NUS triumph 24-4 over SIM in opening game of water polo challenge

Story by Yvonne Yap/Red Sports. Photos by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

National University of Singapore Sports and Recreation Complex, Tuesday 5, January 2010 – Defending champions National University of Singapore (NUS) started their defence of their title on a positive note with a comprehensive 24-4 win over the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) in the NUS-Great Eastern Water Polo Challenge.

NUS placed the pressure on SIM right from the start and were 7-0 up by the end of the first quarter.

Marcus Goh drew first blood for NUS just a minute into the quarter and fine teamwork saw Lin Diyan, Ben Cai, Andre Teo, Kenneth Foo and Samuel Chong getting themselves on the scoreboard.

Diyan scored yet again in the final 30 seconds of the quarter, giving NUS a comfortable 7-0 lead before the break.

SIM were unable to stop the NUS scoring streak in the second quarter. Just two minutes in, NUS captain Bryon Teo placed two shots past SIM keeper Randal, extending their lead to 9-0.

National players Diyang and Diyan then scored one each to give NUS a two-digit lead at 11-0.

Marcus then capitalised on an error made by SIM defender Kelvyn to make it 12-0 to NUS before Andre scored a buzzer beater just before half time to extend their lead to 13-0.

NUS continued to dominate the game in the third quarter, breaking the SIM defence and increasing their lead to 18-0. However, Jian Wen finally got SIM on the scoreboard with their first goal of the game in the dying seconds, making it 18-1 at the end of the quarter.

In response to the solitary goal from SIM, NUS came back with four goals in the first four minutes of the final quarter to make it 22-1, with Andre and Jiale scoring one apiece and Marcus scoring his fourth goal of the game, making him the highest scorer for NUS.

SIM’s Melvyn then found a way past the NUS wall to increase their goal tally to two and a 22-2 scoreline.

Melvyn managed to score two more goals in the final four minutes of the game but another two goals from Ken Chou of NUS ensured a 24-4 win for the tournament hosts.

“Okay, not bad… I think our team played really well,” reflected captain Bryon Teo after the game. He praised SIM’s pluck for persevering on as well, adding, “the opponents put up quite a good show.”

After the 24-4 defeat to NUS, SIM bounced back, earning a 8-8 draw with the Singapore Management University (SMU) in their next game.