Chung Cheng High (Yishun) overcome Punggol Secondary in B Division North Zone basketball

Story and Photos by REDIntern Alan Chiang

Singapore Basketball Centre, Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - Chung Cheng High (Yishun) survived a mini revival from Punggol Secondary late in the last quarter to overcome their opponents 48-30 in a boys' B Division North Zone Basketball Championship group match.

That victory, their fifth in a row, gave Chung Cheng High (Yishun) the top position in Group D.

Qing De (CCHY, #13) was the key performer for Chung Cheng as he contributed 22 points. He dominated the board with numerous big rebounds as well as blocking shots to keep Punggol at bay. He drained his first 10 points in the first quarter and was influential throughout the match.

Qing De (CCHY, #13) said, "The match was fine. I hope we (CCHY) can get into the top 4 position for the basketball championship."

The match began with Punggol Secondary winning the tip-off but Chung Cheng’s disciplined defending prevented Punggol from finding a breakthrough. The Punggol passing was limited and Chung Cheng dominated.

Chung Cheng employed fast break tactics with Qing De (CCHY, #13) spearheading the offense with all the first team players managing to make shots. Punggol only managed to score their first 2 points after 3:20 of play through Vincent (PGL, #6). The first quarter ended with Chung Cheng High Yishun leading 17-4.

Chung Cheng then started the second quarter as they ended the first. Qing De (CCHY #13) led the offense with four points in that quarter. Punggol, lacking fight, were slow in attacking the basket and worse still, everyone was going for the same ball on the court.

With five minutes left in the quarter, the Chung Cheng coach gave the reserves a chance to impress on the court.

Punggol Secondary started the third quarter brightly and gained full possession of the match. However, they failed to take advantage and their shots were flying wide.

Chung Cheng turned on the heat as they began deploying double team marking to stop the Punggol offense. The effort proved fruitless as Punggol Secondary went on a 6-0 run midway through the third quarter.

With 2:36 to go, the Chung Cheng coach called for a time-out to sort things right. With cooler heads after a break, Chung Cheng started to make their shots again and put out a tighter defense. Qing De (CCHY, #13) commanded the backline as he blocked shots and grabbed abundant rebounds.

Chung Cheng High Yishun continued to dominate the match in the fourth quarter. They managed to steal a couple of balls as Punggol were let down by poor passing. With two minutes left to play, the Chung Cheng second stringers took to the centre court.

The match was far from over in the fourth quarter as Vincent (PGL, #6) and Nelson (PGL, #9) sparked a mini revival for Punggol. But the Chung Cheng reserves proved too strong for Punggol Secondary and wrapped up the game 48-30.

Chung Cheng can now look forward to the next round of the North Zone Championship while Punggol have to win their final match to have any hopes of qualifying.

Match Statistics:

Scores by quarter
1st Q: PGL  4  -  CCHY  17
2nd Q: PGL  9  -  CCHY  28
3rd Q: PGL  18  -  CCHY 36
4th Q: PGL  30  – CCHY  48

Top scorers
PGL:
Vincent (#6)  -  10 points
Nelson (#9)  -  7 points

CCHY:
Qing De (#13)  -  22 points
Jonathan (#6)  -  6 points
Kelvin (#7)  -  6 points