By REDintern Dylan Chua. Photos by REDintern Chan Hua Zheng.

Pit (Mayflower #5) slashing past his defender. He scored a team-high 13 points.

Pit (Mayflower #5) slashing past his defender. He scored a team-high 13 points. (Photo 1 © REDintern Chan Hua Zheng)

OCBC Arena, Friday, January 15, 2016 — Guangyang Secondary claimed a hard fought 50-40 victory over Mayflower Secondary by denying their opponents a late comeback in their opening game of the 2016 South Zone B Division Basketball Championship.

#12 of Guangyang bagged a game-high 19 points while Pit (#5) of Mayflower led his team with 13.

The game started off with both teams attacking vigorously in the open court at every opportunity. With three minutes to go in the opening period and the score tie at 4-4, Guangyang went on a potentially decisive seven nothing run to lead 11-4.

In the final minute of the quarter, an unsportsmanlike foul on Ibrahim (Mayflower #6) resulted in two free throws plus possession for Mayflower. The score was 11-6 in Guangyang’s favor after one.

Mayflower started the 2nd quarter brightly, using a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead at 12-11. With the score at 14 apiece, Guangyang managed to up their game and capitalised on Mayflower’s drop in energy by scoring 10 without reply to secure a 10-point lead at halftime.

After the restart, two made baskets by Mayflower cut the lead to six points, prompting a timeout by Guangyang with 7:26 to go in the 3rd.

Both teams increased the pace of the game coming out of the timeout, but that led to many mistakes on the offensive end, leading to countless turnovers by both teams. Yet, Guangyang still enjoyed the better break and ended the quarter with a 14-point lead.

Both teams had answers for each other as they traded baskets in the first five minutes of the 4th. Mayflower then went on an 8-2 run, cutting Guangyang’s lead to nine with 2:20 left to go. At this point, Guangyang were in the penalty and Mayflower seemed to have momentum on their side.

However, a late run by Mayflower never materialised as Guangyang’s defense clamped their opponents down late in the game to hang on for a 10-point win.

Jordan Lee (Mayflower #7) said, “Guangyang played a good game. We need to have more confidence in our shooting and trust our teammates more.”

Jordan also added that his team needed to box their opponents out more consistently in order to grab more rebounds.

Mayflower next play Fairfield Methodist School while Guangyang’s next opponents are St. Andrew’s Secondary. Both games will be played on Monday, 18 January at OCBC Arena.

Scoring by Quarter
Mayflower vs Guangyang
1st Q: 6-11
2nd Q: 8-13 (14-24)
3rd Q: 13-17 (27-41)
4th Q: 13-9 (40-50)

Top Scorers
Mayflower
Pit (#5) – 13 points
Jordan Lee (#7) – 12points
Daren Goh (#12) – 8 points

Guangyang
#12 – 19 points
#30 – 12 points
#14 – 8 points

Mayflower Roster
Bryant Tan (#4), Pit (#5), Ibrahim (#6), Jordan Lee (#7), Kevin Choy (#8), Chase Chen (#9), Han Li (#10), Jurgen Tan (#11), Daren Goh (#12), Khoo Peng Yong (#13), Tay Zhi Wen (#14), Nicko (#15)

Guangyang Roster
We asked for but did not receive the names of the players.

South Zone B Division Basketball Championship – fixtures and results

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