A Division Basketball: Opening wins for St Andrew’s Junior College and Raffles Institution

Singapore Basketball Centre, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 — Raffles Institution (RI) beat Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) 51-36 in their opening Group C game of the National A Division Basketball Championship.

NYJC kept it close for two quarters, restricting RI to just a five-point 21-16 half-time lead. However, RI blew open the game in the third quarter, outscoring NYJC by a massive 24-1 to lead 45-17 at the end of the third to put the game beyond doubt.

RI were outscored 16-6 by NYJC in the final quarter but were comfortable 51-36 winners at the end.

On the adjacent court, St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) edged out Innova Junior College (IJC) 45-39 in a Group D game. IJC led 21-15 at half time and were still ahead 29-24 at the end of the third but SAJC outscored them 20-10 in the final quarter to win it 45-39.

Early pacesetters in the championship are Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) and Anderson Junior College. HCI have won both their Group A games so far, beating River Valley High (71-36) and National Junior College (77-22). AJC also have a 2-0 win-loss record, beating Tampines Junior College (58-45) and Yishun Junior College (71-32).

Slam dunks are not allowed in the A Division championship and the rule, set on safety grounds, was emphasised again before the start of the championship. A player hurt himself while slam dunking some time back, leading to the rule change which has been on the safety books for quite awhile. With the emergence of taller players in recent years, the rule was highlighted again. A slam dunk will not count and the player will be given a warning.

National A Division Boys’ Basketball Championship — full fixtures and results

RI vs NYJC — more photos in the GALLERY
ICJ vs SAJC — more photos in the GALLERY

Ed’s note: If you recognise the players, please let us know their names and we’ll update the captions. Please tell us the photo number. Thanks.