Story by REDintern Samantha Yom. Photos by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports and Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.

Wong Bei Xuan (MF #15) pulls up for a jumpshot. He finished with a game-high 13 points. (Photo 1 © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Tuesday, February 13, 2018 — Mayflower Secondary School (MF) put in a strong defensive performance against Guangyang Secondary School (GYSS) to seal a 42–25 victory and a spot in the semi-finals of the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship.

With this win, Mayflower remain undefeated in the second round with a 3–0 win-loss record, while Guangyang dropped to 1–1.

This was a crucial match for Mayflower as a win would see them feature in the semi-finals – a feat they were unable to achieve last year. And standing in their way was Guangyang, the reigning South Zone champion.

Nevertheless, Mayflower was ready to fight till the very end.

“Going into the game, our mindset was ‘do not back down’ because we knew that this game was very important,” said Mayflower’s captain Azel Tsai (MF #11).

They certainly did not back down, exhibiting sturdy defence right from the start of the first quarter. As a result, Guangyang had difficulty driving to the basket and the long passes they opted for were often intercepted by their rivals.

Captain Azel (MF#11) led by example, sinking two treys. Coupled with another eight points contributed by the game’s top scorer Wong Bei Xuan (MF #15, 13 points), they gave Mayflower a sizeable lead.

Although Guangyang found themselves playing catch-up, it did not stop top scorer Brandon Ngui (GYSS #7, 9 points), who, in a valiant attempt to narrow the deficit, sunk a two-pointer in the last moments of the quarter.

Mayflower drew confidence from their comfortable 16–6 lead going into the second quarter, which was obvious from their solid teamwork and accurate passing within the arc. They were not going unchallenged though, as Guangyang’s Gideon (GYSS #41) threatened to disrupt their rhythm. Using his height to his advantage, he was quick to catch the rebounds and regain possession for his team.

However, Guangyang failed to capitalise on these opportunities as they struggled with their shooting accuracy. By half-time, they were trailing Mayflower 28–8.

The third quarter saw Mayflower mired by foul trouble, awarding Guangyang a number of free-throws. The latter took advantage of the situation and went on to outscore their opponents 9–6 in the third quarter.

With a few successful attempts at the charity stripe, Mayflower was able to cement their lead. Yet, Guangyang responded like true sportsmen and never once appeared to have given up. They continued with aggressive play, ensuring that they matched every basket made by their opponents.

The final quarter ended with a 8–8 scoreline.

Having qualified for the semi-finals ahead of the reigning champions, Mayflower was indeed pleased with their performance but was quick to identify areas for improvement.

“The game was good. Our defense was up to pace, though our offence was not really up to our standards,” Azel explained.

Both schools will continue to play in round two of the championship, with Guangyang and Mayflower up against Raffles Institution and Holy Innocent’s High School respectively.

Scoring by Quarter
GYSS vs MF
1st Quarter: 6–16
2nd Quarter: 2–12 (8–28)
3rd Quarter: 9–6 (17–34)
4th Quarter: 8–8 (25–42)

Top Scorers
MF
Wong Bei Xuan (#15) – 13 points
Tsai Qi Xun Azel (#11) – 11 points

GYSS
Brandon Ngui (#7) – 9 points

MF Roster
Akshat Basu Mallik (#4), Lau Yan Hui (#5), Law John Matthew Miguel (#6), Kirt Joshua Salvo Jungoy (#7), Tan Yong Jie Lukas (#8), See Boon Ping (#9), Phang Dao Cheng (#10), Tsai Qi Xun Azel (#11), Teng Yan Siak (#12), Abdiel Jeremiah N De Leon (#13), Ong Jing Yi (#14), Wong Bei Xuan (#15)

GYSS Roster
Kong Chek Shen Jackson (#0), Eugene Ho Zhi Wei (#1), Andy Lim Yu Kwang (#3), Lacdao John Aldrei Cueto (#4), Brandon Ngui (#7), Brendan Lee Jun Hong (#12), Marcus Kok Jia Wei (#13), Nicholas Chua Wee Kiat (#20), Vallejo Carino Gabriel Vince (#26), Kwong Liang Bin (#26), Evan Ang Jia Le (#30), Gideon Rajan S/O Balakrishna (#41)

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