Dunman Secondary and Jurong West to face off in the girls’ B Division basketball final

By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

Clementi Sports Hall, Friday, April 23, 2010 - Defending champions Dunman Secondary overcame an early deficit to beat Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) 52-51 in a closely contested semi-final of the National B Division Basketball Championship.

SCGS had a 15-6 lead in the first quarter, but they blew it in the second half to allow Dunman to creep back into the game. Despite Alanna Lim and Gladys Molino leading their side with 16 and 15 points respectively, it was Cecilia’s (Dunman #7) game-high 24 points that guided her side to victory.

In the dying moments, Jowilly (Dunman #8) gave her side the lead with a little over a minute to play at 52-50. SCGS' Gladys Molino then had to chance to send the game into over-time with a pair of free throws, but she missed one as Dunman hung on for the last six seconds to claim a spot in the final.

Dunman will now face Jurong West Secondary in the final after the West Zone runners-up edged out Jurong Secondary 71-67 in double over-time.

SCGS took the game to the defending champions, with Alanna Lim scoring the first two baskets to give SCGS a 4-0 lead. With Dunman struggling to find their footing in the match early on, the South Zone champions continued their run, establishing a 15-6 lead as they threatened to run away with the match. The first quarter ended 17-11 in favour of SCGS.

Dunman came out a different side in the second quarter as they looked more comfortable on the ball. They managed to string a couple of runs together and their defense looked more settled. In contrast, SCGS' inexperience showed as they constantly wasted easy baskets and would count themselves unfortunate not to see some of them go in.

Dunman limited their opponents to just six points while scoring 14 to take a 25-23 lead into the half.

There was nothing to separate the teams in the third quarter as the scoreline remained close. Both sides traded points with Alanna Lim scoring seven points in the quarter, but Dunman #7 did one better with eight points for her side. SCGS, however, won the quarter 18-15 for a slight 41-40 edge going into the fourth.

Much of the same followed in the final quarter with the scoreline still close. With just over two minutes remaining, the scores were level at 50-50. Dunman #8's then made a lay-up a minute later to give her side the lead in the dying moments. SCGS had a couple of possessions, but they were unable to convert them into points.

Gladys then had a fantastic opportunity to tie the game with a pair of free throws with 6.4 seconds on the clock, but she split it, missing the first. Although she made the second, it was too little, too late as Dunman immediately called a timeout and held the ball for a spot in the final.

Despite the victory, Dunman coach Danny Wong wasn’t too pleased.

"My team didn't play well today," said Dunman coach Danny Wong directly after the match. "Throughout the first quarter, they didn't take in and carry out my instructions. It was not their usual standard. If they want to beat Jurong West or Jurong in the final, they will have to play much better. I think the pressure of going into the final again was on my girls."

He also commented on SCGS' performance, saying, "SC’s performance was good, but they were a bit unlucky. They have nothing to lose and they played to their strength. They didn't handle the situation well at the end of the match, but I thought they were the better team. In terms of experience, my team has more and they were more composed in the later part of the match. Luck played a part also."

"Ultimately, it was luck, composure and experience that won the match today," added the Dunman coach.

On his preference on who he wants to play in the final, he said, "Personally I want to play Jurong West. I want to play against a team that I lost to before and we lost to them in the group stages (27-45). But having said that, both Jurong and Jurong West are formidable opponents."

In the other semi-final, Jurong West needed double over-time to overcome Jurong Secondary 71-67 and book a place in the final. Jurong West had previously beaten Jurong in the semi-final of the West Zone championship by 22 points, but it was much closer this time. There was nothing to separate the teams in the first half, but Jurong West took the lead in the third. Not to be outdone, Jurong stormed back to level the match at 47-47 at the end of regulation time.

Jurong looked to be heading to the final with a 3-point lead at the end of the first period of over-time, but Lee Qiuhui nailed a trey in the dying moments, silencing the Jurong supporters and sending the game into double over-time.

Jurong had a total of five players fouled out and they had to rely on their second stringers to keep them in the match in the second period of over-time. That proved to too difficult and they were unable to hold off Jurong West, falling 67-71.

The final between Jurong West and Dunman Secondary will be played on Tuesday April 27th, 2010 at 1330 hours at Jurong East Sports Hall.

For stats and photos, go to the next page