Catholic High ease past Balestier Hill in B Division South Zone basketball

Story by Erwin Wong. Pictures by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

CCAB, Friday, February 6, 2009 - In a match of David and Goliath proportions, defending B Division basketball champions Catholic High School eased past group wooden-spoonists Balestier Hill Secondary 99-58 in a B Division South Zone Championship Group A encounter today.

While David didn't exactly beat Goliath eventually, they racked up the most points allowed by Catholic High in this year's campaign. Balestier Hill even managed to lead the basketball powerhouses at 16-15 midway through the first period, and started the second tied at 19-all. Captain Alton Kow (#12), who led Balestier Hill with 29 points, attributed this to an absence of pressure on his team to eke a result out, and this led to them performing better than expected.

The form book, however, was quickly followed as team Goliath flexed their muscles swiftly and threateningly. Catholic High team captain Jabez Su (#4) and power forward Wong Kam Seng (#11) had set the tone of the match with early wing treys after intelligent screen plays, and pulled away after that tepid opening quarter start by playing to their strengths - their twin towers of Goh Kong Tat (#12) and Chong Ming Xuan (#14).

"We knew we had a height advantage with the both of them over the Balestier Hill defence, hence we made use of that opportunity." explained Jabez.

And exploit they did, with Kong Tat posting up and getting position almost at will against his hapless opposite number, putting up a game-high 32 points for good measure. An acrobatic layup by the Balestier Hill #11 incited wild cheers from his schoolmates by the sidelines and reduced the deficit to 11, but that was as close as they would get as the well-oiled Catholic High machine clicked into gear and pulled away steadily. The half-time score of 44-27 belied the huge gulf in standards.

Balestier Hill, to their credit, trudged on valiantly and gave a good account of themselves in the third quarter. Alton scored 10 points in this period, and together with teammates #10 and #11, attempted to keep the margin as honest as possible with several accurate jumpers.

Jabez, though, had the highlight-reel play of the match to quell any Balestier Hill comeback exploits. Grabbing a loose ball at his own defensive end, he eluded two defenders by going behind his back and completing the coast-to-coast play by laying the ball in while getting fouled in the process.

The final quarter was an open, running game for Catholic High. Balestier Hill couldn't sustain their hot shooting in the third quarter, and their misses led to many outlet passes to Catholic High's point guard and 2008 Final Most Valuable Player, Dominic Lim (#10). He controlled the fast-break offence with aplomb, and was at the heart of every offensive move. Scoring his team's final 9 points, his foot on the three-point arc meant that his deep jumper at the buzzer was rendered only a two point field goal, just missing the century mark for his team in the 99-58 victory.

Despite the huge margin of victory, there will always be room for improvement, according to team captain Jabez. He said, "We played relatively well, but our defence was rather slack. I hope that our Secondary Threes will continue to improve, and also as a team, we hope to get better with every match."

Group leaders Catholic High will play their final group match against Fairfield Methodist Secondary School next Wednesday, while this was Balestier Hill's final match of the 2009 campaign.

Scoring breakdown by quarter:

Catholic High vs Balestier Hill
1st Q: 19-19
2nd Q: 25-8
3rd Q: 25-22
4th Q: 30-9
Final: 99-58

Leading scorers:
Catholic High:
Goh Kong Tat (#12) – 32 points
Jabez Su (#4) – 18 points
Chong Ming Xuan (#14) – 16 points

Balestier Hill:
Alton Kow (#12) – 29 points
#11 – 20 points

Editor's note: If you recognise yourself or your teammates in any of the photos, feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update accordingly. Thanks!