Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Matthew Lau
Jeanine Tong (RGS #8) slides on the ground after a collision with Carisia Lee (SCGS #7). (Photo 1 © REDintern Matthew Lau)
PESEB, Monday, March 03, 2014 – Defending champions Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) booked a return to the South Zone B Division Girls Basketball Championship final with a comprehensive 63–22 victory over rivals Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) in the semi-final.
SCGS will now face CHIJ (Toa Payoh) in the final as they seek their fifth consecutive title.
Vice-captain Bernice Yeo (#4) scored a game-high 17 points while centre Charmaine Koh (#13) followed up with 15 points for SCGS. Jeannine Tong (#8) had a team-high eight points but RGS were unable to create little else.
RGS had failed to beat SCGS in four previous South Zone finals and that trend did not look likely to deviate early on as they struggled to contain the SCGS offence in the first quarter. SCGS went on a 13–0 run to start the match with an early full-court press which was clearly too much for RGS to handle. Charmaine was unstoppable in the paint and she scored seven of her 15 points in the first period.
R Shalleeni (RGS #7) put an end to the damage with a pair of free throws and a buzzer-beating layup but RGS were already 4–13 down after 10 minutes.
RGS continued to struggle on rebounds in the second quarter as SCGS had multiple second-chance opportunities. They extended their lead to 12 points at 23–11 in the second before a third-quarter blitz stretched the advantage to 20 points at 31–11 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Bernice scored six points in the third quarter to help her team to the massive lead.
The match was over as a contest with SCGS leading 35-14 to start the final period but they did not take their foot off the pedal. The defending champions displayed their best basketball in the fourth quarter as they took full advantage of a RGS with fast breaks to add to their lead. They scored 28 points in the last 10 minutes to close the match 63—22.
Despite the win, SCGS captain, Rachel Mok (#6), felt her team could have turned in a better performance.
“Although the score does not show this, we had problem converting baskets,” she said. “We could have done better. We did not come into this game with a special mentality even though it was against RGS. We take things game to game.”
“We hope to be able to step up in the final. Our expectation is definitely to win it!” added Rachel.
Scoring by Quarter
SCGS vs RGS
1Q: 13–4
2Q: 10–7 (23–11)
3Q: 12–3 (35–14)
4Q: 28–8 (63–22)
Final score: 63–22
Top Scorers
SCGS
Bernice Yeo (#4) – 17 points
Charmaine Koh (#13) – 15 points
RGS
Jeannine Tong (#8) – 8 points
RGS Roster
Zhong Tong Xin (#4), Dianne Yeo Kai En (#5), Amber Voo E Ning (#6), R Shalleeni (#7), Jeannine Tong Kai Wen (#8), Lim Jie En (#9), Joon Hui Xuan (#10), Goh Ming Wei (#11), Stephanie Ler Fen Li (#12), Chockalingam Priyadharshini (#13), Brenda Tan Yi Xin (#14), Shriya Chettiar (#15)
SCGS Roster
Bernice Yeo (#4), Tiana Ng (#5), Rachel Mok (#6), Carisia Lee (#7), Lim Yin Yan (#8), Ceres Suwe (#9), Lin Yi Han (#10), Low Yi Xuan (#11), Sophia Ang (#12), Charmaine Koh (#13), Sevilla Chea (#14), Ong Li Ping (#15)
South Zone B Division Girls Basketball Championship — Fixtures and Results
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