By Gan Yu Neng/Red Sports
Shannon Tham (#4) of Anglican High lays up for two past Sevilla Chea (#14) of SCGS. Both Shannon and Sevilla had 6 points each in the game. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Thursday, August 16, 2012 — Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) outscored Anglican High for three straight quarters to win 61-41 in the semi-finals of the National C Division Basketball Championship.
The game boiled down to Anglican High being unable to cope with SCGS’s full-court press. SCGS put up an intense and energetic defense that made it difficult for Anglican High to even advance the ball up to SCGS’s side of the court without losing it to a steal or an intercepted pass.
When Anglican High were able to advance all the way to SCGS’s basket, they had to contend with the very aggressive guard by SCGS’s taller and larger players, including Bernice Yeo (#4), Ceres Suwe (#9), and the center, Charmaine Koh (#13). Anglican High’s ball carrier would often find herself double-teamed or even triple-teamed before she could pass the ball to an open teammate or make an attempt to score.
SCGS, however, were fully prepared for Anglican High’s tight defensive formation. Unlike SCGS, Anglican High focused their defensive efforts on stalling the ball until the team could get into formation beneath the basket. SCGS countered by leveraging on their players’ shooting accuracy and going for shots from mid-range, which Anglican High were unable to guard against.
SCGS kept up a relatively high shooting accuracy despite restricting themselves to attempts from just within the three-point line. Bernice Yeo (#4) was especially impressive with her mid-range shots from the front or from either side of the hoop. Bernice finished with a game-high 17 points.
The most notable player of the match was SCGS’s center, Charmaine Koh (#13), who was the tallest player on court. Charmaine’s height and her ball sense won her most of the defensive rebounds, ensuring that Anglican High, already hard-pressed for opportunities to shoot, would get no second chances to score.
Charmaine was also a strong shooter from near the basket, which made her a huge offensive threat. When her teammates’ distance shots did miss, Charmaine would grab the offensive rebounds.
Anglican High had difficulty dealing with Charmaine’s height. During the third quarter, after Charmaine had caught an offensive rebound from under Anglican’s basket, four Anglican High players tightly surrounded her, attempting to cut off any potential passes to her teammates. Charmaine responded by simply making the jump shot herself, scoring two for SCGS.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, immediately after SCGS had scored, Charmaine swiftly snatched an Anglican High throw-in and scored another two, allowing SCGS to finish the quarter with a 20-point lead.
Charmaine ended with 16 points, just behind the top scorers.
Anglican High’s top scorer was Amelie Lim (#8), who tied with Bernice Yeo with 17 points. Amelie adjusted to SCGS’s style of play by going for mid-range shots or fast breaks to outrun the defense. Whenever there was a turnover, she would run hard to get the ball to SCGS’s basket before they could react, and many of Anglican High’s points were scored this way. Amelie also made numerous three-point attempts, of which one managed to get through.
Anglican High’s Navanee Lingam (#15) also ran herself ragged for the team, making repeated attempts at driving through SCGS’s formation to shoot from close range. Navanee was fouled several times, sometimes falling hard on the court as a result. Although she made only three points on the score sheet, she contributed by getting the ball through SCGS’s wall before quickly passing to a teammate who could sink the shot.
Anglican High fought right up to the final second, continually making three-point attempts in the hope of quickly cutting down on the points deficit, and shooting before SCGS’s defense ran out to guard them.
With SCGS fouling aggressively in the final quarter, Anglican High were at least given some chances to score through free throws. Anglican High’s last seven points came in the last eight minutes of the game, and every single one of those points were from free throws.
SCGS team captain Rachel Mok (#6) was happy about the result, but was not content to dwell on the win.
“We played better compared to last time, but now the focus is really going to be on the final with Nanyang,” she said.
SCGS will now proceed to face Nanyang Girls’ High in the final. Nanyang upset favourites Dunman Secondary 39-33 on the other court, handing the East Zone champions their first defeat in the entire tournament. The final will be a rematch between the two teams. SCGS won that match 36-31.
“We played them before, beat them by five,” said Rachel. “We’re going to play this last match and we’re going to beat them again.”
The national final will be held on Thursday, 23rd August, at Jurong East Sports Hall. The girls’ final is slated to commence at 1.00pm.
Anglican High will now play Dunman for third. This will be the third time the two schools have met in this tournament, the first being the East Zone final where Dunman won to take the zonal title, and the second on Tuesday when Dunman beat Anglican High 43-27 in their final Round 2 match. This third showdown will be on Wednesday, August 22nd, 1.30pm, at Clementi Sports Hall.
Score by Quarter
SCGS vs Anglican High
1st Q: 18-7
2nd Q: 17-15 (35-22)
3rd Q: 15-8 (50-30)
4th Q: 11-11
Final Score: 61-41
Top Scorers
SCGS
Bernice Yeo (#4) — 17 points
Charmaine Koh (#13) — 16 points
Rachel Mok (#6) — 8 points
Sevilla Chea (#14) — 6 points
Ceres Suwe (#9) — 5 points
Janissa P. Saurin (#12) — 5 points
Ong Li Ping (#15) — 4 points
Anglican High
Amelie Lim (#8) — 17 points
Jaslyn Koh (#9) — 8 points
Shannon Tham (#4) — 6 points
Navanee Lingam (#15) — 3 points
Chermaine Kiong (#7) — 3 points
Ho Pei Er (#14) — 2 points
Charmaine Lam (#12) — 2 points
SCGS Roster
Bernice Yeo (#4), Tiana Ng (#5), Rachel Mok (#6), Carisia Lee (#7), Lim Yin Yan (#8), Ceres Suwe (#9), Sophia Ang (#10), Low Yi Xuan (#11), Janissa P. Saurin (#12), Charmaine Koh (#13), Sevilla Chea (#14), Ong Li Ping (#15)
Anglican High Roster
Shannon Tham (#4), Clarice Tan (#5), Chelsea Eng (#6), Chermaine Kiong (#7), Amelie Lim (#8), Jaslyn Koh (#9), Ng Qi Hui (#10), Danielle Roman (#11), Charmaine Lam (#12), Vivian Hau (#13), Ho Pei Er (#14), Navanee Lingam (#15)
National C Division Basketball Championship — full fixtures and results
More photos in gallery next page
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