Story by REDintern Samantha Yom. Photos by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Crew.

Jonah Foo (BP #17) drives past his defender to the hoop. He dropped a game-high 21 points in the victory. (Photo © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 — Everyone loves a good come-from-behind victory – a thrilling showcase of sportsmanship and grit. After all, there is nothing quite like watching the underdogs overcome the odds and pull off the unexpected.

And that is exactly what Bukit Panjang Government High School (BP) presented the crowd with in their first Preliminary Round match of the National B Division Boys’ Basketball Championship, which saw them narrowly defeat Anglican High School (AHS) 51–50.

What made their triumph even more surprising was the fact that they went into the game as the West Zone’s third seed, while Anglican High were runners-up in the East Zone. Naturally, Bukit Panjang were thrilled to come out tops.

“We feel delighted to have won because we didn’t expect to beat a higher-seeded team. It was a really close match,” said Bukit Panjang’s captain Jonah Foo (BP #17).

That being said, victory was not immediately obvious for Bukit Panjang as they suffered from poor shooting in the first quarter. On the other hand, Anglican High racked up ten consecutive points, starting with Eugimiel Ferrera Bayot’s (AHS #1) trey in the opening moments of the game.

Bukit Panjang’s Glen Goh (BP #7) attempted to salvage the situation with a field goal and two free throws. But with the score at 14–4, it seemed as though Anglican High had left their rivals in the dust.

Bukit Panjang saw a more promising start to their second quarter after Jovan Chiam (BP #12) and Kristoff Ramos (BP #1) cut into the deficit by contributing a three-pointer each. Later, captain Jonah’s (BP #17) perfect conversion of free throws added another two points for the team, his shooting prowess earning him the title of top scorer of the match with 21 points.

Fuelled by their initial success, Bukit Panjang turned it into a two-point game halfway through the second quarter, which was characterised by quick turnovers. Nevertheless, Anglican High made sure to keep themselves in the lead, with Eugimiel (AHS #1) adding two with just seconds left on the clock.

The match went into half-time with a scoreline of 25–20.

Anglican High opened the third quarter with another fast break lay-up by Eugimiel (AHS #1), further increasing their lead. Yet, Jonah (BP #17) help Bukit Panjang reduce their deficit to just one (28–27)as he made five out of his six free throws.

Just when Bukit Panjang were within striking distance, Garrison Koh Yun Xiang (AHS #2) and Glenn Tan Yi Herng (AHS #10) made a basket each to extend Anglican High’s lead. Bukit Panjang stepped up their passing game in the paint and sank another two free-throws along with a field goal by Shakur (BP #23) to cut the lead back to one.

Unfortunately, they could only watch as Anglican High’s Garrison (AHS #2) widened the margin to end the third quarter 35–32.

Qi Heng (BP #9) made it 35–34 at the start of the final quarter, but a teammate’s foul against Teo Zhe Ming Jeremy (AHS #15) while he made the basket gave him an and-one to make it 39–36. Nicholas Chang (AHS #24) then scored a two-pointer to create a six-point lead for Anglican High.

With just five minutes on the clock, Anglican High began to falter under pressure despite the clear lead, gifting their rivals a number of turnovers. Bukit Panjang’s Glen (BP #7) took advantage of the situation and equalised (45–45) with a two-pointer.

A lay-up by Qi Heng (BP #9) then helped Bukit Panjang break away and take the lead for the first time in the match.

With 5.9 seconds to go, the score was 47–51 and Bukit Panjang looked to have secured a come-from-behind win. Nevertheless, in an admirable display of sportsmanship, Anglican High made sure they were not going down without a fight as Jeremy (AHS #15) rose to the occasion and scored a trey. His valiant effort made it 50–51 and left spectators breathless.

Alas, it was a little too late and the final buzzer sounded with Bukit Panjang taking the win.

For a thrilling match that saw both teams neck-and-neck, Bukit Panjang had a surprisingly straightforward attitude going into the game.

“Our mindset was just: play your best, play basketball,” said their captain Jonah (BP #17).

Simple, yet it was all they needed to play a great game of basketball.

Scoring by Quarter
AHS vs BP
1st Quarter: 14–4
2nd Quarter: 11–16 (25–20)
3rd Quarter: 10–12 (35–32)
4th Quarter: 15–19 (50–51)

Top Scorers
AHS
Teo Zhe Ming Jeremy (#15) – 17 points

BP
Jonah Foo (#17) – 21 points

AHS Roster
Jeremy Gan Jun Jie (#0), Eugimiel Ferrera Bayot (#1), Garrison Koh Yun Xiang (#2), Ho Qi Wei (#6), Chean Wei Jie (#9), Glenn Tan Yi Herng (#10), Lee Yun Kang (#12), Teo Zhe Ming Jeremy (#15), Chee Wen Xun Javier (#21), Nicholas Chang (#24), Mao Yiyang (#27)

BP Roster
Tan Wei Xin (#0), Kristoff Ramos (#1), Nathan Ng (#2), Glen Goh (#7), Qi Heng (#9), Sun Zhe (#11), Jovan Chiam (#12), Yong Qi (#16), Jonah Foo (#17), Henry Teo (#18), Shakur (#23), Lucas Leng (#26)

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