However, Raffles finally replied through Rowena Tay (RI #9) as she sank a tricky leaner at the last second of the shot clock. Tempers flared among some agitated RI supporters when Rowena went to ground clutching her face in the following possession and lay still for a chilling couple of minutes. Thankfully she got up again and was able to play again later on.
Nevertheless, RI found it difficult to replicate their third quarter effort and soon lost their lead. Cracks were beginning to show as the tension of the game became almost tangible. The players could feel the gravity of each possession as the clock wound down.
Playing through the pain barrier, Hannah still managed to contribute, drawing a foul and sinking two free throws and forcing a turnover during the next possession with 3:50 left on the clock. The fourth quarter was by far the most physical with both teams in the penalty by the eighth minute.
A back court violation by HCI with 1:30 to go seemed almost criminal but they got away with it as RI could not convert the turnover to points and the game went into overtime with the score at 50-50.
In the final five minutes of overtime, both sides struggled with their offense and HCI only managed to get their noses in front through free throws. Raffles simply could not score despite having two fast break opportunities. However, with only a gap of two points, they were still in with a shout but their offense was found wanting in the end as they failed to score at all in overtime.
HCI sealed their victory at the death when Sharlene Huang (HCI #12), who performed consistently in both the semi-final and final, escaped the attention of her defender to score the final two points of the game. With the four-point difference and only seconds left on the clock, there was nothing much RI could do and when the buzzer went off, some of the players from both sides were overwhelmed with emotions.
Michael Wong, a member of the HCI coaching staff, was pleased with the performance of the girls.
“We expected a hard fight by the Raffles team as we considered ourselves the underdogs going into this match. It was definitely a team effort with some players actually sacrificing their game for the good of the team,” said Michael.
The RI players were heartbroken and they had every right to feel hard done by as they were so close to winning. Had Hannah Ng, the eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP), been fully fit, they would have stood a very good chance of winning. Despite the injury, she still managed to chalk up a respectable 14 points. RI’s inability to close out the game in the last quarter despite a five-point lead going into the final ten minutes cost them.
In the end, HCI came out on tops in an exciting and high-quality game which had all the ingredients of being an A Division classic. On another day, the result could have as easily gone the other way.
Match Statistics
RI 50 HCI 54
1st Q: 13-15
2nd Q: 8-8 (21-23)
3rd Q: 20-13 (41-36)
4th Q: 50-50
1st OT: 50-54
Most Valuable Player: Hannah Ng Jia Hui
Hannah Ng (RI #4) goes for a layup. She scored a total of 14 points during the game. (Photo 2 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Cherylin Tan (HCI #7) and Hannah Ng (RI #4) contest for possession of the ball. (Photo 3 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Amelia Lee (HCI #10) goes up against a wall of RI players. (Photo 4 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
It’s all smiles for the HCI team as they win their fourth title in a row. (Photo 5 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
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.
For more photos of the game, go to the GALLERY
HCI people should just learn how to take a chill pill. Have noticed that HCI people take themselves too seriously.
You have won the game and the title, but somehow cannot stomach an article that devotes most of it to RI and for that reason alone accuse the writer of bias.
The truth of the matter is that if HCI boys or girls team played any of the polys, they would lose.
(i’m not from HC but this is my take)
by saying that HC needs to take a chill pill, arent you generalising? and doesn’t HC have a rather legit reason to be upset or at least defensive, since the article on their victory focused heavily on RI. as you said, the article is mostly devoted to RI. is that fair? of course the article doesnt need to sing endless praises about HC but there is a notable lean towards the spirit of raffles and that itself undermines the fighting spirit that HC put up, AS MUCH AS raffles did 🙂
Similar to the A div boys basketball finals, this report was more biased towards RI. In almost 3/4 of this report were talking about RI players. “Had Hannah Ng been fully fit..” makes it seem as though HCI lucked out, that the best player in RI was not on form, otherwise HCI might not have won. The report was truthful and detailed, however the tone and the way it was presented sided more towards RI.
Hmm okay I get your point, let me explain, when I cover a game, I try to look for possible turning points and or game changing-plays like blocks, steals and morale-boosting baskets. I also write based on my “feel” for the game which I would readily admit is not perfect. Perhaps, that is one of the reason why I wrote mostly about RI players because they were the ones making those plays. Honestly speaking, without looking at the stats sheet, I could hardly recall any HCI player as dominant as Hannah in that match and I was watching every minute of the game. I am not from Raffles Institution and this is my second time watching an A Division Girls Basketball match so I would not have any background knowledge to influence me before hand. What I see is what I write.
To me, as an athlete, you live for the big games pitting yourself against the very best players and I believe that most neutral supporters would agree that that’s what make sports so exciting and interesting. I was putting forth the idea or asking the reader to humour me perhaps with a match between the top two girl teams in the A Division Basketball with their full squads at their top physical and mental form. That was what I was trying to put across, unsuccessfully I might add. I can see now how the part where I mention about Hannah being injured may seem to have demeaned HCI’s victory and I would gladly apologize to anyone who interprets it that way. Injuries, to me, are not down to luck but to a lack of preparation and perhaps training, it was definitely NOT in my intention to say that HCI was lucky that Hannah was injured and that’s how they won.
However, I stand by my opinion that both teams were equally matched and on any given day it’s the little things (like niggling injuries, playing FORM and mental toughness) that would prove the difference between the two sides and that the result could have been different on another day. Thank you for taking into consideration that the report is factually sound, but at the same time pointing out that tone is something that I need to work on. I really appreciate it 🙂
good article, and mature breakdown of the game. Well done.
err. a little confused with the players names. in the picture it writes #10( Alanna Lim, HCI ) but in the write-up it says #10 (Alanna Lim, RI) so…
Yeap sorry about the mix up. Updated it already 🙂 Thanks for the heads up!