Story by REDintern Samantha Yom. Photos by Dylan Chua/Red Sports.

Tang Kah Wai (PHS #10) attempts a no-look pass to a teammate. He scored a game-high 31 points to lead Presbyterian High back to the final. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

Tang Kah Wai (PHS #10) attempts a no-look pass to a teammate. He scored a game-high 31 points to lead Presbyterian High back to the final. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

Singapore Basketball Centre, Thursday, February 22, 2018 — Underdogs Montfort Secondary School (MSS) went down 85–55 to Presbyterian High School (PHS) in the semi-finals of the North Zone B Division Basketball Championship, but not without giving the latter a good run for their money.

With a scoreline of 85–55, most would declare it a convincing victory by Presbyterian High. But spectators of the match would know otherwise.

Going into the game, it was clear that Montfort were the underdogs. After all, it was the first time the school had featured in the semi-finals since it started the Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) four years ago. Furthermore, they were up against Presbyterian High – the reigning North Zone champions, who had not recorded a single loss this season.

Perhaps that was why it came as a surprise – to both the team and spectators – when Montfort led the first quarter 23–16 and closed the second with a 33–33 tie.

“We didn’t expect ourselves to lead for the first two quarters because, in every friendly match that we’ve played against Presbyterian High, they always ended up beating us,” said Montfort’s captain Gifford Chua (MSS #21).

Their promising start was evident just 10 seconds into the game when Montfort’s top-scorer Laxamana Gio David (MSS #21, 22 points) sunk a three-pointer. This was replicated by Melvin Grospe Tan (MSS #6) a few seconds later.

Presbytarian High responded with strengthened defence in the paint and managed to force a shot-clock violation on Montfort as the latter were unable to drive to the basket. However, Presbyterian High struggled with their shooting accuracy throughout the first quarter, leading to a number of failed attempts at making the basket and a seven-point deficit at the buzzer.

With two field goals and another two successful free-throws, it appeared as though Presbyterian High was set to take the lead after quickly overcoming their deficit in the second quarter. On the other hand, Montfort suffered from poor communication that resulted in a few missed passes.

Yet, instead of giving their stronger rivals an easy lead, Montfort made sure that they were not going down without a fight. Attempts by Presbyterian High to widen their lead were thwarted by Montfort, as they always found a way to tie the score up until the buzzer.

The third quarter saw Presbyterian High finally regain their scoring rhythm with the help of top scorer Tang Kah Wai (PHS #10, game-high of 31 points), who single-handedly raked up an impressive 15 points in that quarter alone.

Unfortunately, Montfort found themselves lagging behind in terms of stamina and speed, and allowed the reigning champions to pull away with a 14–24 scoreline.

Presbyterian High continued to establish their dominance on the court in the final quarter as they found much success with the rebounds and capitalised on Montfort’s lacklustre passing. Nevertheless, Montfort continued to put up a fight by strengthening their defence, though their valiant attempt still fell short of their rival’s aggressive play.

By the final buzzer, the reigning champions ensured they will have a chance to retain their North Zone title as they closed the quarter with a scoreline of 8–28.

Despite the loss, Montfort were relishing their opportunity to play with the top teams.

“It feels great to get to play with good players and other strong teams,” said captain Gifford Chua (MSS #21), who attributed their eventual defeat to a lack of communication on the court.

With this win, Presbyterian High have booked themselves a spot in the final and will play against North Vista Secondary School. Montfort will feature in the 3rd/4th match against Christ Church Secondary School.

The finals will be held at 2.30pm on the 28th of February, while the 3rd/4th match will be held at 2.30pm on the 26th of February. Both matches will be played at the Singapore Basketball Centre.

Scoring by Quarter
MSS vs PHS
1st Quarter: 23–16
2nd Quarter: 10–17 (33–33)
3rd Quarter: 14–24 (47–57)
4th Quarter: 8–28 (55–85)

Top Scorers
MSS
Laxamana Gio David (#21) – 22 points

PHS
Tang Kah Wai (#10) – 31 points

MSS Roster
Faheem Noor S/O Mohamed J S (#2), Canlas Juan Miguel Garcia (#5), Melvin Grospe Tan (#6), Aniket Mohanty (#7), Dexter Lim Jun Hui (#9), Chrisann Josh Alegre Marquez (#11), Tan Wei Ren Benjamin (#13), Jordan Wong Wei Sheng (#14), Louis Seah Chun Jia (#15), Laxamana Gio David (#21), Laxamana Carlo Lee David (#24), Bustillo Fint Bernard Galo (#27)

PHS Roster
Constantin Lim (#3), Ivan Kau (#4), Kovan Toh (#5), Thomas Lor (#7), Tang Kah Wai (#10), Foo Yong Ming (#12), Goh Yi Xiang (#13), Jaron Ng (#15), Dylan Lee (#20), Gifford Chua (#21), Aaron Chaw (#26), Reuben Ng (#35)

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