Story by Dylan Chua/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Adeline Lee.

Huang Yifan (NJC #22) breaks through Guangyang's defense. He was the top scorer for his team, bagging 17 points. (Photo 1 © REDintern Adeline Lee)

Huang Yifan (NJC #22) breaks through Guangyang’s defense. He was the top scorer for his team, scoring 17 points. (Photo 1 © REDintern Adeline Lee)

OCBC Arena, Friday, February 19, 2016 — Guangyang Secondary defeated National Junior College (NJC) 47-44 to place themselves in a favorable position to qualify for the semi-finals of the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship.

NJC tasted defeat for the first time in the Championship despite a game-high 17 points from Huang Yifan (#22). Irfan (#30) led Guangyang with 12 points in the victory.

In a thrilling fast-paced contest, both teams were neck to neck and it was never more than a two possession game until late in the 4th quarter.

NJC’s failure to corral defensive rebounds late in the game proved to be their downfall as Guangyang benefitted from many second chance opportunities. With 5:38 to go, Guangyang seemed to have victory firmly in their bags with a ten-point, 47-37 lead.

NJC have been clutch all season, having won a handful of close game including a last minute comeback against Raffles Institution and threatened to repeat the feat late on.

NJC played superb locked down defense and stopped Guangyang from scoring for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, NJC could not find a way back but have their lucky stars to thank as Belkham Low (NJC #71) drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer which could be extremely vital in a three-way tie. A three-way tie will happen if three schools finish with an identical 4-1 record in round 2.

Guangyang (4-0) currently hold top spot in Group Q with one match to go while NJC and Holy Innocents’ High are still in contention for a semi-final berth with a 3-1 record in the 2nd round.

Guangyang’s next match against Holy Innocents’ on Monday, February 22, will go a long way in deciding the final standings of Group Q.

A Guangyang victory would see them knock-out Holy Innocents’ and claim top spot. Holy Innocents’ will have to win by four points or more in order to qualify for the semis. Victory by a smaller margin will see them crash out based on point difference in a three-way tie.

If a three-way tie occurs, NJC’s four-point win over Holy Innocents’ earlier in the round would see them benefit courtesy of their positive point difference (+1) after taking into account the three team’s head-to-head record.

NJC will take-on already eliminated Gan Eng Seng School in their final round 2 match. A win for NJC will guarantee them a spot in the semi-finals.

Scoring by quarter
NJC vs Guangyang
1st quarter: 14-9
2nd quarter: 8-16 (22-25)
3rd quarter: 13-16 (35-41)
4th quarter: 9-6 (44-47)

Top scorer
NJC
Huang Yifan (#22) – 17 points

Guangyang
Irfan (#30) – 12 points
Gerald (#12) – 10 points

NJC Roster
Seow Wei Xuan (#3), Ian Tay Wei Han (#10), Aviral Agarwal (#13), Huang Yifan (#22), Rayden Teo Wei Xuan (#25), Belkham Low Jin Rong (#71), Jonathan Gan Jing Heng (#72), Janson Tan Jeung Yong (#91), Nicholas Gao Lu Xin (#99), Lu Guan Yu

Guangyang Roster
Randy (#5), Irfan (#30), Yijian (#6), Jiaxian (#8), Nowis (#14), Jerry (#16), Brandon (#7), Gerald (#12), Cassidy (#13), Larry, Melvin, Rhyane

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