Jurong East Sports Complex, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 – The curtains came down on the 2012 National Inter-Primary Schools Basketball Championship after seven weeks of intense competition with Chua Chu Kang Primary School clinching both the Senior Girls’ and Boys’ division titles.

There was none prouder of their achievements than the teachers in charge, who took the training sessions by themselves.

“We’re not worried about how the other powerhouses like Changkat Pri, Telok Kurau Pri and Pei Chun Pri have improved from last year. We are only concerned about how much better we can become through training,” declared Mr Dominic Siew and Mr Jerric Woo, both energetic teachers in charge of the girls team.

The Chua Chu Kang girls started the ball rolling with a hard fought 48-45 win over Pei Chun Public School. Despite facing the defending champions in the final, they were not at all overawed by the occasion.

Chua Chu Kang relied on their tight marking to deny the Pei Chun girls space and prevent them from dictating the pace of the game. By doing so, they restricted Pei Chun to a mere 6 points in the first quarter while attacking on the counter to score 13 points.

The second quarter was much more evenly fought, with each side scoring 10 points apiece.

At the start of the third quarter, Pei Chun went on the offensive and launched wave after wave of attacks. Their efforts paid off as they reduced the deficit to just 4 points by the end of the third quarter. Pei Chun trailed 35-39 at this point and set the stage for an exciting final quarter.

It was a ding-dong game in the fourth quarter with end to end attacking and scoring from both teams. Pei Chun made a valiant comeback and even tied the game at one point, making it all the more exciting and nail-biting for their supporters. In the end however, it was the Chua Chu Kang girls who emerged with a 3-point victory. Chua Chu Kang Pri’s captain Fatin (#6) led the way with a game high 24 points.

In the Senior Boys’ final that followed right after, Chua Chu Kang Primary met First Toa Payoh Primary for the title decider after both of them had edged out Kranji Primary and Teck Ghee Primary respectively in the semi finals.

As it panned out, it was a game of speed versus aerial superiority.

While Chua Chu Kang Pri had the speedier players, First Toa Payoh Pri possessed the height advantage. The latter capitalized on their taller forwards Paul John (#14) and Paing Min Thank (#6) to do all the damage in the paint. Paul and Min Thank scored many points under their opponents’ basket as a result.

However, Chua Chu Kang Pri, who were also the defending boys champions, were not to be denied. They decided to increase their game tempo and hit back quicker. Their three key players Xavier Goh (#15), Sam Gan (#12) and Lok Jun Jie (#4) displayed phenomenal speed and understanding to torment their opponents’ defense.

Their contributions proved crucial for their team and helped Chua Chu Kang Primary claim a memorable second consecutive victory of the day with a final score of 50-41.

Scoring by Quarters
Chua Chu Kang Girls v Pei Chun Girls
1st Q : 13-6
2nd Q : 10-10
3rd Q : 16-19
4th Q : 9-10

Chua Chu Kang Boys v First Toa Payoh Boys
1st Q : 10-9
2nd Q : 9-7
3rd Q : 15-11
4th Q : 16-14

List of players for Chua Chu Kang Pri (Boys)
#4 Lok Jun Jie
#5 Edison Tan
#6 Shao Hong
#7 Alvin Toh
#8 Jong Seong Bae
#9 Chua Shi Rong
#10 Nicholas Chua
#11 Bryan Yap
#12 Sam Gan
#13 Muhammad Sykes
#14 Sheares Ang
#15 Xavier Goh