By Gan Yu Neng/Red Sports
Shahrul Ramdum (#15) of Unity lays up against North Vista. His defensive ability helped to disrupt North Vista’s rhythm. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Tuesday, August 7, 2012 — After trailing North Vista Secondary narrowly through the second and third quarters, Unity Secondary turned the match around and then held on tightly to their slim lead to win 47-44 in their first Round 2 game of the National C Division Basketball Championship.
Although North Vista were ahead for most of the match, Unity were never far behind. After three quarters of breathless back-and-forth, the game remained tied at 35-35 with less than six minutes to go in the final quarter. With a strong offensive partnership between Thng Yong An (#5) and John Christopher (#7), however, Unity finally seized the lead and then began to pull ahead.
North Vista, on the other hand, uncharacteristically missed many of their shots in the last few minutes, allowing Unity to gain a five-point lead near the end of the game, the largest Unity had over the course of the entire match.
With four seconds left on the clock, Unity’s Shahrul Ramdum (#15) caught a miss by John Christopher (#7) to score a final two points, to give Unity a five-point 47-42 lead. In the final second, Shiek Ridwan (#10) from North Vista countered with a buzzer beater that narrowed the deficit to three, but that effort came too late to change the outcome.
North Vista’s Christian co Pepito (#4) made a game-high 16 points, including points from three successful three-pointers. At one point in the second quarter, after wowing the supporters with a successful three-point attempt, Christian made two consecutive three-point attempts as Unity’s entire defense stood and watched. Having failed the second, he cut in to catch his own rebound, dribbled out a few steps, then turned around and put in two from mid-range, completing a personal eight-point streak and giving North Vista a seven-point lead at 29-22.
The top scorer for Unity was Thng Yong An (#5), just behind Christian with 14 points. Yong An maneuvered expertly past North Vista’s defense, sliding into the North Vista formation to catch his teammate’s passes, then either feinting to prematurely trigger the defense or simply running in for the lay-up. Yong An’s gutsy style of play beneath North Vista’s basket provoked several fouls; six of his 14 points came from successful free throws.
Unity kept a fierce defense throughout the match, with players dashing forward to quickly intercept or even just knock away North Vista’s passes. Shahrul (#15) in particular continually disrupted North Vista’s plays, ruining their fast breaks and creating turnovers, simply by doing his utmost to keep their passes from getting through.
The Unity players ran hard for every single ball, even throw-ins. During the third quarter, Muhd Afiq (#12) made such an eager dash to intercept North Vista’s throw-in that he fell hard onto the court.
North Vista put up a strong fight on the offensive side, but were undermined by many misses, both on their free throws and on their shots. Although Unity was actually in a penalty situation for most of the match, North Vista failed to capitalise on this, scoring a total of only eight points from free throws.
North Vista must now win their next game against Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary if they hope to progress to the semi-finals. The match will be played on Monday, August 13th, 2.30pm at Clementi Sports Hall. North Vista have already beaten Ahmad Ibrahim once during the North Zone Championship, but only by a single point.
Unity will next face Presbyterian High on Monday, August 13th, 2.30pm, also at Clementi Sports Hall. With Presbyterian High already holding one loss, defeat here will most likely put them out of contention for the semi-final. Unity, on the other hand, will almost certainly secure a Top Four place if they win this match.
Score by Quarter
North Vista vs Unity
1st Q: 5-6
2nd Q: 16-11 (21-17)
3rd Q: 10-12 (31-29)
4th Q: 13-18
Final Score: 44-47
Top Scorers
North Vista
Christian co Pepito (#4) — 16 points
Shiek Ridwan (#10) — 9 points
Sim Zhen (#13) — 7 points
Daniel Koh (#15) — 5 points
Tan Yi Xuan (#11) — 4 points
Jolo Emmanuel Carino Cristobal (#9) — 2 points
Nigel Go (#12) — 1 point
Unity
Thng Yong An (#5) — 14 points
Lee Kovic (#8) — 9 points
Foo Jun Lin (#10) — 8 points
Shahrul Ramdum (#15) — 8 points
John Christopher (#7) — 7 points
Tan Ming Hui (#9) — 1 point
North Vista Roster
Christian co Pepito (#4), Jeff Tan (#5), Danial Tai (#6), Sim Xuan (#7), Fabian Low (#8), Jolo Emmanuel Carino Cristobal (#9), Shiek Ridwan (#10), Tan Yi Xuan (#11), Nigel Go (#12), Sim Zhen (#13), Justine Carlo Duro Chansuyco (#14), Daniel Koh (#15)
Unity Roster
Indra Dzuliman (#4), Thng Yong An (#5), Markus Lin (#6), John Christopher (#7), Lee Kovic (#8), Tan Ming Hui (#9), Foo Jun Lin (#10), David Martin (#11), Muhd Afiq (#12), Brandon Tan (#13), Leon Chin (#14), Shahrul Ramdum (#15)
National C Division Basketball Championship — full fixtures and results
More photos in gallery next page
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