Story by Tamara Lie/Red Sports. Photos by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports.
Yeo Ding Xin (ZHS #11) rising up for a shot over her defender. She finished with 9 points in the game. (Photo 1 © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)
Delta Sports Hall, Thursday, March 3, 2016 – National Junior College (NJC) defeated Zhonghua Secondary (ZHS) 49-36 in the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship final.
Both teams met previously in round 1 where NJC won 33-24.
Jeslyn Chew (#12) from Zhonghua scored a game-high 10 points while Nicole Looi (NJC #17) and Glenda Lee (NJC #13) led their team to victory with eight points each.
NJC raced into the first quarter, scoring baskets from fast break opportunities. Zhonghua on the other hand, had a slow start and were heavily pressured by NJC’s full court defence.
Zhonghua made many shot attempts but were unable to put the ball into the basket and only scored three points in that quarter. NJC capitalised on their strong defence and rebounding to gain an 11-point, 14-3 lead.
The second quarter saw Zhonghua inching their way forward as they broke in to score. Zhonghua drew fouls from NJC and scored many points through free throws. They also tightened their defence and prevented NJC from scoring easy baskets. As a result, Zhonghua trailed by only seven points (14-21) at half time.
The sports hall was filled with cheers for both teams as they started an intense third quarter. Zhonghua put up a good fight but could not match up to NJC who continued to control the pace of the game.
A three pointer by Ashley Wong (NJC #11) towards the end of the third quarter brought the crowd to their feet. NJC were up by 16 points (43-27) at the end of the third quarter.
Despite the large 16-point lead, Zhonghua did not give up and gave it their all in the last quarter. They managed to outscore NJC 9-6 in that quarter but it was not enough to reduce the deficit as NJC emerged as zonal champions with a 49-36 win.
Denise Lam (#12), captain of NJC, said, “I think the game was good, we did well. I feel great after the win because last year we lost to CHIJ in the final. I think Zhonghua played well, it was a fantastic game.”
Ashley Wong (#11), NJC vice captain, added, “We put in a lot of effort but we can improve on our turnovers and fouls. We fouled so much, a lot of players had four fouls and we kept sending them to the free throw line.”
Along with CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) and Mayflower Secondary, who finished third and fourth respectively, both teams will play in the National B Division Basketball Championship later this month.
Scoring by Quarter
NJC vs Zhonghua
1st Quarter: 14-3
2nd Quarter: 7-11 (21-14)
3rd Quarter: 22-13 (43-27)
4th Quarter: 6-9 (49-36)
Top Scorers
NJC
Nicole Looi (#17) – 8 points
Glenda Lee (#13) – 8 points
Zhonghua
Jeslyn Chew (#12) – 10 points
Yeo Ding Xin (#11) – 9 points
NJC Roster
Chung Tzu Chi (#4), Sylvia Yap (#5), Nicole Lee (#6), Vanessa Ngoi (#7), Dong Ke Wen (#8), Cheryl Lee (#9), Ang Yi Xuan (#10), Ashley Wong (#11), Denise Lam (#12), Glenda Lee (#13), Nicole Looi (#17), Lau Yu Hui (#18)
Zhonghua Roster
Esther Yip (#4), Jonalyn Koh (#5), Reanne Ching (#7), Shermin Moh (#8), Sherry Lee (#9), Ummi Kaltom (#10), Yeo Ding Xin (#11), Jeslyn Chew (#12), Claudia Tan (#14), Crystal Ho (#15), Lim Fang Hui (#16), Nikki Lee (#25)
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