Story by Lim Yi Fei/Red Sports. Photos by Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.
Ryan Harold (#10) of St. Andrew’s shoots against Khant Zay Naing (#8) of ACS (Barker). (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Tuesday, February 13, 2018 — Incisive ball movement from Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) [ACSB] took down St. Andrew’s (SA) Secondary 70-27 in the second round of the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship.
Khant Zay Naing (ACS #8) had a game-high 21 points while Samuel Chua (SA #6) and Tan Wen Yu (SA #0) both chipped in nine and eight points for St. Andrew’s respectively.
ACS held the Saints scoreless in the first half to take a commanding 27-point lead and despite a spirited showing in the final quarter by Saint Andrew’s, the boys in white eased to their third victory in the second round.
ACS’ Captain, Khant Zay Naing (#8) said: “We did quite well on both ends of the floor, we played our 1-2-1-1 defensive set-play well. We really played well as a team together. However, we can improve on our court vision and reduce our turnovers.”
With the successful tip-off and clear height advantage, ACS easily grabbed the lead from the start. Paired with an undeniably strong passing game, ACS also made their shots with ease due to being constantly left wide open.
The boys in white would end the first quarter with a 17–0 lead.
ACS took advantage of their length on defense to intercept passes for fast breaks and force St Andrew’s into tough shots to further extend their lead to 27–0 as both teams head towards halftime.
A jumper from Ryan Harold (SA #10) at the start of the second half ended St. Andrew’s scoring drought, giving a glimpse of hope for his team as they started to aggressively double-team on defense.
However, ACS was outpacing their rivals time and again to the basket using fast breaks, after which St. Andrew’s resorted to full-court presses to slow down their opponent.
At the end of the third quarter, things were looking gloomy for St. Andrew’s as they trailed 8–54.
St. Andrew’s then made up for what they lacked on defense with points off fast-breaks. Their never-say-die attitude shone through as they racked up 19 points in the final quarter and outscored their opponent, who could only score 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough for a comeback as the absence of points in the first half made catching up a Herculean task. But after the heavy loss, the Saints’ Ryan Harold (SA #10) was still able to find positives.
“Our defensive pressing was good today. We worked together as a team. Although there were many turnovers, we played our best today. There would be room for a lot of improvement and we would work towards it even in our free time,” said Ryan.
“It’s not the end,” he added.
With this win, ACS remains undefeated with a 3–0 win-loss record in the second round. They will play Fairfield Methodist next while St. Andrew’s dropped to a 1–1 record.
Scoring by Quarter
ACS Barker vs St. Andrew’s
1st Q: 17-0
2nd Q: 10-0 (27-0)
3rd Q: 27-8 (54-8)
4th Q: 16-19 (70-27)
Top Scorers
ACS Barker
Khant Zay Naing (#8) – 21 pts
St. Andrew’s
Samuel Chua (#6) – 9 pts
Tan Wen Yu (#0) – 8 pts
ACS Barker Roster
Wesley Wong (#2), Daniel Baking (#4), Dylan Lee (#6), Khant Zay Naing (#8), Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (#11), Calder Teo (#13), Glen Chiam (#14), Panca (#15), Kuah Zi’En (#22), Jaryl Wee (#26), Xavier Tan (#28)
St. Andrew’s Roster
Tan Wen Yu (#0), Marc Justin Castillo (#1), Rohan Rajesh (#3), Samuel Chua (#6), Isaac Eng (#7), Dayne Low Liu Yi (#9), Ryan Harold (#10), Joseph Chua (#15), Joshah Tan (#20), Jorell Lee (#24), Javier Lim (#26), Tan En Hua (#33)
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