By REDintern Denise Chia. Photos by REDintern Chua Kai Yun

Howard (KR #12) driving to the hoop. He had a game-high 16 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © REDintern Chua Kai Yun)

Howard (KR #12) driving to the hoop. He had a game-high 16 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © REDintern Chua Kai Yun)

OCBC Arena, Wednesday, January 27, 2016 — Kent Ridge Secondary School overpowered Ang Mo Kio Secondary School with a 44-25 win in the South Zone B Division Boys’ Basketball Championship.

Howard (#12) of Kent Ridge scored a game-high 16 points while Myat Ko (#14) of Ang Mo Kio led his team with 10.

Ang Mo Kio gained possession at the tip off but lost the ball, allowing Chee Ten (#10) of Kent Ridge to score the first two points of the game. A long pass across the court allowed Jeremy (#13) of Ang Mo Kio to score and tie the game.

Both teams employed man to man defence and successfully intercepted passes made by the opposing team. This led to Kent Ridge employing fakes and unexpected bounce passes to work around the opponents’ strong defence, enabling Howard (#12) of Kent Ridge to score their next basket with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Ang Mo Kio followed suit, faking passes to work around Kent Ridge’s defence. However, due to pressure from Kent Ridge, Ang Mo Kio often passed the ball into empty space, or to a fellow teammate who was caught off guard.

Kent Ridge had the edge, leading 26-14 by the end of the 1st half.

In the second half, Kent Ridge were on a roll, outscoring Ang Mo Kio 10-2. Ang Mo Kio were at times confused with the change of sides, with some players running in the wrong direction after gaining possession of the ball.

It became an increasingly physical contest, with pushing, shoving and jersey-pulling becoming more obvious.

As the Kent Ridge lead increased, Ang Mo Kio upped their offence and grew more aggressive, preventing Kent Ridge from going on a scoring run. Ang Mo Kio outscored Kent Ridge 9-8 in the final quarter, but it was not enough to to close the gap and prevent Kent Ridge from taking a 44-25 win.

Ian Chua (#6), captain of Kent Ridge, found the game against Ang Mo Kio “physically challenging”.

“Today’s performance wasn’t our best, but it was decent,” added Ian. “We need to listen to our coach more – we don’t listen to him enough.”

Scoring by Quarter
Kent Ridge vs Ang Mo Kio
1st Q: 10-6
2nd Q: 16-8 (26-14)
3rd Q: 10-2 (36-16)
4th Q: 8-9 (44-25)

Kent Ridge
Howard (#12) – 16 points

Ang Mo Kio
Myat Ko (#14) – 10 points

Kent Ridge Roster
Christopher (#2), Javier Kuah (#5), Ian Chua (#6), Dylan (#7), Mingzhi (#9), Chee Ten (#10), Howard (#12), Goh Jun Hui (#13), Jordan (#23), Yong Lin (#24), Nigel (#30), Wai Meng (#32)

Ang Mo Kio Roster
Chong Teck Goon (#4), Chen Ke (#5), Issac (#6), Chua Jun Hong (#7), Elijah Ng (#9), Foo Hai Yang (#10), Jordan Lim (#11), Gerald (#12), Jeremy (#13), Myat Ko (#14), Cai De (#15)

South Zone B Division Basketball Championship – fixtures and results

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