BASKETBALL

National ‘B’ Division Boys’ Final
Gan Eng Seng Secondary School vs Catholic High School
Wednesday, 25 April 2007 at Toa Payoh Sports Hall

This post-game report has been very kindly written and contributed by Wen Qian, a student from Catholic High and ardent reader of Red Sports.  Thanks again, Wen Qian!

Gan Eng Seng’s Pek Jia Rong (in white), ‘MVP’ of the National ‘B’ Boys’ Final, drives into a human wall in the form of Catholic High’s Chong Ming Xuan.  © Leslie Tan/Red Sports     

It was a game looked forward to by not only the players, but their teammates, old boys, and other basketball lovers.

Tension was very high as Catholic High looked to set a 3-year winning record for themselves and for Gan Eng Seng, they were looking to beat Catholic High for the first time in two years.

Earlier this year, the two powerhouses clashed twice, during the South Zone final and the National quarter-finals.

Although Gan Eng Seng were twice beaten hands down by Catholic High, they never showed despair and were never demoralised. They came into the hall today with a goal in mind, and were bent on achieving it. Their determination was in the air.

The game started with Catholic High on numerous fastbreaks by Shawn Lim (no.9). Catholic High enforced strict man-to-man defense which resulted in various turnovers from Gan Eng Seng. Point guard of Catholic High, Chiam Hong Yao (no.10) dazzled the crowd with several no-look passes and behind-the-back passes during their fastbreaks and centre Khaw Yeong Wooi (no.12) made his presence felt with numerous blocks and steals. Catholic High then led the quarter 21-10.

The second quarter was an extremely close game as both teams played terrific defense, where they competed to show their determination to win. Gan Eng Seng’s point guard Pek Jia Rong (no.6) proved to be the key player for his team with several assists while setting up his team’s offense. Catholic High outscored Gan Eng Seng in the quarter by one point and the half ended with the score of 25-37 in Catholic High’s favour.

Catholic High then outscored their opponent in the third quarter to lead 51-37.

The exciting part came during the fourth quarter when Jia Rong from Gan Eng Seng threatened to make a comeback with two 3-pointers. At the other end, Catholic High’s Shawn Lim sank a 3-pointer to enlarge the score difference to 15 points. This was immediatly answered by a 3-pointer from Gan Eng Seng’s Ng Zhao Feng (no.5). However, they did not manage to go any further as time ran out and the score was 61-50 at the final buzzer, to the chagrin of Gan Eng Seng’s players, students, and teachers alike.

Although Catholic High won the match, point guard Jia Rong (no.6) from Gan Eng Seng was named "MVP" (most valuable player) of the game, in recognition of his terrific play and leadership in the game. He had chalked up numerous points and assists in the game, leading his team in the hard fight.

This sums up the ‘B’ division basketball for this year, and let us all wait in anticipation for the start of the ‘C’ division.

Three cheers to both teams for the exciting match-up!



The Catholic High champions have a post-game interview on RedSportsTV with the presenter, a.k.a. Cheng Jie Jie.  © Wen Qian.

And this one’s for you, CS! 

Catholic High’s captain Chester Leow (middle) with his junior, Foo Chuan Shen (left) and school friend, Tan Zhi Yong (right).  © Leslie Tan/Red Sports