By REDintern Lim Yong Teck
Soon Yong Chao (#7) of New Town driving against Michael Palero (#6) and Misheel Bayaraa (#7) of ACS (Barker). Yong Chao led all scorers with 14 points in New Town’s victory. (Photo 1 © REDintern Lim Yong Teck)
Clementi Sports Hall, Wednesday, March 27, 2013 — New Town Secondary edged out Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Rd) 49–40 for their first win in the National B Division Basketball Championship. New Town had earlier lost their first game to Canberra Secondary.
“This was a very competitive game. The game was not determined by skills, but by our mental resilience. We had to win this game, if not we would be eliminated,” said New Town captain, Cheong Weilun (#4).
ACS (Barker) commenced the game with captain Jordan Wong (#10) and Sih Yong Jie (#14) nailing a jumper each. New Town answered with a long two from Weilun, but Koh Jin Quan (ACS #15) hit a three to put his team up 2–7. Along with Yong Jie, Jin Quan sparked a 7–0 run (2–11) for the team in dark. Choo Wei Boon (#13) of New Town then hit a three with just a minute remaining to end the run, but Yong Jie replied with a three of his own to end the first at 5–14.
New Town came back into the second quarter and executed brilliant defence, limiting ACS (Barker) to just six points. Soon Yong Chao (#7) of New Town scored seven out of his team’s 13 points to help reduce the deficit to just 2 points (18–20) at the half.
Just seconds into the third, Weilun helped tie the game at 20 apiece with a floater. Tan Guan Wei (#12) followed with back-to-back jumpers to propel New Town into the lead at 24–20 with eight minutes to play. Jin Quan responded quickly with a three and a fast break off a steal to help ACS reclaim the lead (24–25). Yong Jie added a three of his own to put ACS (Barker) up by three points (24–28). Misheel Bayaraa (#7) then capped the run with an uncontested layup.
With just three minutes to play, Yong Chao put a halt to the 10–0 ACS (Barker( run with a floater but a sweet dish out to a cutting Jordan from Michael Palero (ACS #6) helped maintain the lead at six points (26–32). At the other half of the court, Yong Chao would draw a foul at the arc and sank all three free throws. Guan Wei’s subsequent free throw would trim the ACS (Barker) lead to two and end the quarter.
The final quarter was clearly in favour of New Town. Wei Boon showed he could shoot in a clutch and propelled his team with eight points in the quarter, including two back-to-back 3-pointers. ACS could not handle the defensive pressure and fumbled with the possession. New Town then went on a 10–0 run and sealed the game at 49–40 with a final free throw from Denilson Soh (#11).
“We blew our lead as we became complacent. They (New Town) got on our heels and caught up with us. We had a good first half with a balanced offence and defence. The second half was just disappointing,” commented Jordan of ACS (Barker).
Score by Quarter
New Town vs ACS (Barker)
1st Q: 5–14
2nd Q: 13–6 (18–20)
3rd Q: 12–12 (30–32)
4th Q: 19–8 (49–40)
Scorers
New Town
Soon Yong Chao (#7) — 14 points
Choo Wei Boon (#13) — 13 points (3 x 3-pointer)
Cheong Weilun (#4) — 10 points
Chia Siu Phang (14) — 6 points
Tan Guan Wei (#12) — 5 points
Denilson Soh Caijun (#11) — 1 point
ACS (Barker)
Koh Jin Quan (#15) — 12 points (2 x 3-pointers)
Sih Yong Jie (#14) — 10 points (2 x 3-pointer)
Michael Fiehl Jose Palero (#6) — 7 points
Jordan Wong Jia Ding (#10) — 6 points
Misheel Bayaraa (#7) — 4 points
Ye Guang Hao (#11) — 1 points
New Town roster
Cheong Weilun (#4), Tay Yong Liang Dominic (#5), Dawson Chng Jie Sheng (#6), Soon Yong Chao (#7), Jeremy Anand Koh Shuang Le (#8), Chong Chuang Yu Benedict (#9), Wan Min Xiong (#10), Denilson Soh Caijun (#11), Tan Guan Wei (#12), Choo Wei Boon (#13), Chia Siu Phang (#14), Lim Jun Ming (#15)
ACS (Barker) roster
Yan Yung Shen Ryan (#4), Kelvin Franny (#5), Michael Fiehl Jose Palero (#6), Misheel Bayaraa (#7), Arvind Ravindran (#8), Isaac Hwa En Hao (#9), Jordan Wong Jia Ding (#10), Ye Guang Hao (#11), Imran Careem B Zulkifli (#12), Darian Ariyasa Hidajat (#13), Sih Yong Jie (#14), Koh Jin Quan (#15)
2013 National B Division Boys’ Basketball Championship — fixtures and results
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