Story and photos by Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports
Mabel Anton with the floater over her defender. She scored a game-high 18 points. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Monday, April 3, 2017 — Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) defeated Dunman Secondary (DMN) 64-49 to remain undefeated in the National B Division Basketball Championship.
With this win, SCGS have a 5-0 win-loss record. They will play against Jurong next to determine who will advance as first seed of group X.
This loss marks the end of the season for Dunman Secondary. They have a win-loss record of 2-3 and will play their final match against Nanyang Girls’ High.
As soon as the ball was tipped, both teams got to work. They played aggressively on their defense and did not allow any easy shots.
After four minutes into the game, Dylen Serrano (SCGS #11) made the first shot of the game after getting a steal on the defensive end. Shortly after, Partricia Orenza (SCGS #7) got another steal and went coast to coast to give SCGS the four point lead.
Unfazed, Amriah (DMN #10) of Dunman got an offensive rebound on the ensuing play and converted the basket to cut the lead SCGS had.
Khoo Zi Shan (DMN #8) made a three at the end of the quarter to give Dunman the 5-4 lead.
Coming into the second quarter, Dunman’s Doo Jia Qi (DMN #6) drew a foul and made one of two free throws. Dunman managed to get a steal and converted on the fast-break opportunity to increase the lead to four.
However, Haziera Hairudinsah (SCGS #5) hits two consecutive jumper to bring the game back to a tie. This gave SCGS the momentum as they went on a 10-0 run to pull ahead and lead by six points
Dunman managed cut the SCGS lead back to one as Doo Jia Qi (DMN #6) makes both an open jumper and three.
In spite of that, Mabel Anton (SCGS #10) scored two more baskets to give SCGS the 20-15 lead at the half.
In the third, Patricia Orenza (SCGS #7) made a three to start the quarter.
Both teams stayed hot and continued to trade baskets. On a few occasions, Dunman managed to get a few defensive stops to cut the lead.
Knowing that somebody had to do something to prevent Dunman from catching up, Dylen Serrano (SCGS #11) stepped up for SCGS and made her jumpers and layups to increase the lead SCGS had.
Her efforts boosted the morale of SCGS, inspiring the players to work harder on the defensive end to stop Dunman from scoring. SCGS outscored Dunman 20-14 in the third to lead 40-29.
Despite that, Dunman continued to fight hard hustling for every loose balls and working hard on the defensive end to stop SCGS from increasing their lead.
SCGS proved too much for Dunman to handle as Mabel Anton (SCGS #10) got into a rhythm and made use of her height to score on several occasions. She had a game-high 18 points.
Faced with a stronger opponent, Dunman did not give up and put up a valiant fight till the last second but fell short as SCGS eventually took the game 64-49.
Captain of SCGS, Patricia Orenza (SCGS #7), said, “Actually our defense weren’t on point and it took us very long to match up to our man which allowed Dunman to receive both offensive and defensive rebounds. This allowed them to convert those rebounds into points. But we readjusted our defense and it was more efficient in the second half.”
When asked about her stepping up at a crucial moment for SCGS, Dylen Serrano (SCGS #11) commented, “I have to step up for the team since if Pat needs to take a rest, someone gotta step up.”
“I won’t say we are confident for our future matches but we are definitely not complacent and we always mental prep ourselves before matches.”
Captain Doo Jia Qi (DMN #6) of Dunman said, “Firstly, I want to thank everyone for being great teammates. They were people who were always there for me no matter what. We’ve been through hell training together and we didn’t give up no matter how hard the training and games were. I feel like this season was a really great one and I really appreciate everyone of you. For those taking N and O levels this year, work hard for it like how you play the game of basketball. Press on to the end. For now let’s work hard ad focus on our next game against Nanyang. Don’t give up and let’s have a memorable game together.”
Scoring by Quarter
SCGS vs Dunman
1st Q: 4-5
2nd Q: 16-10 (20-15)
3rd Q: 20-14 (40-29)
4th Q: 24-20 (64-49)
Top Scorers
SCGS
Mabel Anton (#10) – 18 pts
Dylen Serrano (#11) – 15 pts
Patricia Orenza (#7) – 13 pts
Dunman
Doo Jia Qi (DMN #6) – 17 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)
Dunman Roster
Megan Phua (#4), Putri (#5), Doo Jia Qi (#6), Charlene Tan (#7), Khoo Zi Shan (#8), Natalie Low (#9), Amirah (#10), Wynelle Chia (#11), Beatrice Chok (#12), Theresa (#13), Kelly (#14), Huda (#15)
More photos next page
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