Story by REDintern Samantha Yom. Photos by Dylan Chua/Red Sports and Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.

Jordan Wang (YYS #8) goes for a lay-up. He scored a game-high 16 points in the contest. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

Jordan Wang (YYS #8) goes for a lay-up. He scored a game-high 16 points in the contest. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Tuesday, February 13, 2018 — With the support of their families from the sidelines, Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) [FMSS] cruised to a 64–34 victory over Yuying Secondary School (YYS) in the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship.

Their win in round two of the championship means Fairfield remain undefeated with a 2-0 win-loss record, while Yuying are winless after three games.

Going into the game, Fairfield were certain that their training would pay off.

“We have been training harder and harder after every match. We went into the game confident that we could win,” said captain Jonathan Ang (FMSS #9).

And perhaps the presence of enthusiastic supporters – their family members – had a part in that confidence. Every point scored was accompanied by a round of applause. Even shots that were shy of the basket were met with encouraging cheers.

According to Jonathan, this was a common occurrence. “Most of them would usually come to support us at our matches,” he said.

In a first quarter that was characterised by its fiery pace, the first two minutes saw both teams neck-and neck – each basket made by Fairfield was answered in the same fashion by Yuying. The former then began to break away as their teamwork within the arc saw them garner rebounds and create scoring opportunities for one another.

Yuying ended the first quarter with two consecutive field goals by top scorer Jordan Wang (YYS #8, 16 points). This ensured that they were still within striking distance of their opponents, trailing 10–13 after one.

In fact, Yuying were not without supporters either, with their C Division team lining the sidelines.

“Defend, defend,” they would chorus whenever Fairfield advanced into the frontcourt. Yet, Yuying’s defence were not quite enough to stop their taller rivals from extending their lead. This was clear when Yuying tripled up on defence against Fairfield’s Jin Sheng De (FFMS #15) in the second quarter but his glaring height advantage thwarted their efforts.

The second quarter ended with Fairfield leading 28–17.

The third quarter had initially looked promising for Yuying, having gained possession after Jonathan (FMSS #9) faltered and lost control. But their failure to capitalise on such opportunities meant that they were always a step behind their rivals, finishing the quarter with a 16 point deficit.

Though initial attempts at driving to the basket were unsuccessful, Fairfield started the fourth quarter brilliantly with Jeremy Graves (FMSS #33) sinking two shots from beyond the three-point arc. This was quickly followed by three consecutive two-pointers by Fairfield’s top scorer Carl Belanger (FMSS #22).

Their contributions helped the team amass an impressive 23 points in the fourth quarter, compared to just nine points raked up by Yuying, who were plagued by missed passes in the final moments of the match.

Despite their winning performance, Fairfield felt that they still had more to give.

“I won’t say that today was our best performance. We did okay but it wasn’t our best,” concluded Jonathan (FMSS #9).

Yuying are set to play Kent Ridge Secondary School next. Fairfield will go on to play Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) – the very same opponents they narrowly defeated 97–93 in the South Zone 3rd/4th match to clinch the Bronze last year.

Scoring by Quarter
FMSS vs YYS
1st Quarter: 13–10
2nd Quarter: 15–7 (28–17)
3rd Quarter: 13–8 (41–25)
4th Quarter: 23–9 (64–34)

Top Scorers
FMSS
Carl Belanger (#22) — 16 points

YYS
Jordan Wang (#8) — 16 points

FMSS Roster
Ang Tze Haw (#4), Jonathan Ang (#9), John Vannan (#10), Russell Lim (#12), Eddie Kim (#13), Jin Sheng De (#15), Carl Belanger (#22), Emmanual Tan (#30), Tan Wen Jun (#31), Jeremy Graves (#33), David Chong (#36),

YYS Roster
Eric Ling (#0), Syed Nazrid Bin Syed Nassir (#2), Toh Ze Sheng (#4), Travis Lee (#6), Elson Liang (#7), Jordan Wang (#8), Teck Yi (#9), Ho Chee Kiong (#10), Ser Kai Le (#13), Teo Zhe Rui (#15), Viriyananda Susillo Biong (#21), Kwong Kok Zeng (#25)

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