Story and photos by REDintern Low Zheng Yu
Freda Wee (SCGS #13) looks to set up a play. She went on to make the game-winning jumper. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Monday, February 13, 2017 — Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) completed a 40-39 comeback victory against Yishun Town Secondary despite a poor shooting performance in Round 2 of the North Zone B Division Basketball Championship.
The win gives SCGS a perfect 7-0 win-loss record. With this win, they are currently in first place in Group B and will play Ahmad Ibrahim next.
This loss drops Yishun Town to a 1-1 record in Round 2. They will play against Seng Kang next and have to win to advance to the semi-finals.
SCGS started the game cold. Shots were not falling and there were many turnovers due to miscommunication.
Yishun Town, on the other hand, capitalised on the SCGS mistakes and scored off their turnovers. They made threes and scored on their fast-breaks.
In the second quarter, Nur Afiyah Bte Misban (YT #5) of Yishun Town hit back-to-back three-pointers. She scored a game-high 15 points.
Undaunted, SCGS kept the game close despite poor shooting. They kept on attacking unrelentingly.
Many times, Patricia Orenza (SCGS #7) drove into traffic to draw fouls, making her way to the free throw line. Points from the free-throw line kept things close for SCGS. She also set up plays, driving in and kicking out to the open shooters to get them into a rhythm.
SCGS finally caught up to tie 19-19 at the half.
However, Yishun Town continued their steady scoring. Due to their three-point threat, SCGS had to close up to the shooter resulting in open lanes for players to drive in. Yishun Town made use of that to score open layups.
Seeing that the defence had to be taken up a notch, Nadia Ghani (SCGS #9) was inserted into the game. She was a defensive spark and SCGS could now carry out their half court press successfully.
SCGS were able to shave time off the shot clock which led to a rushed offence from Yishun Town and opportunities for themselves.
With four minutes left in the third, the SCGS half court press managed to force a turnover and they scored on the ensuing fast-break. This gave them their first lead of the game.
Despite that, Yishun Town played on calmly. They slowly chip away at the score and Nur Afiyah Bte Misban (YT #5) scored a three to bring down the SCGS lead to one.
On their following possession, Xie Muqi (YT #11) of Yishun Town drove in to exploit the open lanes created due to their sharp shooting. She was fouled by SCGS to prevent the easy basket. Despite that, she made the two clutch free throws to give Yishun Town a one-point lead with 22 seconds left to play.
SCGS called a timeout to draft up a play. While it was a simple penetrate-and-dish-out play, SCGS worked it to perfection. Patricia Orenza (SCGS #11) went in with the baseline penetration and upon drawing the defenders in, she passed the ball to a wide open shooter, Freda Wee (SCGS #13).
Freda (SCGS #13) went on to make the clutch jumper to give SCGS a one-point lead to complete the comeback 40-39 victory as time expired.
Captain Nur Afiyah Bte Misban (YT #5) of Yishun Town said, “We still got lots to improve on – our rebounding, three-point shooting, free throws and shooting in general. We will be up against Seng Kang next and I am confident in my team.”
SCGS captain Patricia Orenza (SCGS #7) said, “It’s just the spirit we had in us, like even when we were lacking behind, we just kept fighting even though we were down some points in the first quarter. We still kept going and just fighting hard and not giving up till the last second. We are up against Ahmad Ibrahim next and we will do our best. I am confident in my team.”
Freda Wee (SCGS #13), who made the game-winning jumper, said, “It just felt right, I was so one with the ball. The pass was good.”
Scoring by Quarter
SCGS vs Yishun Town
1st Q: 7-9
2nd Q: 12-10 (19-19)
3rd Q: 13-9 (32-28)
4th Q: 8-11 (40-39)
Top Scorers
SCGS
Patricia Orenza (#7) – 11 pts
Mabel Anton (#10) – 10 pts
Yishun Town
Nur Afiyah Bte Misban (#5) – 15 pts
Xie Muqi (#11) – 11 pts
SCGS Roster
Clarice Lee (#4), Haziera Hairudinsah (#5), Tay Jin Ting (#6), Patricia Orenza (#7), Angela Wang (#8), Nadia Ghani (#9), Mabel Anton (#10), Dylen Serrano (#11), Margaret Suriya (#12), Freda Wee (#13), Lee Yan (#14), Lee Fang Yu (#15)
Yishun Town Roster
Poh Rui Han (#0), Charlotte Lee Li Xuan (#4), Nur Afiyah Bte Misban (#5), Gin Chong Manyun (#6), Junnie Lisa Putri Karni (#7), Nur Afifah Bte Misban (#8), Ong Xuan Yi, Mabel (#10), Xie Muqi (#11), Jennifer Chue Jing Wen (#12), Regina Kaw Zhuan Hwee (#13), Natasha Shoba Sivalingam (#14), Fiona Tan Yu Xuan (#17)
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