Dunman Sec and Yishun Sec win group games in T-Net u-14 tournament

By Lee Hwee Cheng

T-Net Club @ Bukit Merah, Tuesday, June 5, 2007 – Into the second week of the mid-year school break, the Red Sports Crew decided to check out what the basketballers have been up to since they put their textbooks aside.  So, for our very first mission, we ventured into the heartlands and found ourselves (after getting ourselves lost initially amongst the very confusing HDB block numbers) at two back-to-back basketball courts set in a peaceful neighbourhood surrounded by high-rise flats in Bukit Merah.

Having heard consistently about the T-Net Club U-14 Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Tournament from local hoop enthusiasts, players and coaches alike, the Red Sports Crew were amazed to feel the heat around the courts created by the buzz from the boys.

If anything, the annual tournament has been a successful and very much welcome school-holiday event, judging by the surge in participation numbers this year.  There are a total of 30 boys’ teams and 15 girls’ teams.  Save for a couple of independent and constituency clubs in both categories, almost all the participants are donning their school jerseys and playing as school teams.

Held in June and organized by the T-Net Club @ Bukit Merah and Henderson Heights RC as part of the People’s Association Youth Movement program, the 14-day tournament has gained much popularity with the school teams as it provides an ideal warm-up platform for the young and usually inexperienced players before the Zonal and National C Division inter-school tournaments begin in July.  Faced with a team of inexperienced 13- and 14-year-olds, some of whom have only begun proper training in the game just months before, many coaches see this as the real-life whiteboard to put their teams and strategies together.

On our first day at this grassroots event, the Red Sports Crew managed to catch two group preliminary games for the boys.  In the first Group E game, Yishun Secondary School edged out Henderson Secondary School with a narrow 25-23 win.

The game had not been such a close one from the start.  Taking the lead for  first three quarters as their opponents grappled with team confidence and ball possession, Yishun kept up a steadier pace as they went about their business, popping in just a few more jumpers and covering more defensive grounds to capitalize on Henderson’s misjudged passes.  After a slow first quarter that had ended at 10-4 in their favour, Yishun established a seven-point lead by the end of the second quarter at 17-10.

Looking equally raw in individual skills and team play, both teams exhibited a fondness for jumpshots over driving into the lanes for lay-ups.  Perhaps it was the pleasure of listening to a floater swish through the net or perhaps it was  a fear of attacking the defense.

Nonetheless, both teams succumbed to a poor shooting form and lapsed into unforced error after error in the third quarter.  With key player Zhen Qiang (#11) specifically man-marked, Yishun managed only four points, while Henderson scored only three.  Yishun led by eight at the end of the third quarter.

Yishun pulled away to a double-digit lead at 23-13 with the first basket in the fourth quarter.  But it was Henderson who made a surprise comeback in the final ten minutes.  Under the commandments constantly dished out by their coach at the sidelines, the Henderson boys finally found their missing courage and started posing more of an offensive threat to their opponents.

Driving into the paint more in this quarter alone than the first thirty minutes, they scored a few more jumpers within the paint, and most of all, they proved more worrisome to Yishun’s defense now.  Henderson went on 10-2 run for the rest of the quarter, but eventually ended up just a basket shy of levelling the scores.  Yishun scored just four points in this quarter, but managed to maintain the lead and win the game 25-23.

In the next Group F game, Dunman Secondary School trounced East View Secondary School 50-14 in a match-up that seemed more lop-sided than the first.

In the first quarter alone, the Dunman boys, looking just bigger and taller on average than their opponents, proved to be a better-trained team with sounder offensive team strategies and smoother individual skills.  Launching into quick attacks with fast breaks instead of letting up with a slow offensive pace, the Dunman boys made good long passes and finished the team efforts with well-taken lay-ups to end the first quarter 13-0.

Dunman continued relying on their quick counter-attacks and stronger rebounding forces in the defensive and offensive paints, while East View began finding some shooting touches as Ren Hao popped in two jumpers in the second quarter.  Dunman went on to score another fifteen, and pulled ahead further to 28-5 by the end of the second quarter.

While confident and quick on the offensive court, the Dunman boys seemed a little too careless in the defensive end as they found themselves in unnecessary foul trouble in both halves.  It was just rather unfortunate that East View could not convert the awarded free throws into points.  Both teams went on an interestingly consistent 15-5 run, as Dunman led at the end of the third quarter 43-10.

The scoring slowed down a little in the final quarter as Dunman switched to a more defensive strategy with a full-court press tactic.  Forcing East View once into an eight-second violation, the Dunman boys did not pull off the strategy with much success as they failed to convert it into more offensive opportunities or points.  Only fifty-percent from the free throw line as well, Dunman scored just seven in this quarter, but still beat East View with a comfortable 50-14 scoreline.

Editor’s note:  Many thanks to Mr Ng Liap Soon, manager of T-Net Club @ Bukit Merah, Mr Lim Kwee Chai, coach of the T-Net Basketball teams, and Miss Lim Mei Fung, assistant manager of T-Net Club @ Bukit Merah, for all your helpful information.  Also, if you do recognize yourselves or any of your friends on these pictures, drop us a note in the "Comments" section, and we’ll update the captions accordingly.  Thanks!