dunman lays up for two over the defence of Hilman (#5) of Jurong. Benedict had a game-high 22 points. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Wednesday, August 28, 2013 — Dunman Secondary made its second consecutive final appearance in two years with a 68–60 win over Jurong Secondary in the National C Division Basketball Championship. It was an intense battle of attrition which saw both teams deadlocked for three quarters, with the lead exchanging hands multiple times.
Benedict Ong Jun Rong (Dunman #7) led all scorers in the game with 22 points.
In the first quarter, Dunman showcased something rarely seen at the C division level, utilising double screens on offense to free up their shooters while Tan Zun Wen (Jurong #10) showed sublime footwork in the post, shaking two defenders in the post to score.
The scores were tied at 12–12 for close to four minutes. It was as if there was a lid on the basket, as both teams jacked up shots at the rim with no success. Benedict (Dunman #7) finally broke the monotony with a layup with one minute left.
Fast breaks were the story of the second quarter, in a sequence that spanned eight possessions. Both teams would find themselves with an easy opportunity to score, but they would inexplicably miss the shot.
Darren Ng (Dunman #6) crumpled to the floor on one possession, with what seemed to be a knee issue that plagued him for the rest of the game. Dunman started to find its groove as the quarter wore on, looking sharper on the breaks and converting layups. Jurong seemed to be extremely shoddy and were riddled with mistakes in their play, yet they only found themselves down three (33–30) heading into half-time.
Dunman found itself clinging to a 51–49 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Their determination to make the final showed, as they started to break away from Jurong with six minutes left in the quarter.
Jurong were missing open 3-pointers and Dunman made them pay on the other end, corralling the misses and throwing solid passes to the other end for easy layups. As the buzzer sounded, Dunman’s bench erupted as the players celebrated their 68–60 win as well as making their second consecutive final.
Darren (Dunman #6) said: “I feel happy for my teammates. Nine of them have not had the experience at this level before, which made them nervous in the second half, however they managed to step up and play well. We will play hard in the next match as we want the championship!”
Shukri (Dunman #9) reflected on the match. “We did not play our best today, but I am really impressed by my Sec 2 teammates. They have trained hard over this past year and really proved themselves today.”
His subsequent reply about the championship match seemed to encapsulate Dunman’s hopes in one sentence. ” I don’t care about the score, we just want to win!”
Dunman will now play Unity Secondary in the championship final on Monday, September 2. Unity beat North Vista Secondary to qualify for the final.
Scoring by Quarter
Dunman Secondary vs Jurong Secondary
1st Q: 17–12
2nd Q: 16–18 (33–30)
3rd Q: 18–19 (51–49)
4th Q: 17–11 (68–60)
Top Scorers
Dunman Secondary
Benedict Ong Jun Rong (#7) – 22 points
Jurong Secondary
Mohamad Naseer bin Sahul Hameed (#14) – 15 points
Dunman Roster
Dino Chew An Wei (#4), Cedric Lim Meng Wee (#5), Darren Ng Jian Liang (#6), Benedict Ong Jun Rong (#7), Zeng Ming Hao (#8), Mohamed Shukri in Manaf (#9), Koh Jun Hao (#10), Chua Sheng Da (#11), Aloysious Lim Shao En (#12), Jeffrey Chao Hao Jie (#13), Raymond Chu Siang (#14), Declan Goh (#15)
Jurong Roster
Chua Qiwei (#4), Mohamad Hilman (#5), Samson Sim (#6), Gregory Chan (#7), Jack Teo (#8), Chen Kai Lin (#9), Tan Zun Wen (#10), Isaac Ong (#11), Venneth Chua (#12), Hairul Symail bin Marhdan (#13), Mohamad Naseer bin Sahul Hameed (#14), Mohamad Norisham bin Nararuddin (#15)
2013 National C Division Boys’ Basketball Championship – fixtures and results
For more photos, go to: Red Sports Images
N.B. Photos in the gallery will be deleted after some time.
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