Story by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports. Photos by Dylan Chua/Red Sports.

Liam Seth Israel (Dunman #9) rises for a lay-up. He bagged a team-high 16 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

Liam Seth Israel (Dunman #9) rises for a lay-up. He bagged a team-high 16 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Monday, March 26, 2018 — Dunman Secondary (DMN) survived a late fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Jurong Secondary (JSS) to earn a 50–48 victory in the preliminary round of the National B Division Basketball Championship.

The victory over Jurong meant that Dunman topped their group with a perfect 3–0 win-loss record to advance to the second round, while Jurong are eliminated after falling to a 1–2 record to finish third in their group.

Liam Seth Israel (DMN #9) was hot-handed from beyond the arc as he drained four three-pointers on his way to a team-high 16 points while John Ng (DMN #12) contributed a solid 13-point performance for Dunman.

Jurong was led by Shafiq (JSS #13) who put up a valiant performance that saw him splash home three three-pointers to finish with a game-high 17 points while Duncan (#21) chipped in 14 points.

Both sides aggressively attacked the paint and crashed the offensive boards to create high-percentage shots from close range and score second-chance points in what was a tightly contested first quarter which ended with Dunman grabbing a slight 13–10 advantage over Jurong.

The second quarter saw Jurong struggling to find their groove offensively as they fumbled their passes which led to turnovers. Dunman took advantage of turnovers from Jurong to go on a 9–2 scoring run to grab a 22-12 lead with 7:14 left in the period.

However, Shafiq (JSS #13) caught fire to score 8 of his 17 points in the period as he became the focal point for Jurong on offence, making plays to keep his team in the game as Jurong clawed their way back to end the quarter with a five-point deficit.

Both teams engaged in a point-war in the third period that saw Dunman edge Jurong 14–12 in the period to enter the final quarter with a 45–38 lead.

Jurong gave their all in the fourth quarter as they hustled hard on defence to secure their defensive boards and pushed the pace to score points in transition in a bid for the last quarter comeback.

However, Jurong’s last quarter comeback attempt failed despite outscoring Dunman 10–5 in the period as Dunman slowed the pace of the game to run down the clock to hold off Jurong for a 50–48 victory.

Dunman Secondary will next feature in the second round of the National B Division Basketball Championship, where they are grouped with Presbyterian High School, Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) and Bukit Panjang Government High School.

Scoring by Quarter
Dunman vs Jurong
1st Q: 13–10
2nd Q: 18–16 (31–26)
3rd Q: 14–12 (45–38)
4th Q: 5–10 (50–48)

Leading Scorers
Dunman
Liam Seth Israel (#9) — 16 points
John Ng (#12) — 13 points

Jurong
Shafiq (#13) — 17 points
Duncan (#21) — 14 points

Dunman Roster
Marquez Joseph Alcantara (#4), Tiong Hoe Jian (#5), Guo Zhi Wei (#6), Chua Jia Ming (#7), Leroy Loh (#8), Liam Seth Israel (#9), Bryan Yong (#10), Moses Peh (#11), John Ng (#12), Dylan Tan (#13), Ethan Chan (#14), Parulan Jespar (#15)

Jurong Roster
Carlo (#3), Marvin (#6), Kunlin (#7), Favian (#8), Shafiq (#13), Benedict (#15), Rojean (#18), Gerald Visto (#19), Brandon (#20), Duncan (#21), Anim (#35), Zong Hao (#88)

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