Story and photos by Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports
Gavin Tay (PJC #11) dribbles the ball up the court. He had a game-high 11 points. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Tuesday, April 18, 2017 — Pioneer Junior College (PJC) survived a comeback from Dunman High School (DHS) to secure the 39-33 victory in the National A Division Basketball Championship.
With this win, PJC are currently undefeated with a 4-0 win-loss record. They had defeated Tampines Junior College (TPJC), National Junior College (NJC) and River Valley High School (RVHS) previously and look to continue their undefeated streak against Meridian Junior College (MJC).
On the other hand, this game drops DHS to a 2-2 record. They had secured victories against MJC and RVHS but lost to NJC previously. They will play against TPJC next and have to win to stand a chance to advance.
Joshner B De Guzman (PJC #7) of PJC made a three to start the game. Unfazed, Erh Zhi Hong (DHS #5) and Tan Yan Zhou (DHS #12) answered with their own three-point shots to get their only lead for the game with three points.
PJC were not bothered by the two threes but instead continued to play their game. They managed to lock down DHS and prevented them from scoring while they got into a rhythm and knocked down their shots. PJC outscored DHS 21-8 in the first quarter.
PJC continued to do well on their defensive end to stop the DHS offense. However DHS got their act together and started playing defense as well. Both teams were playing hard to ensure that their opponent did not have any easy baskets but PJC were still able to outscore DHS to lead 27-11 at the half.
PJC continued to play well and had an 18-point lead going into the fourth. Just when PJC thought they had the game, DHS mounted a furious comeback in the fourth.
DHS played good defense throughout the fourth. They contested PJC’s shots and made sure there were no open layups. While they were able to stop the PJC offense, DHS made several mistakes on their offensive end. On several occasions, they were able to force the turnover but due to a lack of miscommunication, they passed the ball right back to PJC.
PJC were able to maintain their lead above 10 points but Ray Chan (DHS #14) made a tough basket plus the foul. He went on to make the free-throw and cut the lead to just eight. Unaffected, Jason Tan (PJC #1) of PJC went on to hit a jumper to bring it back to 39-29.
DHS continued to hustle and got more defensive stops. Tan Yan Zhou (DHS #12) hit a jumper while Gregory Teo (DHS #11) made one of two free-throws to cut PJC’s lead to seven. With about a minute left, there was still a chance for DHS to catch up.
DHS played hard and were able to draw fouls to give them a chance to cut the lead farther. However, they could not capitalize at the free-throw line and PJC hung on to take the game 39-33.
PJC captain, Dexter Tan (PJC #17), said, “I think in the first quarter, we managed to get a huge lead and same as all our games, we got comfortable with our lead. We started to lose focus. The points started to close up at the end of the third as we had several turnovers from our sloppy passes. We also forced the shot too much, instead, we could have made an extra pass for the shooter who was more open.”
“Dunman High is a very fast-paced team. Once they get the defensive rebound, they can easily push the ball up the court to score. But, I felt we entered the game with good intensity. Past few games our intensity wasn’t there but this game we were able to enter with intensity. This was the difference which affected our plays. We were able to knock down our shots and make threes to stretch the lead. Defensive wise, I felt everyone made the effort and we managed to limit their scoring.”
Scoring by Quarter
PJC vs DHS
1st Q: 21-08
2nd Q: 06-03 (27-11)
3rd Q: 08-06 (35-17)
4th Q: 04-16 (39-33)
Top Scorers
PJC
Gavin Tay Wei Yu (#11) – 11 pts
Joshner B De Guzman (#7) – 8 pts
DHS
Chan Ray (#14) – 8 pts
Tan Yan Zhou (#12) – 7 pts
PJC Roster
Low Junchen (#0), Tan Jia Sheng, Jason (#1), Gregory Chan Xu Zhan (#6), Joshner B De Guzman (#7), Thomas Joseph Lee Alba (#8), Gundu Mahidhar Reddy (#9), Gavin Tay Wei Yu (#11), Ng Jun Kai, Shawn (#12), Lim Jin Long (#13), Tony Zhang Xue Yi (#14), Dexter Tan Yan Liang (#17), Mohammad Yousuf (#23)
DHS Roster
Zhong Xinyu (#4), Erh Zhi Hong (#5), Irvin Seet (#6), Low Qi Xiang (#7), Nicholas Ho (#8), Johnny Lee (#9), Eldrick Goh (#10), Gregory Teo (#11), Tan Yan Zhou (#12), Max Tan (#13), Chan Ray (#14), Tan Zheng (#15)
More photos next page
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