AYG FIBA 33 Basketball: Singapore boys beat India and advance to quarter-finals

Story by Alan Chiang/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports

Anglican High School, Friday, July 3, 2009 - Singapore overwhelmed India 34-24 in the final preliminary round match and qualified for the quarter-finals in the Asian Youth Games boys’ FIBA 33 basketball competition.

Singapore progressed to the next round as Group B runners-up, finishing just behind China. With both sides needing a win to advance further in this competition, tensions were high.

India managed to win the tip but wasted their first possession of the game. Singapore's Larry Liew (#9) also experienced a nervy start after yesterday's impressive shooting game. But points began to flow in through Singapore's tallest player Russel Low (#5) who dominated the paint.

Both sides had their fair share of chances and it was India who increased their intensity and took a 4-point lead with less than a minute to play in the first period. However, Larry did not disappoint his fans as he made a huge shot to cut the lead to one point by the end of the first.

The face of the game changed in the second period when Singapore exploded with full force. Jabez Su (#4) and Russel combined well for a 16-point contribution and Larry managed to drain a 3-pointer to give Singapore a comfortable 11-point lead by the end of the period.

India simply had no answer to the triple threats of Russel’s dominance in the paint, Jabez’s strong drives to the basket, and Larry's accurate shooting.

In the final period, both teams slowed down play as exhaustion got the better of them. But it was Singapore who emerged from their shell and started scoring with four points from Russel and Larry giving Singapore a 32-point haul. Singapore had one point to go for victory but India began to create chances from beyond the 3-point arc.

The final basket came via Russel who broke free of his marker in the paint and completed the victory.

After the match, Russel commented on his performance, "It is a team game today and we played our best."

Singapore's captain Jabez added, "It was a good game against India and we are satisfied with our performance. Also, we have reached our goal of qualifying for the quarter-finals."

With all three Singapore players performing at their peak, bench player Goh Kong Tat (#12) did not have a chance to contribute for the India's match. He said, "I am quite scared to play though. I am afraid my performance may not be as good as the rest."

Nevertheless, Singapore's coach Neo Nam Kheng was overjoyed with the boys' performance and singled out Russel as the key player for Singapore. He said, "He (Russel) has been impressive throughout the competition and his presence on court is certainly felt."

Our nation's boys will face powerhouse Korea in the quarter-finals and coach Neo is relishing a chance to create an upset. He said, "We know that Korea is one of the most established basketball teams in Asia but they currently have a key player injured."

For all of you out there, come and support our boys!

Match Statistics
Scores by period
1st: SIN 9 IND 10
2nd: SIN 19 IND 7
3rd: SIN 6 IND 7

Scorers
SIN
Russel Low (#5) - 15 points
Jabez Su (#4) - 10 points
Larry Liew (#11) - 9 points

IND
Kanarjee Amit (#4) - 9 points
Gosvoami Kirti (#7) - 8 points
Sunder Shyam (#6) - 4 points
Sukhjeet (#5) - 3 points