Queensway edge Peirce 55-52 in South Zone B Division boys' basketball thriller

Story by REDintern Kenneth Tan. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Delta Sports Hall, Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - In an emotionally-charged game which filled the stands to the rafters, Queensway Secondary held off a fightback by Peirce Secondary to win the South Zone B Division boys' basketball final 55-52.

In an evenly-balanced first quarter, both teams took turns to take the lead. Pierce won the tip-off and Nurhadi (#10) proceeded to score from a lay-up. They took the lead at 4-3 and 11-9 but Queensway were the stronger side towards the end of the quarter as they scored five points in a row to lead 14-11.

Queensway continued how they ended in the first quarter, scoring another four points at the start of second quarter to extend their lead to seven points for a 9-0 scoring run.

Peirce gradually showed more of their grit and character as they slowly whittled down Queensway's lead to trail by five at 19-24. It was an exciting match for the supporters as both teams committed a few turnovers which resulted in the players from both teams going to the floor to snatch for the loose ball.

However just like what happened in the first quarter, Queensway emerged stronger towards the end to land five straight points to extend their lead to 10 at 29-19.

The third quarter saw both teams going into penalties at a stage after they committed four fouls each which meant a flurry of free throws. Peirce did well to close the gap to five points in the middle of the quarter to trail 29-34, but it was déjà vu for Peirce again as Queensway once again showed their ability to end the quarters well by landing another 10 points while Peirce only got two points in that period.

Queensway's Ian Rafio Amatril (#13) brought an exciting finish to the quarter with a superb 3-pointer, which made the score 44-31 in favour of his team.

With the danger of Queensway running away with the match, Peirce showed what they were made of in the final quarter as they managed to convert their shots more clinically. Lowell Leong (Peirce #8) was particularly impressive as he landed 12 points in this quarter and also rallied his team on by constantly bringing the ball out of defence to set up fast breaks.

With Queensway going into penalties with three and a half minutes to go, Peirce came back strongly and narrowed the score to 49-53 with just 22 seconds left to play.

Queensway then landed two free throws to widen the gap to six but Pierce refused to buckle and Muhd Nurhadi (#10) set up an exciting finale with an accurate three-pointer with six seconds left on the clock, narrowing it to 52-55.

However time ran out for them as Queensway held possession of the ball to clinch the title.

When asked what allowed Queensway to stretch their leads in the second and third quarter, Peirce captain Tan Bai Yong commented, "It was all down to our poor defence. They (Queensway) played two players through the middle whom we couldn't defend well."

"We just tried to play our own game and hoped for the best," was Bai Yong's response to how his team managed to come back strongly in the final quarter.

When asked to summarize his team's journey to the final which includes a memorable win over defending champions Catholic High, he commented, " Everything went well for us throughout the competition. The team takes the credit."

Meanwhile a victorious Queensway captain Johann Yeo, who was also crowned the overall MVP, revealed how astute tactical changes helped them to win the game.

He elaborated, ´They (Peirce Sec) had been taking videos of how we play in the previous matches, so the coach decided to change the formations before the game to set plays against them."

"Yes, it was a scary period for me. Whenever I commit a foul, I kept praying," commented Johann when being quizzed about whether there was a slight worry that his team might throw the game away with Pierce's strong response in the last quarter. "Thankfully we held out for the win."

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Peirce vs Queensway
1st Q: 11-14
2nd Q: 8-15
3rd Q: 12-15
4th Q: 21-11
Final Score: 52-55

Peirce
Leong Wei Hao (#4)
Ong Kok Cong (#5)
James Gay (#6)
Low Qi Kang (#7)
Lowell Leong (#8)
Tan Kok Tiong (#9)
Muhd Nurhadi (#10)
Tan Bai Yong (#11)
David Tham (#12)
Cheng Kam Ler (#13)
Ng Jun Rong (#14)
Ong Ren Yong (#15)

Queensway
Vince Gan (#4)
Shaun Wee (#5)
Zhou Yu Hao (#6)
Samuel Wee (#7)
Shawn Lee (#8)
Samuel Koh (#9)
Johann Yeo (#10)
Huang Wei Ling (#11)
Timothy Wee (#12)
Ian Rafio Amatril (#13)
Michael Rafio Amatril (#14)
#Ng Jun Long (#15)

More photos in the gallery.

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