C Division Basketball Semi-Final: Catholic High in 57-55 comeback win over Jurong

Story by Stefanus Ian/Red Sports. Photos and video by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Clementi Sports Hall, Friday, August 12, 2011 — Catholic High advanced to the final of the National C Division Boys’ Basketball Championship with a come-from-behind 57-55 victory over Jurong Secondary.

Jurong had led for most of the match, but fatigue and foul trouble resulted in a photo finish at the end. Perennial heavyweights Catholic High showed their mental fortitude with a late, late surge to book themselves a place in the final against Unity Secondary, who needed overtime to triumph 66-65 over Dunman Secondary.

Mr Oh Wei Qiang, one of Catholic High’s teachers-in-charge, was elated with the result.

He said: “We lost to them in the first round and there was a fear factor when we faced them today so I am happy today.”

Catholic High had started the match more brightly, with their centre Toh Zhicong (#15) recording a free throw and a defensive block at the other end. From early on, it was clear that both sides were not shying away from physical contact.

Jurong soon responded with an early three-pointer. The Jurong boys, clad in red, could not settle in fast enough as they trailed for the whole of the first quarter. Their offense was simply not clicking as they took many ill-advised shots during their fast breaks. It did not help matters that Catholic High were deploying a full court press strategy from the tip-off. The first 10 minutes ended with Catholic High leading 13-11.

Both teams struggled to impose themselves in the second quarter early on. Catholic High in particular could not get their game going as they were held scoreless for the first eight minutes of the quarter. Jurong upped the ante as they became more aggressive with their offense.

Driving to the paint more often, Jurong turned the tide and grabbed the lead in the process. Catholic High, clad in white and blue, struggled to keep up with their opponents’ hustle play and they went into the break trailing 19-20.

The second half was a much more exciting and physical affair. Both teams were even in the penalty towards the end of the third and fourth quarters. Catholic High came out attacking, eager to retake the lead as both sides traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half.

Catholic High started drawing more fouls from their opponents and making more trips to the free throw line.

However at times, their carelessness was their own undoing. With 3:14 left on the third quarter clock, Catholic High failed to box out a missed free throw, allowing Jurong to regain possession. They compounded the mistake by fouling the resulting shot following the rebound.

Although Jurong struggled to replicate the fluency of their first-half attack, tthey still managed to keep the lead through individual plays. Jurong’s #15 was very much in the mix of things. His offensive rebounding and post up plays were quite a handful for Catholic High. When the buzzer for the third quarter sounded, the scoreboard showed Jurong holding a five-point lead at 42-37.

Having beaten Anglican High en-route to the semi-final, Jurong were on the verge of claiming another big scalp. Alas, it was not to be.

Losing once to Jurong in the first round was enough motivation as Catholic High threw caution to the wind by relentlessly sending wave after wave of attacks. Catholic High’s Wesley Teo (#4), in particular, took centre stage, scoring two early lay ups to close the gap to one point.

However, Jurong were not going down without a fight as they continued to score through second chance points. Jurong’s #12 was in fine form, sinking a few mid-range jump shots and recording six points in the final quarter.

It was clear that Jurong had the advantage in the paint, grabbing more rebounds than their opponents. The hard work of the Jurong #15 resulted in more than a few offensive rebounds which led to points.

Catholic High could not seem to find the momentum to retake the lead but Jurong were unable to pull away either. With just over three minutes left, the supporters for both schools were on their feet cheering and willing their teams to victory. Then, disaster struck as Jurong’s #15 and #4 got into foul trouble and were fouled out.

“[The fouling out] affected the morale of the rest of the team but they continued to play hard throughout the game,” commented Mr Ng, the teacher-in-charge for Jurong.

Catholic High capitalized on this as their point guard Loh Wan Yuan (#11) forced his way to the basket drawing contact on the way. After converting one of his free throws, he managed to steal the ball and score off the turnover to shave the margin to one. At this point, Jurong were hanging on to their lead only through successful free throws.

Catholic High made one final push through Zhi Cong, as he tied up the score 55-55 with some neat footwork under the basket.

He then scored another lay up with 23 seconds on the clock to the delirium of the supporters. Controversy struck at the death when Jurong’s #13 was deemed to have stepped out of bounds after sinking a three-point shot that could have won the game for Jurong. There was little they could do as Catholic High hung on for the 57-55 victory.

Catholic High Lineup
If you have the name list, please provide it in the following format: full name (jersey number)

Jurong Lineup
Edwin Lee (#4), Lee Jia Hui (#5), Nigel Ong (#6), Eugene Yeong (#7), Sia Wei Hng (#8), Liew Jun Heng (#9), Marcus Chua (#10), Mao Yu Xian (#11), Sim Jia Hao (#12), Loke Yong Lum (#13), Chong Yih Xuan (#14), Tan Aik (#15)

Scores by Quarter
Catholic High vs Jurong
Q1: 13-11
Q2: 7-9 (19-20)
Q3: 18-22 (37-42)
Q4: 20-13
Final Score: 57-55

Top Scorers
Sim Jia Hao (Jurong #12) – 18 points, two 3-pointers
Wesley Teo (CH #4) – 15 points
Chong Yih Xuan (Jurong #14) – 12 points
Loh Wan Yuan (CH #11) – 10 points

Watch the three-pointer by Jurong Secondary which was disallowed

Watch highlights of the match

For more photos, go to the next page.