Story by Jiexin Neo/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports.
Chua Cheng Wei (PJC #9) shoots against Lim Mingyi (NJC #9) and Jia Shu Yi (NJC #10). Cheng Wei led PJC with 10 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Singapore Basketball Centre, Wednesday, May 7, 2014 — Pioneer Junior College’s (PJC) strong second half gave them a 27–21 win over National Junior College (NJC) in the National A Division Boys Basketball Championship.
Chua Cheng Wei (#9) and Brandon Ong (#10) of PJC paced their team with 10 points each, while Richard Tan (#5) and Jerald Lim (#11) of NJC had six points each.
Richard Tan (NJC #5) scored one on the key to put NJC 2–0 up. From the start of the game, PJC were unable to find the net with their shots and squandered their scoring opportunities. Midway through the first quarter, NJC were leading 4–2 when Rymond Neo (PJC #5) converted an offensive rebound to level at 4–4. NJC had a couple of mis-passes towards the end of the quarter and thus were unable to extend their lead further. Jerald Lim (NJC #11) scored one on his layup to end the first quarter 8–4.
Both teams started off the second quarter with full court man-to-man press which resulted in several turnovers. However, they faced a scoring drought and were unable to convert their chances. As such the scoreline was still at 8–4 five minutes into the quarter. PJC then managed to find a breakthrough when Tan Jian Yong (PJC #7) dished out a good pass to Chua Cheng Wei (#9) on a fastbreak, who finished well at the basket to make it 6–8. Brandon Ong (PJC #10) scored an easy two on a layup to draw even at 8–8 with NJC. Cherwin Lim (PJC #8) made it 11–8 when he netted the first successful 3-point attempt of the game, but Alden Lim (NJC #4) matched his effort to end the first half with a tie (11–11).
Yeo Eng Heng (#6) and Chua Cheng Wei (#9) were crucial for PJC during offensive plays in the second half. Eng Heng paced his team with well-placed passes, while Cheng Wei went on strong drives to constantly threaten NJC’s defence. Under their lead, PJC began to convert more of their shots to consistently put points onto the scoreboard. Although NJC were stronger at rebounding, they could not find the net with their underbasket shots. With that PJC took on a 19–13 lead going into the final quarter.
In the last quarter, NJC were trailing 13–21 when they began to chase the points diligently. They registered a 6–1 scoring run to reduce the deficit to three points (19–22) with four minutes to go. Brandon (PJC #10) played a pivotal role for his team in the final minutes of the game as he netted crucial shots to gradually extend PJC’s lead.
Lim Mingyi (NJC #9)’s successful three on the wing proved to be the final offensive attempt for NJC as they failed to go past PJC’s defence after that. PJC came back stronger in the second half to beat NJC 27–21 to register their first win in the second round of the tournament.
PJC captain, Eng Heng (#6) said, “We played a really bad game. I think maybe we were complacent, so we didn’t mentally prepare ourselves for the game. I think every aspect was really bad today. I think mental game is very important.”
Scoring by Quarter
NJC vs PJC
1Q: 8–4
2Q: 3–7 (11–11)
3Q: 2–8 (13–19)
4Q: 8–8 (21–27)
Final score: 21–27
Top Scorers
NJC
Richard Tan (#5) – 6 points
Jerald Lim (#11) – 6 points
PJC
Chua Cheng Wei (#9) – 10 points
Brandon Ong (#10) – 10 points
National Junior College Roster
Alden Lim (#4), Richard Tan (#5), Tay Kang Ming (#6), Perry Chia (#7), Brian Lee (#8), Lim Mingyi (#9), Jia Shu Yi (#10), Jerald Lim (#11), Wang Yuhang (#12), Wang Jia Yuan (#13), Brendan Tan (#14), Jerome Tan (#15)
Pioneer Junior College Roster
Paul Tan Pei Yang (#4), Neo Rymond (#5), Yeo Eng Heng (#6), Tan Jian Yong (#7), Lim Tian Wei Cherwin (#8), Chua Cheng Wei (#9), Ong Jin Jie Brandon (#10), Lim Jin Kai (#11), Darius Chan Rong Rui (#12), Eugene Low Ya Ming (#13), Mun Wai Kin (#14), Mohamad Nazri Bin Mohamad Rashed (#15)
National A Division Boys Basketball Championship — Fixtures and Results
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