Victorians smell sweet victory at long last with 53-50 win over Raffles

By Lee Hwee Cheng

Toa Sports Hall, Friday, May 25, 2007 – On the very last day of the school semester, the students from Victoria Junior College and Raffles Junior College packed and rocked the tiny Toa Payoh Sports Hall as the girls from both sides put up an amazing performance of grit and determination in a very entertaining final match of the season – the National ‘A’ Division Girls Basketball Final.

Raffles came back to the Final this season to defend their title, while Victoria had arrived as hot favourites pipped to topple the defending champions. 

Both deserving of their spots in the Final, the match only proved their equality in mental and physical strengths.   In a game full of ‘ups and downs’, both sides displayed their fair share of scoring prowess and impressive teamwork while taking turns to lead.  Given another five minutes to the game, we might have just seen a different ending to the game.  But in the full forty minutes played this afternoon, the Victorians marked their names on the roll of honours when they edged out the Rafflesians by a mere three points to finally bring home the Championship Trophy they have long waited for.

As I’ve always liked to say, It’s only a matter of time.

Editor:  Due to on-site technical malfunctioning on Friday afternoon, this following play-by-play account of the match is brought to you as a "delayed webcast".  Apologies for any inconvenience, and hope you would still enjoy this. 

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Quarter 4
00:00  The final buzzer beeps!  RJC have failed to capitalize on an eight-point lead after the first half themselves  and might have kept VJC scoreless in the final five minutes, rushing on a 6-0 run themselves, but just fail to catch up on the scores in the end.  VJC win the championship 53-50!
00:20  VJC #9 Shi Hui makes a wild shot in a panicky state.
00:38  RJC #10 Esther misses another jumper.
01:00  RJC #4 takes the ball up the offensive court on her own for a fast break.  She draws a hard foul instead, but manages to convert only one of two free throws.  With about a minute left in the game, RJC trail by only three points at 53-50.
01:08  VJC #7 Yin Ling misses a three-point attempt.
01:57  Perhaps one of the biggest blunders committed in the entire game, and at a most crucial time at that, RJC #7 Pachara commits a grave turnover when, out of good intention to block off the defender and create shooting space for teammate #10 Esther, she makes a mispass instead, flicking the ball behind her back to where she thought Esther is positioned – without realizing Esther has already run off.
02:16  VJC make a mispass on a pick-and-roll run and turn the precious ball possession over to RJC instead.
02:19  With just about two minutes left, and the opponent just five easy points behind, VJC start a panicky attempt to maintain their lead.  In a rather untimely fashion, VJC’s key driving force #11 Sheryl goes down with a calf cramp!
02:44  RJC #10 Esther finally sinks in a three!  RJC cut VJC’s lead further to five at 53-49.
03:33  RJC put in a basket and cut VJC’s lead to seven at 53-46.
04:25  RJC #10 Esther misses yet another three-point attempt.
04:47  With just under five minutes left in the game, RJC show a little flurry as they make a bad pass in the offensive court.  VJC grab the loose ball and send the ball to #14 Li Ying for a fast break but the easy basket is missed!
05:03  VJC #11 Sheryl returns with her driving force, and makes a lay-up in the left lane and VJC now lead by nine at 53-44.
05:14  RJC #10 Esther still misses her scoring form as she misses a left-handed lay-up.
05:21  RJC #10 Esther continues her three-point attempts but misses this one.
05:42  VJC #14 Li Ying the power forward fires a three-pointer!  VJC take a seven-point lead, their biggest in the game so far, at 51-44.
06:05  RJC launch into a fast break with #4 Cynthia at the helm, but VJC defense run back in time to stop the attack.  Still, Cynthia pops in a jumper from the field instead 48-44.
06:21  RJC #8 Clara misses another unprepared shot from the free throw line.
06:39  RJC grab hold of the loose ball, but VJC #10 Felicia intercepts the outlet pass and dribbles a step into the paint for an easy basket instead.  VJC lead 48-42.
06:42  VJC #6 Xin Ying fires a three-point shot that gets rejected by RJC #10 Esther!
07:03  RJC #7 Pachara simmers down as she misses the next jumper.
07:38  RJC #8 Clara misses a jumper from the free throw line.
08:02  VJC #6 Xin Ying drives into the right lane and makes the lay-up count.  VJC pulls the lead slightly ahead at four points 46-42.
08:14  The VJC defense has forced RJC into yet another offensive turnover.
08:30  VJC #11 Sheryl proves her keen sharpness in field-goals as well, as she stops in the midst of her drive down the right lane and pops a jumper instead when the RJC defense denies her entry into the paint.  She scores her second consecutive basket in thirty seconds and takes the lead over for VJC 44-42.
09:09  VJC #11 Sheryl puts her team on a positive fourth-quarter start as she drives into the centre lane, draws the defenders in on her, and then deftly dishes the ball to teammate #10 Felicia who easily pops in two points under the basket.  In the first minute of the quarter, VJC level the game 42-42.

Quarter 3
00:00  RJC lose a seven-point lead within the last minute of this quarter and end it at only two points ahead 40-42.
00:02  In the very final second of the quarter, VJC spring back with an astounding three-point play as #9 Shi Hui grabs an offensive rebound, puts the ball back into the basket and draws a shooting foul!  She makes her free throw count, and cuts RJC’s lead to only two points.
00:37  VJC run on a fast break and the ball is sent to #10 Felicia.  She misses her shot and draws a shooting foul but she fails to convert both free throws.
01:04  VJC #11 Sheryl proves unstoppable back the other end, as she drives effortlessly past two RJC defenders in the paint for another easy lay-up 37-42.
02:02  RJC #7 Pachara is on fire!  She grabs a defensive rebound and charges on an uncontested fast break down the left lane to pull the lead to seven at 35-42.  She has contributed the last six points for RJC in just about a minute.
02:32  RJC #7 Pachara sinks in another baseline jumper, assisted by teammate #4 Cynthia 35-40.
02:50  VJC #11 Sheryl continues her relentless attacks into the paint, as she cuts into the right lane this time for an uncontested basket 35-38.
03:13  RJC #7 Pachara displays a deadly combination of quickness and sharpness, as she flies out of court to save a bad pass and keeps the ball possession alive for her team.  She quickly jumps back in, takes a pass and makes the baseline jumper to pull away to a five-point lead for RJC 33-38.
03:39  VJC #11 Sheryl draws yet another foul on a lay-up, but converts only one of two this time 33-36.
03:51  RJC converts another attack into a three-point play when #4 Cynthia dishes the ball to a well-positioned #8 Clara in the paint as she is driving along the baseline.  The fouled basket and a free throw pull RJC ahead 32-26.
04:16  VJC #6 Xin Ying becomes the driving force, driving into the centre lane and finishing her move with a left-handed hook shot.  VJC close in at one point 32-33.
04:33  RJC #7 Pachara steps up and puts in a turnaround basket in the paint, and draws a shooting foul as well.  She misses her free throw and a three-point play, but teammate #8 Clara pops out into the paint to grab the rebound and makes it a four-point play for RJC instead!  RJC, in a matter of seconds, have taken back the lead by three at 30-33.
04:48  VJC #7 Yin Ling fires a three-point shot and takes the lead over for her team 30-29!
05:02  VJC force yet another offensive turnover on RJC and forge ahead for quick counter attack.
05:30  VJC #11 Sheryl drives into the paint from the left and makes a right-handed lay-up hook to continue closing in on the score 27-29.
05:52  RJC #4 Cynthia defies the three-minute scoring slump in her team and makes a junmper from the free-throw line again 25-29.
06:06  VJC #11 Sheryl goes back the other end for a quick counter attack and draws a shooting foul.  She converts both free throws again and pulls the team just two points behind 25-27.
06:20  VJC run hard in the defensive key and force RJC into a 24-second violation.
06:45  VJC #6 Xin Ying draws a foul on the offense and converts both her free throws well 23-27.
07:51  RJC #4 takes the ball back the other end on a quick counter attack, spots teammate #10 Esther running ahead along the baseline and tries to make a sneaky pass but the ball goes out of bounds instead.
08:05  VJC #14 Li Ying takes a hurried off-balance jumper that goes wild and hits high on the backboard.
08:22  RJC #10 Esther misses another three-point attempt.
08:44  VJC #11 Sheryl draws a foul on a lay-up and converts both her free throws 21-27.
09:09  RJC #4 Cynthia dribbles a step to find space and fires a jumper from the free throw line 19-27.
09:17  RJC #10 Esther fires a three-point attempt to pull the lead further ahead but misses.
09:35  VJC #9 Shi Hui grabs an offensive rebound and makes the basket 19-25.

Quarter 2
00:00  RJC lead at the end of second quarter 17-25.
00:03  VJC #11 Sheryl draws a last-second foul on a lay-up but she misses both free throws.
00:39  VJC #11 Sheryl commits a charging foul on a drive.
01:08  RJC #4 Cynthia intercepts a pass and goes on a counter attack, feeds the ball to #8 Clara but she misses the lay-up.
01:40  RJC #5 Rachel scores a jumper 17-25.
02:09  VJC #11 Sheryl misses a three-point attempt.
02:30  VJC #6 Xin Ying misses a jumper
02:40  VJC #11 Sheryl spots teammate #14 Li Ying unguarded under the basket, makes the quick pass but Li Ying misses the shot.
02:52  RJC #4 Cynthia spots an unguarded #5 Rachel Lee under the basket, makes the quick pass but Rachel spoils the chance with a travelling violation.
03:06  VJC create another turnover with bad passing.
03:19  RJC #8 Clara grabs a rebound and pops the ball into the basket.  17-23.
04:04  RJC commit 8-second violation as they fail to bring the ball over to the offensive court.
04:34  RJC #4 launches a jumper 17-21.
04:45  VJC #14 Li Ying commits a charging foul as she goes for a drive to the basket.
04:52  RJC #7 Pachara makes another jumper count and RJC take the lead 17-19.
05:13  VJC #9 Shi Hui misses another lay-up.
05:35  RJC #4 Cynthia misses a three-point attempt but teammate #10 Esther grabs the rebound and levels the game 17-17.
05:51  VJC #9 Shi Hui goes on a lay-up after a tough tussle for the ball at midcourt, draws a foul instead but misses both free throws.
06:12  RJC #7 Pachara launches a jumper 17-15.
07:09  RJC return with a tighter man-to-man defense and VJC draw a quick foul.
07:09  Time-out.
07:17  VJC turn over the possession when the ball is mis-passes from a baseline throw-in, RJC #4 Cynthia intercepts the ball and goes on a fast break, spots #10 Esther unguarded under the basket and makes the pass.  But Esther misses the open shot.
07:31  RJC score and pull the gap closer 17-13.
07:46  RJC #4 Cynthia finds teammate #7 Pachara unguarded under the basket and makes a quick pass.  Pachara misses the basket but draws a foul.  Both free throws are missed.
07:56  RJC #4 Cynthia’s jumper from the baseline falls short.
08:22  VJC #14 Li Ying intercepts an RJC pass in the paint and charges ahead for a fast break, unguarded.  VJC lead 17-11.
08:54  VJC #14 Lim Li Ying gets a pass in the low-post, and she does a back-up move, makes a turnaround basket, and it counts.  VJC pull the lead ahead 15-11.
09:11  RJC #11 Cheryn-ann makes a jumpshot attempt, but gets blocked by VJC defender!
09:19  VJC #11 Sheryl has missed three quick shot attempts.

Quarter 1
00:00  VJC lead end of first quarter 13-11.
00:03  VJC #7 Yin Ling makes one of two free throws.
00:30  VJC #7 Tay Yin Ling executes a pick-and-roll with #10 Felicia who misses the basket, but Yin Ling grabs the rebound anyway, and makes the basket.  12-11.
00:55  RJC #5 Esther Cher makes a jumper and RJC regain lead at 10-11.
01:14  RJC #10 Esther makes a mis-pass on a pick-and-roll.
01:31  VJC #11 Sheryl misses a jumper but teammate #6 Xin Ying puts the rebound into the basket. 10-9.
01:49  RJC #7 Pachara goes to the free throw line after she draws a foul on a jumpshot attempt, but she makes only one of two.  RJC lead 8-9.
02:04  RJC #4 Cynthia makes a mis-pass on a dish into the paint, but she recovers with regaining possession of the ball.
02:38  RJC #11 Cheryn-ann scores a basket and RJC level 8-8.
03:12  VJC #11 Sheryl goes on a right-hand lay-up and draws a foul.  She makes one of two free throws and VJC lead 8-6.
04:11  VJC go on a counter attack, #9 Lim Shi Hui drives into the centre lane, does a draw-and-dish with #11 Sheryl on her right who completes the play with a lay-up and VJC take over the lead 7-6.
04:37  VJC #11 Sheryl gets called for travelling violation on a lay-up.
04:54  Time-out called.
05:03  VJC #6 Lee Xin Ying makes the first three-pointer from baseline and close in 5-6.
05:37  RJC #4 Cynthia Sukarno returns a counter attack but also misses a jumper from the free throw line.
05:44  VJ #11 Sheryl Lim misses a jumper from the baseline.
05:58  VJC #8 Denise Tan misses a left-hand lay-up.
06:50  RJC #11 Cheryn-ann Chew grabs an offensive rebound and makes a jumper.  RJC lead 2-6.
07:02  VJC #10 Felicia misses a hook-shot.
07:18  RJC take a defensive rebound and launch into a quick counter attack, but a defensive foul from VJC foil the attack.
07:27  VJC #10 Felicia Chee scores on a lay-up from a quick counter-attack, and draws a foul with the basket.  The free throw is missed.  2-4.
07:40  RJC #8 Clara scores the next basket with a lay-up down the left lane.
08:04  RJC #10 Esther misses a jumper.
09:06  RJC #8 Clara Tan scores the first jumper of the game after both sides engage right from tip-off into a struggle for ball possession.  RJC lead 0-2.
10:00  Game tips off.

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These are the girls in the line-up for the Finals in each respective teams.  You might not have been captured in my report, but you deserve all credit too on the journey thus far.

Raffles Junior College
4:  Cynthia Sukarno (Vice-captain)
5:  Rachel Lee
6:  Esther Cher
7:  Pachara Lawjindakul
8:  Clara Tan
9:  Charmaine Tan
10:  Esther (Captain)
11:  Cheryn-Ann Chew
12:  Kelly Koh
13:  Valerie Loh
14:  Koh Shao Yu
15:  Saagana

Victoria Junior College
4:  Joycelyn Tan
5:  Wong Mei Mei
6:  Lee Xin Ying
7:  Tay Yin Ling
8:  Denise Tan
9:  Lim Shi Hui
10:  Felicia Chee
11:  Sheryl Lim (Captain)
12:  Choo Chew Peng
13:  Elica Hirayama
14:  Lim Li Ying
15:  Ng Yi Lin

Editor’s note:  I might not have recognized all faces in the pictures, so if you do recognize yourselves or any of your friends in these pictures, do drop us a note in the "Comments" section and we’ll update the captions accordingly.  Thanks!