BASKETBALL

National Primary Inter-school Senior Boys’ Final
Kheng Cheng Primary School vs Kranji Primary School
Thursday, 26 April 2007 at Toa Payoh Sports Hall

This post-game report has been very kindly written and contributed by Mr Ian Chew, a teacher from Catholic High and our regular contributor.  Thanks again, Ian!

Kranji’s Ivan Chua (no.9) goes on a lay-up. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports     

Height counts. A lot. That was the case today when the “twin towers” of Kranji Primary, Delvin (No. 4) and Qiao Shuai (No. 14), combined to lethal effect. They scored a total of 24 of their team’s final 36 points to give their school a comfortable 36-24 win over Kheng Cheng Primary School in the National Inter-Primary Senior Boys basketball final played at Toa Payoh Sports Hall on 26 April Thursday.

The two teams, coincidentally under the same coach who sat out the entire final, came into the game with excellent credentials. Kranji Primary had earlier won the West Zone title while Kheng Cheng clinched the South Zone title.

Kranji raced to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter where Qiao Shuai and Delvin contributed two points apiece. These two boys, averaging 1.75m between them, simply powered their way past their shorter opponents for the easy basket! They also contributed to their team’s defense, blocking shots and grabbing rebounds to lead their team to a 10-3 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw a spirited fight-back by Kheng Cheng’s second team. They managed to narrow the gap to 4 points, trailing 11-15 at the half.

One rule in the Primary division tournament is that starting five players who play in the first quarter are not allowed to be fielded in the second quarter. The rationale of this rule is to encourage as much participation as possible by every member of the team. The coach is then free to field any member of the team during the second half.

The second half saw the re-introduction of 13-year-old Qiao Shuai and 12-year-old Delvin. Their entrance seemed to have made no effect initially, with 1.78m centre Kelvin (No. 11) of Kheng Cheng Primary playing a tight defense on Delvin. Kheng Cheng managed to narrow the gap to 15–17 with baskets by Kelvin and teammate Benny (no.13).

That was as close as they got. Delvin and Qiao Shuai stepped up their gears and helped their team score nine consecutive points to finish the quarter with a 26-15 lead. They also played excellent defense to deny their opponents any scoring chance.

The fourth quarter saw Kheng Cheng mount a furious comeback, but again, they could find no way past the Kranji centres. Defense was of utmost importance as both sides sought to neutralize the key players of the other team. Aaron (no. 7) of Kheng Cheng was practically man-marked during the entire game by a Kranji player – he was simply followed around the court whenever the Kheng Cheng team had possession!

The other Senior Girls’ final played earlier on the same day provided much more drama, with the Kranji senior girls also pipping Nan Chiau Primary to the title with a heart-stopping 45-44 score.

Coach Mr Tay of the Kranji team adopted a fast-break offensive strategy throughout the game and it was played at a high tempo. This resulted in an unprecedented four players fouling out from the Nan Chiau team! However, Kranji failed to capitalize on their free throws to ensure an exciting finale to the game. In the end, the Kranji girls still managed to hang on to their 1-point lead and bring double joy to their supporters!