Tagawa Blue and Singapore Schools to face off in final of U-17 Youth Cup

By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

Singapore Basketball Centre, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 — Singapore Schools and Tagawa Blue sealed their spots in the final of the U-17 Junior Basketball Championship as they swept aside their respective semi-final opponents.

Singapore Schools led from start to finish to defeat Siglap Youth 86-40 while Tagawa Blue recovered from a slow first quarter to beat Tong Whye (Red) 89-54.

In Singapore Schools’ match against Siglap Youth, the match was over as a contest by the end of the first quarter after a 22-0 run. Fast-break layups and superior rebounding were the order of the day as they outclassed their opponents.

Singapore Schools only conceded their first points with less than 40 seconds left in the first quarter.

Much of the same continued throughout the match as Singapore Schools extended their lead. They had a 41-15 lead at the half before Ng Kian Hao (Singapore Schools #7) exploded in the third quarter with 12 of his game-high 22 points.

Siglap Youth had no reply to their opponents as they trialled 28-61 at the end of the third and eventually went down 40-86.

On the adjacent court, the match between Tagawa Blue and Tong Whye promised to be a close encounter as both teams managed to keep the score close in the first quarter. Tagawa Blue only managed to sprint ahead towards the end of the first to gain a 17-12 lead at the first interval.

From the second quarter onwards, however, Tagawa Blue took control as they extended their lead. There were plenty of stoppages as both teams had a couple of players in foul trouble.

Tong Whye could only rely on free throws to keep up with Tagawa Blue, but by the end of the third quarter, they were down 65-38. There was no coming back from there as Tagawa Blue easily wrapped up the match in the final quarter.

Singapore Schools vs Siglap Youth

Quarter by Quarter Scores
1st Q: 22-2
2nd Q: 19-13
3rd Q: 20-13
4th Q: 25-12

Top Scorers
Singapore Schools
Kian Hao (#7) – 22 points
Delvin Goh (#14) – 14 points

Siglap Youth
#13 – 9 points
#14 – 7 points

Tagawa Blue vs Tong Whye (Red)

Quarter by Quarter Scores
1st Q: 17-12
2nd Q: 20-14
3rd Q: 28-12
4th Q: 24-16

Top Scorers
Tagawa Blue
#10 – 20 points
Hibshamir (#7) – 19 points

Tong Whye (Red)
#4 – 14 points