Story by Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Clara Yuan
Players fight for the rebound. Lim Fang Cie (NTU #45) was the top scorer for TP team with 20 points. (Photo 1 © REDintern Clara Yuan)
NTU Sports and Recreation Centre, Monday, January 27, 2014 — Temasek Polytechnic (TP) weathered a ferocious fourth quarter comeback from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to eke out an 82–75 win in the third-place play-off of the Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Basketball Championship. Lim Fang Cie (TP #45) led all scorers with 20 points. This is Temasek’s first year on the podium after falling short of the semi-finals in the previous edition.
The game revolved entirely around NTU early on. They found good looks on offence and were harassing TP into shot clock violations. This allowed them to take an early 8–2 lead halfway through the quarter. Larry Liew (TP #11), a key contributor to TP’s success in earlier games, was having an off night. Jumpers that were typically automatic did not fall for him. Fortunately, his teammates picked up the scoring slack. Fang Cie (TP #45) poured in eight points near the end of the quarter, lifting TP to a 15–12 lead.
NTU hit a bout of bad luck in the second quarter. Even though they were able to generate open looks for their players, their shots were unable to find their mark. This undid the good work they did on defence, where they thwarted TP’s drives into the lane. In this battle of attrition, TP eventually found a way to stretch the lead. They used Larry (TP #11) off the ball, letting him pick his spots to drain shots. TP’s lead stretch to nine points as both teams went into the half-time break.
The third quarter was more of the same story, although NTU’s defence found itself leaking easy baskets. TP players were literally able to stroll into the middle of the paint to attempt a shot. This sloppiness leaked over to NTU’s offence as well, as they were unable to find their rhythm, causing them to miss shot after shot.
In the final quarter, NTU seemed to turn the corner while TP emptied their bench. They were led by Wei Long (#1), who did almost everything for the team. Be it making a sweet assist or scoring himself, Wei Long was a significant contributor to the 10–0 run that brought NTU back into the match. Unfortunately, TP made sure of the game by sending in their starters to close it out to finish off the game as 82–75 winners.
TP captain, Rudy Tan (#23) said, “It feels great. We are very happy that we were able to secure third place in IVP. Teamwork was good and everyone followed the coach’s instructions. Our bench motivated the players on the court and I think that was a contributing factor to today’s win. We look to improve on this and continue this winning tradition.”
NTU captain, Andrew Zee (#14) said, “I think we played okay today. The bad defence in the third quarter allowed TP to pull away from us. We also had a few dry spells after half-time which hampered our scoring. Fortunately, we had a good run in the fourth quarter which made amends. Unfortunately we did not pull out the win. We communicated well on defence but let them get away with too many offensive rebounds. We have to work on our individual defence and conditioning to improve in future games.”
Scoring by Quarter
NTU vs TP
1st Quarter: 15–12
2nd Quarter: 26–20 (41–32)
3rd Quarter: 26–19 (67–51)
4th Quarter: 15–24 (82–75)
Top Scorers
NTU
Wong Wei Long (#1) – 20 points
TP
Lim Fang Cie (#45) – 20 points (3 x 3-pointers)
NTU Roster
Wong Wei Long (#1), Lim Wai Sian (#2), Lim Yan Ming (#6), Chen Jiahong (#7), Nai Chiau Kwang (#8), Pek Jia Rong (#9), Kelvin Yeo Chee Wen (#10), Donovan Tan Cheng Ye (#11), Chua Kian Kok (#12), Zee Kin Meng Andrew (#14), Chan Li Zhong (#15), Wong Yong Kang (#16), Koh Chee Siang (#17), Kua Hiong Yong (#19), Thomson Liu Junxin (#20)
TP Roster
Julian Lim (#1), Marvin Foo (#2), Alistier Tay (#5), Sebastian Acosta (#8), Alvin Hartono (#9), Wang Liang Rong (#10), Larry Liew (#11), John Ng (#13), Shamus Poh (#14), Teo Zhen Kai (#22), Rudy Tan (#23), Tay Ding Loon (#32), Jeric Lim (#34), Thng Jun Rong (#37), Lim Fang Cie (#45)
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