Story contributed by reader Ian Chew of Catholic High. Pictures by Les Tan and reader Marvin Lowe. Catch highlights on RedSportsTV.
Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Tuesday, April 22, 2008 – Catholic High chose the right moment to peak with a convincing 99-65 win over a previously unbeaten Jurong Secondary in the National B Division Basketball Championship final. Captain Jabez Su (#4) may have led all scorers with 32 points in the game but it was Catholic High’s point guard Dominic Lim (#10) who garnered the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award with his astute and cool control of the game.
Catholic High won 17 games and lost one on their way to the title, their sole loss coming against Raffles Institution in the second round of the South Zone Championship.
Catholic High showed their winning intent early, finishing with a sizzling 34-19 first quarter lead. Forward Wong Kam Seng (#11, CH) drove repeatedly into the paint, using his speed and height advantage to score 10 points in the opening run. Jabez also showed a sure shooting touch to add 13 points, including two from beyond the 3-point arc.
Jurong at this time were restricted to outside shooting, though Jurong’s vice-captain Soh Wei Yan (#4), Chua Wen Jie (#5) and Randy Ng (#7) were spot on from behind the 3-point line in the first quarter.
If there were any thoughts that Jurong would roll over for the rest of the match, they were quickly banished at the opening of the second quarter. Jurong’s Weiyan started their comeback efforts with a long 3-pointer, to the delight of the Jurong supporters. Their cheers had hardly died down when Randy followed with another 3-pointer of his own. Suddenly the lead was cut to 34-29 and Catholic High’s coach Raymond Oh quickly called for a time-out. The crowd was excited by now, sensing a fightback by the Jurong team.
However, the much vaunted Catholic High defense went to work after the time-out, limiting the Jurong team to a mere 8 points for the rest of the quarter. Jurong’s centre Hiew Zi Hao (#11) also crucially picked up a fourth personal foul at this early stage. (He eventually fouled out early in the third quarter.) Catholic High closed out the half with a 19-8 run to lead 53-37 at the half.
In the second half, Jurong could find no answer to the height and strength advantage of the defending champions. Catholic High centres Chong Ming Xuan (#14) and Goh Kong Tat (#12) dominated the boards and towered over the Jurong players in defense to restrict the Jurong team to a 28-point production in the final two quarters.
On the other hand, forwards Jonathan Cher (#7) and Jabez used their speed to embark on countless fast break attempts, scoring 23 points in the process. Eventually, even a determined but fast tiring Jurong could do nothing to stop Catholic High from racking up a memorable victory. Jabez then added the icing on the cake, scoring a lay up for the last basket of the game with time expiring.
A sporting Johnathan Lian (#8, JSS), obviously still hampered by an ankle injury suffered in the earlier rounds, complimented the winning team.
“They(Catholic High team) played very well.”
Notes: Despite suffering from food poisoning just the night before, Jonathan Cher put in a stupendous effort to score 8 points. However, he was thoroughly exhausted after the match… All CH team players managed to take some part in the game, though Ngo Jie Wei (#6) unfortunately sat out with a wrist injury… The starting Catholic High team would still be eligible next year as they are currently only studying in Sec 3.
Additional pictures by Marvin Lowe
TEAM SHEET
Catholic High School
Jabez Su (#4)
Sathyaselan Ayanam (#5)
Ngo Jie Wei (#6)
Jonathan Cher (#7)
Jason Pok (#8)
Lee Qi Ming (#9)
Dominic Lim (#10)
Wong Kam Seng (#11)
Goh Kong Tat (#12)
Lim Fang Yee (#13)
Chong Ming Xuan (#14)
Johncelin Khoo (#15)
Coach: Mr Raymond Oh Thian Soon
Teacher-In-Charge: Mr Ian Chew
Jurong Secondary
Soh Wei Yan (#4)
Chua Wen Jie (#5)
Yip Ann Perng (#6)
Randy Ng (#7)
Johnathan Lian (#8)
Oh Wei Jian (#9)
Clement Neo (#10)
Hiew Zi Hao (#11)
Nicholas Chan (#12)
Gary Lim (#13)
Marcus Chang (#14)
Justin Nadar (#15)
Coach: Mr Chong Yew Seng
Teacher-In-Charge: Mr Lee Kok Leong
Top scorers:
Catholic High
Jabez Su (#4) – 32 points (2×3-pointers)
Wong Kam Seng (#11) – 21 points
Chong Ming Xuan (#14) – 14 points
Goh Kong Tat (#12) – 12 points
Dominic Lim (#10) – 10 points
Jurong:
Randy Ng (#7) – 16 points (4×3-pointers)
Soh Wei Yan (#4) – 14 points (3×3-pointers)
[…] Click here to read the report of the Catholic High vs Jurong basketball final. Click here to read the report of the Raffles Girls’ vs Nanyang Girls’ final. And if you can’t get enough of these nifty little videos, check out previous editions of RedSportsTV! […]
Dominic deserves his mvp. He was totally calm and collected during the match which is damn zai lah. Besides, Jabez still has another year to try, no?
and mingxuan is super cute lah 😀
There’s no need to argue about the MVP award. It was decided by a panel of teachers and coaches. Since it has to be given out to one player, then it means only one player gets it!
In my mind, any one of them deserved it., whether Dominic or Jabez…. but it’s not crucial. Team play is most crucial. Without teamwork, it’s no use being the most outstanding player. But with great teamwork and selflessness, basketball becomes a very enjoyable game to play and watch.
mvp shuldnt have gone to dominic………no offence there…….but it shuld have gone to either wong kam seng or jabez su
congratulate to the catholic high for winning ur 4th concecutive championship …………. will you able to get champion for b boy next year???????
mx!!!!
ming xuan is tall!!!!
Hahaha, Ming Xuan’s shoes! Different colour!
Wait lah! Auntie Dawn “xing xing ku ku” editing the video. Relax. She is doing the girls’ video first. The girls look better than you guys. So they go first.
can update the video?
why do not have ming xuan and kam seng lay up picture?
photo 4- jss CHUAWENJIE(#5) going for a basket
Woah I remember Kam Seng’s flying rejection. Best ahahhahaha. – whooosh-
Photo 13 is Ming Xuan not Jabez haha.
Uncle Les, Johnathan Lian’s name is JOHNATHAN, not JONATHAN.
Jabez was wearing a calf guard which is designed by a brand called Requr to help athletes play with style while at the same time allowing them to campaign against Racism and fight for equality among races and nationalities.
photo 15 cat high player should be ming xuan. i remembered that his shirt flew up HIGH on that shot. lols.
There’s been a switch in the team players for Catholic High. This is the National Team list :
Jabez Su (#4)
Sathyaselan Ayanam(#5)
Ngo Jie Wei (#6)
Jonathan Cher (#7)
Jason Pok (#8)
Lee Qi Ming (#9)
Dominic Lim (#10)
Wong Kam Seng (#11)
Goh Kong Tat (#12)
Lim Fang Yee (#13)
Chong Ming Xuan (#14)
Johncelin Khoo (#15)
The one currently up now is the Zonal Team. And CH’s coach name is Mr Oh Thian Soon. Not Tian Shun like ‘monster’ said.
Photo 13 is NOT Jabez. That’s Ming Xuan defending. (Can tell from the shoes and Jabez was wearing something on his right leg that day)
🙂
He is also known as Raymond Oh Thian Soon. I believe there is no error because the story comes from Catholic High.
there’s an error. cathigh’s coach is called tian shun