Nanyang Girls’ advance to B Division girls quarter-finals at the expense of Cedar Girls’

Story by reader Erwin Wong. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Jurong West Sports Complex, Friday, April 3, 2009 - If talk is cheap, then the Nanyang Girls' B Division basketball team had the best deal at the bargain store.

In a winner-takes-all Group A match, the 2008 runners-up talked their way to a scorching start which provided the impetus to an eventual 70-49 triumph over South Zone champions Cedar Girls’ Secondary School.

"We wanted to play happily, and not be tensed up like in previous matches," explained Nanyang captain Sharlene Huang, who scored the first points of the game to hand her team a lead they would never relinquish. She added, "We have been opening up more to each other since the last match, and talking more on and off the court. We did not feel any pressure, as we had improved over the last training session and our coach had also made us feel confident of ourselves."

Not that there was any unfound reason for pressure to creep in. Both teams had identical records, having beaten and lost to Anderson and Dunman Secondary respectively, and had to win their face-to-face encounter. And it was the West Zone runners-up who had an ideal start, sprinting out to an 8-0 start while playing a fast-paced offense coupled with an aggressive half-court man-to-man shackling.

Cedar's Rachel made a long wing jumper to open accounts for her team, but Nanyang's point guard Ooi Li Wen converted a layup after a steal, one of many Cedar turnovers in the opening half. Li Wen then spun past her defender for another layup, and then assisted on a Cherylin Tan basket at the end of the first quarter to hand her team a comfortable 17-5 lead.

Rachel attempted to haul her team back into quarter-final contention early in the second period by assisting and scoring on consecutive plays, but their opponents never yielded an inch as they scored six unanswered points, the last of which was a Li Wen bank shot to put Nanyang up 26-9 with more than half of the period to play. She then capped off an outstanding first half display with a driving layup to beat the buzzer. Nanyang led 36-17 at the break, and looked home and dry.

They carried on their good work in the second half, taking good care of the ball while Cedar uncharacteristically racked up more turnovers. The Nanyang lead reached 20 when Cherylin drove inside the lane for a lay-in, and then had their largest lead of the game at 50-27 when Li Wen picked off another loose ball and broke clear for an uncontested layup. Cedar finished the period strongly with five straight points from Yenyi and Jiajian, and entered the final period staring at an 18-point deficit, and elimination.

With their backs to the wall, Cedar had no choice but to up the ante. Their opening shot attempts came from behind the three-point line and defensively, they employed a full court press in order to stymie their free-flowing opponents. It seemed to work early on, as Nanyang came up empty on their first three possessions, but then broke their duck with three free throws from Jolie Ng.

Rachel, who scored a game-high 22 points, sank both of her three-pointers in this final period as Cedar furiously chipped away at the arrears, pulling to within 12 points as Lynn corralled an offensive board and scored inside.

But there was no denying Nanyang at the death. Their misfiring of desperate three-pointers signaled the death knell for Cedar's national campaign and a game-ending 9-0 run by Nanyang was the final axe that befell the South Zone champions.

The victors will now go into the quarter-final draw along with Dunman Sec, who beat Anderson 68-22 in another Group A match. The draw will take place on Wednesday, 8 Apr at 1600hrs.

Cedar Girls’ lineup
#4 Yi Lei
#5 Wanjun
#6 Audrey
#7 Lynn
#8 Jiajian
#9 Joline
#10 Melinda
#11 Serene
#12 Rachel
#13 Jiamin
#14 Sherlin
#15 Yenyi
#16 Magdelene

Nanyang Girls’ lineup
#4 Joanne Duan
#5 Cheryn Choo
#6 Ruiqi
#7 Cherylin Tan
#8 Ooi Li Wen
#9 Jolie Ng
#10 Charis Wong
#11 Nicole Lau
#12 Ong Yu Jie
#13 Sharlene Huang
#14 Wang Hai Yun
#15 Sing Qing

Scoring breakdown by quarter
Cedar v Nanyang Girls

1st Q: 5-17
2nd Q: 12-19
3rd Q: 15-14
4th Q: 17-20
Final: 49-70

Leading scorers
Rachel (Cedar) 22 points
Nicole Lau (Nanyang) 21 points
Ooi Li Wen (Nanyang) 16 points
Jolie Ng (Nanyang) 11 points