East Zone C Div Bball (Boys): Dunman High edge out Anglican High 53–50 to win title

Story by Louisa Goh/Red Sports

Dunman High narrowly edged out Anglican High 53–50 to win the East Zone title after a tense fourth quarter which saw the teams tied 42–42 for three minutes. (Photo 1 © Louisa Goh/Red Sports)

Anglican High, Tuesday, August 4, 2015 — Dunman High edged out Anglican High 53–50 to win the East Zone C Division Championship title after a tense fourth quarter which saw the teams tied 42–42 for three minutes. The last major match between the two teams was the 2014 East Zone semi-final where Anglican triumphed 44–42 to advance to the final.

Anglican High’s Jovan Wong (#4) was top scorer of the game with 23 points, followed by Dunman’s Avner (#5) with 14 points.

The final was a tense match as both teams often tied and matched each other point-for-point. Anglican High had started strongly in the first quarter with a six-point run, but Dunman High held their ground, eventually taking a lead of eight points in the last quarter, which was narrowed to three after sloppy defence from Dunman High.

While the first quarter ended with Anglican High leading 15–11, Dunman High swiftly caught up early in the second. The game slowed down as players took their time to pass the ball around, with Dunman High briefly edging into the lead at 22–21 in the eighth minute.

Brandon Koh (AH #7) tied it up at the free throw line, but Dunman High’s Huang Shun (#14) grabbed the rebound seconds later to add two. With mere seconds from the buzzer, Dunman High’s Avner (#5) added five to finish 29–22 in the lead at half time.

The odds evened in the third quarter, where Dunman High missed many shots and their defence slipped. Jeremy Teo (AH #15) succeeded at keeping Dunman High at bay, while his team went on to sink easy layups. The tension ratcheted up a notch, with players frequently tussling for the ball on the ground. Dunman High led by just two points at 40–38 heading into the final quarter.

Anglican High stepped up their game in the last quarter as Brandon (#7) tied it up within 45 seconds of the start. Team mate Jovan Wong (#4) then broke through Dunman High’s defence to take the lead.

Matthew (DH #4) scored to make it 42–42 not long after, resulting in a nervous three minutes as both teams reached an impasse. Both sides managed to break through the defence, but found their attempts missing.

Foul trouble sent Colin (DH #10) to the line, adding one for the team. Jonathan (#7) followed up by intercepting a pass for a quick layup. It looked like Dunman High would be unstoppable as they clocked a six-point run, but Anglican High pushed back hard after a time-out to trail by six points (51–45).

“We needed to stay composed and make sure that we didn’t lose the opportunity,” said Dunman High captain Avner (#5).

The large Dunman High crowd cheered loudly when Ee Hao (#12) widened the lead to 53–45 with just a minute to spare.

Fighting to beat the clock, Anglican High mounted an aggressive attack – Brandon (#7) scored a rebound, while Lucas Sim (#5) stole the ball to make it 53–50 with 1.4sec on the clock. With one last free throw at 0.5sec, the attempt failed and Dunman High won 53–50.

“I think it was great team effort today and we achieved our goal of getting the zonal title,” said Dunman High captain Ee Hao (#12).

Score by Quarter
Dunman High v Anglican High
Q1: 11–15
Q2: 18–7 (29–22)
Q3: 11–16 (40–38)
Q4: 13–12 (53–50)

Top Scorers
Dunman High
Avner (#5) – 14 points
Ee Hao (#12) – 12 points

Anglican High
Jovan Wong (#4) – 23 points
Brandon Koh (#7) – 13 points

Dunman High Roster
Matthew (#4), Avner (#5), Darren (#6), Jonathan (#7), Kinzcel (#8), Nicholas (#9), Colin (#10), Zachary (#11), Ee Hao (#12), Zhi Cheng (#13), Huang Shun (#14), Jovan (#15)

Anglican High Roster
Jovan Wong (#4), Lucas Sim (#5), Bryan Liew (#6), Brandon Koh (#7), Glenn Tan (#8), Chean Wei Jie (#9), Ho Kin Tat (#10), Collin Cho (#11), Nicholas Chang (#12), Terence Sim (#13), Ryan Chong (#14), Jeremy Teo (#15)

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