Story and photos by Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports
Valentia Wong (CC #21) makes her move against Kewen (NJC #8). Valentia (CC #21) had a game-high 22 points to lead her team past NJC. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Thursday, March 23, 2017 — Christ Church Secondary (CC) made use of their size advantage to cruise past National Junior College (NJC) 51-40 in the National B Division Basketball Championship.
Valentia Wong (CC #21) had a game-high 22 points while Kewen (#8) led NJC with 12.
With this win, Christ Church have a 2-0 win-loss record and are currently lead Group R. They will play against Kranji Secondary next.
On the other hand, NJC drop to a 1-1 win-loss record.They are tied for second with Dunman Secondary with three points each. They will play against Dunman next and have to win to advance.
Christ Church got hold of the tip at the start. With a simple pick and roll, Tan Hui Xuan (CC #25) got free of her defender and made an easy wide open layup.
Christ Church played a high level of defense right from the start. They closed out fast on the shooters, preventing NJC from getting a clean look at the basket. This forced them to pass the ball around without getting a chance to shoot the ball. Ultimately, this led to many forced shots and 24-second shot clock violation.
These costly turnovers from NJC were converted into points as Christ Church continues to score.
The first quarter ended with Christ Church up 8-4.
The second quarter remained the same. NJC were unable to stop Christ Church due to a size disadvantage. Valentia Wong (CC #21) of Christ Church capitalised on that and went coast to coast on several occasions to widen their lead.
At the half, Christ Church were up 25-14.
NJC finally got into a groove in the third quarter and started making shots. This led to Christ Church panicking. NJC capitalised on that and got many defensive stops. These were converted into points as NJC went on a shooting streak.
NJC limited Christ Church to only six points, scoring 13 themselves. NJC were able to cut Christ Church’s lead down to four points after the third quarter.
However, Christ Church went on a run in the fourth quarter and never looked back. They continued to make use of their size advantage to get offensive rebounds and score off their second chances. The Christ Church centres were also able to get free of their defenders on several occasions to make the easy basket.
While NJC tried their best to stop Christ Church, they had no solution for Valentia Wong (CC #21). Valentia (CC #21) was able to manoeuvre past her defenders with ease, scoring when she was open or dishing out to the open shooter when she could not score.
Valentia Wong (CC #21) of Christ Church said, “I just seized every opportunity I had. In my mind, I just wanted to put the ball in. If I had missed, my teammates woudl have had to run more on defense. So I try my best to make every shot.”
“To my teammates, let’s work hard for Nationals.”
Scoring by Quarter
Christ Church vs NJC
1st Q: 8-4
2nd Q: 17-10 (25-14)
3rd Q: 6-13 (31-27)
4th Q: 20-13 (51-40)
Top Scorers
Christ Church
Valentia Wong (#21) – 22 pts
NJC
Kewen (#8) – 12 pts
Christ Church Roster
Valentia Wong (#21), Wong Wei Li (#22), Chew Sheng Xuan (#23), Zafira Alyssa (#24), Tan Hui Xuan (#25), Shannevie Teo (#26), Mildred Por (#28), Gladys Ng (#29), Chen Xiao Juan (#30), Peggy Goh (#31), Kau Wen Qi (#32), Sharifah Fahimah (#35)
NJC Roster
Rachel (#2), Shannon (#3), Vicky (#4), Agnes (#5), Nicole Lee (#6), Vanessa (#7), Kewen (#8), Cheryl (#10), Gladys (#11), Murong (#16), Glenda (#17), Amanda (#19)
More photos next page
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