Raffles Institution survive late scare against Temasek Junior College to advance to A Division boys basketball semi-finals

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

Singapore Basketball Centre, Friday, May 8, 2009 - With a precarious 30-27 lead on the line, and 10.1 seconds of the match to go, the Raffles Institution team, as well as pretty much everyone else watching, knew that Temasek Junior College would look to tie the quarter-final match with a 3 pointer, and possibly send the game to overtime.

They were already in the penalty zone, having racked up 5 team fouls with more than half of the final quarter to play. So why didn't RI foul the TJC player before he could potentially pull his team level, and instead send him to the free-throw line where he would probably only score 2, as they usually did so in the American National Basketball Association (NBA)?

"Because this isn't the NBA." Replied RI captain Chng An Zhen matter-of-factly after the game. "If we fouled him, he might have made the first free throw, miss the second but manage to get the offensive rebound, and make a 3 pointer. So we made TJC shoot the 3, but we defended it as well as we could."

And so they did. TJC's Loh Teng Rui airballed the game-tying attempt, and RI hung on to take the win-or-bust game, and claim top spot in Group X of the A Division Boys Basketball quarter-final round.

All 4 teams - Victoria Junior College and Anderson Junior College being the other two - went into the final round of matches with identical records of a win and loss each, and had their fate squarely in their hands. A win would advance them to the semi-finals, while anything else would send them packing.

It was thus with little wonder that this match began at a frenetic pace, as RI unleashed their trademark full-court press right from the get-go. They built an early 4-0 lead, but TJC fought the traps well and started to find their way into the game. Teo Liang Kai and Ang Sin Lek had easy second-chance points as RI failed to box out and corral the defensive rebound, and excellent ball movement found Sin Lek, who scored a team-high 12 points, open for a baseline jumper.

But RI's Danny Chua stopped the TJC run and handed his team a 7-6 with a trey, one of many long-range shots which they attempted throughout the game. "TJC played with a 2-3 defence, and that left the perimeter open for our shooters." Explained An Zhen on their weapon of choice.

His team, however, were not hitting their shots consistently enough in the first half. Koh Chee Siang's layup gave TJC an 8-7 advantage, the third lead change in the period, and then blocked an RI half-court attempt at the buzzer to preserve their lead at the end of the quarter. They then extended it to 14-9 midway through the second period after a steal and layup by Sin Lek, as RI continued misfiring from deep.

Both teams then went through a scoring drought of three and a half minutes before RI's Chey Zheng Feng converted a free throw. Both teams were then left to rue their missed chances as the quarter wound down. TJC's Hong Kah Qi (#8) blew an open layup, but Sin Lek grabbed the offensive board and was fouled. He missed both free throws, and then his teammates contrived to miss 3 straight attempts from consecutive offensive rebounds. And with 5.2 seconds left, Chee Siang fouled Kevin Boo as he attempted a three-pointer, sending him to the line for 3 free throws. But Kevin missed all 3, as TJC clung on to a 16-13 half-time lead.

Chee Siang's no-look pass found a streaking Sin Lek for an uncontested layup and an 18-13 TJC advantage, but that would be the final meaningful lead that they would have all game. Zheng Feng's back-to-back shots from beyond the 3-point arc handed the initiative back to RI, and his teammates seized upon it with aplomb as their full-court press began to tell. TJC increased their turnover count and RI cut down on their opponent's offensive rebounding and second-chance points. Jonathan Cher capped his team's brilliant third-quarter performance with a pull-up jumper and a free-throw, and RI took a psychological 22-19 lead into the crucial 4th quarter.

Chee Siang's free throw reduced the deficit to 2, but he missed a pair in his next trip to the line, and RI pounced on the reprieve, extending their lead to 25-20 on the back of yet another three, this time from Jonathan. Said An Zhen on the second-half turnaround. "We were not hitting our shots in the first half, but we responded by adjusting them. TJC were not hitting their free throws as well."

A point not lost on his TJC counterpart Lee Wei Yang. "We were not troubled by their full-court press, as we knew how to counter it. We did everything that we had planned to do, but we just didn't make our shots. We just didn't convert them."

RI opened up a 7 point lead when Charles Oei scored his only points of the game from a high-post jumper, but then proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot when they had their 5th team foul with 5:01 to play in the period, placing themselves in the penalty with an eternity still to play. Teng Rui missed another 2 from the charity stripe for TJC, but redeemed himself with a pair of makes when a needless foul sent him to the line later.

The game was seemingly beyond TJC when Zheng Feng drained his fourth three-pointer of the game and Chee Siang clanked two more free throws off the rim for TJC, but they managed to permanently halt the RI shooting spree to give themselves a ghost of a chance. Sin Lek's baseline jumper made it 30-24 before Chee Siang's trey with 11.9 seconds to go halved the deficit and sent the TJC faithful absolutely livid.

They then virtually raised the roof on the arena when RI botched the inbounds play and committed a backcourt violation to hand their possession to their opponents. TJC called timeout and set up the final play, which, painfully for them, went the way that most of their other shots on the day had - not through the rim.

"We are sad. We put up a good fight today." Said a visibly disappointed Wei Yang after the game. "Winning was not our goal today, but bonding together is. We have learnt what being there for each other means, and we have fought hard and stayed together, and supported each other. The bonding between the team is so much greater now."

RI will play Group Y runners-up and defending champions Hwa Chong Institution in the semi-finals on Wednesday 13 May, and will look to carry on their good work. "Our half-court defence is ok, but we will get our offence flowing for the semis." Said An Zhen. "All the teams in this year's A Division are quite equal, so it will all come down to the on-court performance. Whoever wants it more, will get it."

RI lineup:
#4 Charles Oei
#5 Kevin Boo
#6 Jonathan Cher
#7 Danny Chua
#8 Yeo Si Yuan
#9 Chey Zheng Feng
#10 Glenn Wong
#11 Ong Jun Wei
#12 Jonathan Lim
#13 Chng An Zhen
#14 Sng Yi
#15 Dillon Tan

TJC lineup:
#4 Loh Teng Rui
#5 Chan Chang Rong
#6 Chia Chong You
#7 Teo Liang Kai
#8 Hong Kah Qi
#9 Lee Wei Yang
#10 Denie Harith Azman
#11 Ang Sin Lek
#12 Samuel Ngiam
#13 Swagato Sen
#14 Niu Muye
#15 Koh Chee Siang

Scoring breakdown by quarter:
RI v TJC
1st Q: 7-8
2nd Q: 6-8
3rd Q: 9-3
4th Q: 8-8
Final score: 30-27

Leading scorers:
Chey Zheng Feng (RI) 13 points
Ang Sin Lek (TJC) 12 points
Jonathan Cher (RI) 8 points
Koh Chee Siang (TJC) 8 points