Story by Jiexin Neo/Red Sports. Photos by Clara Yuan/Red Sports

BBALL-BDIV-UNITY-VS-DUNMAN-1

Thng Yong-An scores the winning layup which lifted Unity to a 67–65 comeback victory over Dunman. (Photo 1 © Clara Yuan/Red Sports)

Jurong East Sports Hall, Thursday, April 24, 2014 — Unity Secondary School (USS) staged a comeback with one minute remaining in regulation time to stun Dunman Secondary School (DMN), as they went from being seven points down to win 67–65 to defend their National B Division Boys Basketball Championship title.

Dunman last showed up in the national final in 2012, where they defeated Unity 69–57 to clinch the title. For Unity, this is their fifth consecutive appearance in the national final. The two teams last met in the first round of the nationals, where Unity went down to Dunman by two points.

John Christopher (USS #6) paced his team with a game-high 25 points, while Joshua Alas (DMN #7) registered a team-high 22 points.

Dunman went on a 7–0 scoring run in the first three minutes of the game, scoring from offensive rebounds alone to give themselves some breathing room over Unity. Joshua Alas (DMN #7) played a huge part in that, taking down two offensive rebounds and then converting a free throw to chalk up five points.

Thng Yong-An (USS #5) drilled the wide open three to kick off Unity’s offensive game. Lee Ko Vic (USS #8) followed suit to threaten Dunman’s defence in the paint, cutting in to add four more points to the scoreboard. They were the only scorers for Unity in the first quarter, as they trailed 10–16 going into the second quarter.

Unity parlayed a strong second quarter, challenging their opponents’ defensive efforts with good finishing in the paint. Choo Tin Liang (DMN #4) did diligent defence and retaliated offensively by nailing a pair of 3-pointers, but it was not enough as Unity outscored Dunman 19–15 in the quarter to fall behind only by two points going into the halftime break.

In the third quarter, Yong-An (USS #5) faced strong defence from Xu Teck Chong (DMN #5) and thus was unable to score any points. However, then on he played an assistive role for the team during offensive plays, dishing out good passes to John (USS #6) on many occasions. He also secured several offensive rebounds to supply the team with chances to reset their plays.

John (USS #6) reciprocated Yong-An’s (USS #5) efforts by stepping up on his offensive game, converting well against his bigger opponents on the court to contribute 14 points in the third quarter alone.

Unity enjoyed their first lead of the game when John (#6) netted a 3-pointer to make it 39–38. However, Raymond Chu (DMN #14) responded with an easy three on the wing to take the lead back (41–39). Despite John’s (USS #6) valiant efforts to make most of his shots count, it was not enough to reduce the deficit significantly as Dunman were playing a more rounded game, with their players taking turns to score. Dunman led 51–45 going into the final quarter.

In the last quarter, Unity tried to draw even with their good finishing, but Joshua Alas (DMN #7) tapped on his high conversion rate on the key to score eight points straight, helping Dunman to pull away. With one minute remaining in regulation, Unity’s aggressive offensive efforts seemed to have gone down the drain as their opponents held a stubborn seven-point lead (65–58).

Foo Jun Lin (USS #10) however, kept Unity in contention for the win by sinking a three to make it 61–65. John (#6) scored another three to make it 64–65 with 30 seconds left. Their consecutive 3-point efforts sparked hopes for a late comeback as the Unity side called for a time-out.

Following Unity’s foul on a player, Dunman were awarded a pair of free throws but missed both of the shots, squandering the opportunity to extend their lead. Yong-An (USS #5) then stole the ball from his opponent to drive straight to the basket for an easy two. His layup lifted Unity 66–65 over Dunman.

With eight seconds remaining, Dunman struggled to find the range with their shots but they just did not fall. Tan Min Hui (USS #9) then seized possession of a loose ball and Dunman’s subsequent foul on him gave him a pair of free throws. He scored on his second shot to up Unity’s lead to 67–65.

Dunman pushed for hopes of an overtime, but their final desperation shot at the buzzer missed its mark. Unity had battled back in the waning stages of the game, overcoming a seven-point deficit with nine unanswered points to end the game 67–65 winners.

Unity captain, Jun Lin (#10), said, “Really happy about the win as it was a very tough game. We played all in in the last quarter as we were losing, but stayed strong with our team spirit. We wanted to take our revenge as we lost to them in the nationals.”

Unity player, Yong-An (#5), commented, “It’s really good. For me it’s my first year and we won the B Division title. We didn’t expect to win the final because everyone thought we wouldn’t get far in the nationals at first, because we were thought to be the underdogs.”

Unity went down to Dunman by two points in the first round of the nationals. When asked about what made them fight back this time round, Yong-An added, “We wanted to win it, so we came back stronger and faster than what we were before. I hope we will win the title next year too, to make three straight wins.”

When asked about what made them come back in the second half of the game, Unity’s top scorer, John (#6), commented, “We encouraged each other to work on and take more shots so that we will get our shooting right.”

“We felt good after beating the team that we didn’t beat during the first round in the nationals. It feels good because it’s my first year in the B Division and it’s a different type of atmosphere in the B Division because there are so many more bigger players than me. Some more, I’m the shortest here,” said John. On his hopes for next year’s tournament, he added, “Just take it bit by bit first. First top four for West Zone, then Nationals.”

Scoring by Quarter
Unity vs Dunman
1Q: 10–16
2Q: 19–15 (29–31)
3Q: 16–20 (45–51)
4Q: 22–14 (67–65)
Final score: 67–65

Top Scorers
Unity
John Christopher (#6) – 25 points (4 x 3 pointer)
Thng Yong-An (#5) – 17 points (3 x 3 pointer)

Dunman
Joshua Alas (#7) – 22 points
Tan Yi Rong (#12) – 12 points (1 x 3 pointer)

Unity Secondary Roster
Maung Khant Htet (#4), Thng Yong-An (#5), Caraig John Christopher Bico (#6), Jacinth Figueroa Aban (#7), Lee Ko Vic Ariel Nestor (#8), Tan Min Hui (#9), Foo Jun Lin (#10), Caraig David Martin Bico (#11), Matthew Choo Ming-En (#12), Maverick Jercel E. Dasig (#13), Leon Chin Wei Chen (#14), Shahrul B Ramdan (#15)

Dunman Secondary Roster
Choo Tin Liang (#4), Xu Teck Chong (#5), Darren Ng (#6), Joshua Alas (#7), Benedict Ong (#8), Shukri (#9), Choa Sheng Da (#10), Kong Yiroon (#11), Tan Yi Rong (#12), Liew Jia Ming (#13), Raymond Chu (#14), Declan Goh (#15)

National B Division Boys Basketball Championship — Fixtures and Results

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