Story by Jiexin Neo/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Jerald Ang
Teo Kee Chong (SP #7) leaps to take a shot against ITE. (Photo 1 © REDintern Jerald Ang)
Singapore Polytechnic, Saturday, September 20, 2014 — Singapore Polytechnic (SP) beat Institue of Technical Education (ITE) 32–19 in their opening game of the Polytechnic-Institute of Technical Education (POL-ITE) Handball Championship.
Teo Kee Chong (SP #7) led his team with a game-high 15 goals, while Mohd Zulfaqar (ITE #16) had four.
Kee Chong (SP #7) found the back of the net with his shot to open the scoring for SP (1–0). On the next transition, Muhammad Yasin (ITE #4) made a good shot attempt but it was blocked by SP goalkeeper Chua Zhong Hang (#30). Then on, Ian Lee (SP #12) put back his own miss after receiving a well-placed pass from Kee Chong (SP #7) to give SP the 2–0 lead.
ITE made good shot attempts but SP goalkeeper Chua Zhong Hang (#30) made well-timed saves to deny them time and time again. Wee Guo Rui (ITE #10) cut past his defenders to consistently threaten SP’s defence.
Midway through the game, Amirul Asri (ITE #5) scored the first goal for his side to trail 1–4. Thereafter, Guo Rui (ITE #10) converted on an offensive rebound to make it 2–4. ITE then chased the points aggressively with active defense to cause trouble for SP, who were facing a scoring drought. ITE eventually equalized at 6–6 after Zulfaqar (ITE #16) made his shot on an uncontested fast break.
Despite that, SP were determined to take the lead and a goal from Lee Shyh Woei (SP #24) sparked an 11–5 scoring run to push their lead to 17–11 at the end of the half.
In the second half, ITE put up a very aggressive defence but SP were difficult to stop on offense. SP’s Kee Chong (#7) was fast and had high conversion rate on fast breaks. On the other hand, Guo Rui (ITE #10) controlled the pace of his team’s offense well and dished out good passes, while Muhammad Zukhairie (ITE #15) was strong on long-range shots and scored mostly through that.
Midway through the second half, Kee Chong’s (SP #7) good run on a fast break gave his team their first 10-point lead (27–17) of the game. From there, SP outscored ITE 5–2 to finish the game 32–19 winners.
SP captain, Harry Naing (#1), said, “I think we did relatively well today but we can do better in terms of our defense. Our defense toughened up in the second quarter. We were more accustomed to the game pace and this helped us to extend the lead.”
Commenting on his opponents’ play, Harry said, “ITE’s keeper blocked off many powerful shots from our outfielders and there were many sleek cut-ins made by the backs as well. We want to retain our championship title.”
ITE captain, Guo Rui (#10), said, “I think first game against SP is a good warm up game for our next few games, as SP are the defending champions. I think we did quite well as we only had 2 to 3 trainings together. I think we can improve on our communication, as they managed to intercept quite a few passes due to our lack of communication on court.”
Scoring by Period
SP vs ITE
First half: 17–11
Second half: 15–8 (32–19)
Top Scorers
SP
Teo Kee Chong (#7) – 15 goals
ITE
Mohd Zulfaqar (#16) – 4 goals
SP Roster
Harry Naing (#1), Ng Yong Rae (#3), Roth Voo Qin Gui (#6), Teo Kee Chong (#7), Guey Zong Lin Lucas (#8), Brandon Khoo (#9), Joseph Hoo Kah Ming (#10), Lee Jia Ming (#11), Ian Kyle Lee Kah Yeong (#12), Darren Gerald David Jedur (#15), Chong Zhao Hui (#17), Daryl Ng Yong Chuan (#20), Jordan Tay Jin Jie (#23), Lee Shyh Woei (#24), Bryan Leong Qi Wei (#27), Chua Zhong Hang (#30)
ITE Roster
Mohamad Shahrin Bin Abdullah (#1), Hau Jian Hua (#2), Abu Bakar Bin Masdollah (#3), Muhammad Yasin Bin Abdul Latiff (#4), Amirul Asri Bin Md.Redhwan (#5), Muhammad Suradi Bin Ithnin (#6), Amarnath Gupta (#7), Abdullah Bin Mohammad Ismail (#8), Lau Tian Li Shaun (#9), Wee Guo Rui (#10), Abdul Hafiz bin Mohd Zulkiflee (#11), Chua Wen Tat (#12), Benjamin Ng Kok Yong (#13), Mohammad Hafiz Bin Osman (#14), Muhammad Zukhairie Bin Khairudin (#15), Mohd Zulfaqar (#16)
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