Story by Daniel Yeo/Red Sports. Photos by Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.
Amelia Wong (#2) of Ngee Ann Polytechnic shoots against (#7) of Singapore Institute of Management. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)
Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Monday, June 19, 2018 — With size, inside scoring, and a trap defence, Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) dominated Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) 67–51 in the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) Basketball League.
SIM now holds a 1-1 win-loss record after losing to Nanyang Technological University last week. As for NP, they are now 0-2, with their first loss coming from Temasek Polytechnic last week.
SIM Captain Chin Wan Qing (SIM #2) would lead the charge for SIM with a team-high 17 points, while draining three makes from beyond the arc. On the other hand, a hot-shooting (NP #2) sank five of her own from three-point land on the way to a game-high 18 points. SIM teammates (SIM #15) and (SIM #8), as well as NP teammate (NP #21), each scored 10 to add to their team’s total.
(NP #13) opened the scoring with a trey, and a closely contested first quarter ensued. Early on, NP could be seen placing their emphasis on perimeter shooting, swinging the ball for two treys in the opening minutes. On the contrary, SIM focused on feeding the ball into the mid-post, creating inside looks to score.
The next two quarters, though, would tell a different story for NP. Captain Le Yi elaborated on how it went down: “In the second and third quarter, we sort of lost focus. So, our passes were bad, our defence was bad, we didn’t communicate enough to cover each other on help defence. And, our passes were very sloppy, which resulted in a lot of turnovers.”
She wasn’t wrong – NP looked like they had suddenly forgotten how to pass the ball, and it didn’t help that SIM was aggressively trapping their ball-handlers at the sidelines. Turnover after turnover, and SIM began to pile it on with a 19–4 second quarter.
Into the second half, and SIM’s once-aggressive defence looked like it was turning passive. Sagging off NP’s shooters in transition, NP sank back-to-back treys to start the quarter, and it looked like NP could be getting back into their groove.
But, as the quarter went on, NP’s shot selection and passing relapsed into the poor form seen in the second quarter. That being said, SIM seemed to be having a case of the turnover bug as well, carelessly throwing the ball away several times.
The fourth quarter began, but this quarter felt different. Both teams had picked up the intensity despite the 20-plus point gap and were playing as if they had been neck-and-neck the whole game.
This was when Chin Wan Qing (SIM #2) and (NP #2) came to play. Trading treys in an in-game shootout, Wan Qing hit two on the way to scoring nine of SIM’s 18 in the quarter. Not to be outdone, (NP #2) hit three treys of her own, back-to-back-to-back, on the way to scoring 12 of NP’s 23.
Alas, it would be too little, and too late. SIM managed to hold onto their lead for a comfortable 67–51 victory.
Despite the win, SIM Captain Wan Qing (SIM #2) believes her team could have done better: “I think we could have reduced our number of turnovers… I think we racked up a lot of turnovers because we were not disciplined enough to do the little things correctly.”
On the contrary, NP Captain Le Yi knows what they have to work on: “We’ll be training mainly on our defence and our box-out rebounding.”
In their next game, both teams will take on SMU. NP will face them on June 25 at home, while SIM will face them on July 2 at home. Both games will tip-off at 7:30pm.
Scoring by Quarter
NP v SIM
1st Q: 9–11
2nd Q: 4–19 (13–30)
3rd Q: 15–19 (28–49)
4th Q: 23–18 (51–67)
Leading Scorers
NP
(#2) – 18 points, 5 3PM
(#21) – 10 pts
SIM
Chin Wan Qing (#2) – 17 points, 3 3PM
(#15) – 10 points
(#8) – 10 points
NP Roster
Ng Jie Yi (#1), Amelia Wong Ke Xing (#2), Joey Ong Ying Qi (#3), Leong Le Yi (#4), Lim Yin Yan (#5), Tricia Yeo (#6), Lim Jing Yi Videl (#7), Loke Yun Ling (#8), Toh Yi Xuan Janae (#10), Shayna Chia Enli (#11), Claire Ong Yu Yuan (#12), Valentia Wong Shuting (#13), Tan Hwee San Cheryl (#14), Tan Lydia (#15), Lim Xiang Xuan (#16), Preeyanan Tulawasincharoen Sunny (#17)
SIM Roster
Cherry Tan, Ngai Hui Min, Jowilly Siew Mei Kit, Tung Kah Hui, Panmeline Liew Choon Hwee, Loo Qiao Yun, Liang Qi Wei, Lam Rui Qi, Tay Shi Ying, Chew Si Yi, Vanessa Wee Ning, Chin Wan Qing, Quek Yi Xian, Lim Yu Xuan Melissa
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