Guangyang beat Bukit Merah for a place in Round 2 of B Division Girls South Zone basketball

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

CCAB, Friday, February 13, 2009 - A strong third quarter surge by Guangyang Secondary School was the key to their 39-23 victory over Bukit Merah Secondary School in their final round of the girls’ B Division South Zone Basketball Campionship Group A match.

Both teams were vying for a place in the second round, and came into the must-win game tied on five points each. The half-time whistle saw Guangyang hold only a slender four point lead, but broke the game open in the third period with an impressive display of suffocating defence.

"We managed to pull away in the third and fourth quarters by taking certain things away from Bukit Merah's play," Said Mr Soh Sin Chye, Guangyang's coach. "We were able to out-rebound them, limit their shots, as well as force many steals from turnovers."

Rebounds and defence; surefire ways to guarantee success in any given basketball match. Guangyang's Xue Fen (#11) epitomized that from the tip-off by making her presence known in the paint, grabbing countless boards and converting several second-chance points. Bukit Merah's point guard Whitney (#14), who scored a game high 14 points, tied the game at four apiece early on with a coast-to-coast layup. But after careless turnovers by both teams on consecutive possessions, Xuefen grabbed her own missed shot and converted inside for an 11-7 lead.

Whitney continued her early strong play in the second quarter by converting a layup while getting fouled, and then finished off another steal and layup sequence to keep Bukit Merah in the game at 17-19. Natalie’s (Guangyang, #6) jumper with a minute and a half left in the quarter extended the lead to four points, and the half ended with Guangyang having one foot in the next round, leading 21-17.

They then proceeded to shut the door in Bukit Merah's faces in the next period. Whitney's off-the-glass jumper with three minutes gone turned out to be her team's only points in the quarter, as their opponents continued to clean up the boards with ruthless efficiency. Bukit Merah's high post play with Evelyn (#9) and Adeline (#12) failed to materialize as the entry pass was constantly denied, and they then misfired on several wild shots from then on. A jumper by Guangyang's Pei Qi (#7), capped a 9-0 run to end the quarter, and the die was almost cast on eliminating Bukit Merah as Guangyang carried a 33-19 lead into the final quarter.

Bukit Merah had no choice but to resort to a full-court press, but the Guangyang ball-handlers were able to dribble their way out of danger on most occasions. Both teams, however, combined for more than eight minutes of futility, and the electronic scoreboard finally saw some activity with a right-wing jumper by Whitney with 1:50 minutes remaining. Guangyang, however, sealed the victory with six quick points by Tan Jia Mei (#14), and the 39-23 win signaled their entry into the second phase of competition.

Though Bukit Merah were eliminated, their captain had some encouraging words for the team for next year's competition. "Our defence did not do well today and we also lost out in the rebounding aspect. We will train harder next year, never give up, and persevere till the last second." said Whitney, who will play her final year in the B Division in 2010.

Meanwhile, the 2009 campaign continues for Guangyang. They have been drawn into Group A with the Singapore Chinese Girls' School and defending champions Raffles Girls' School. They will face the former in their opening match of Round 2 on Monday, 16 February.

Scoring breakdown by quarter:

Bukit Merah vs Guangyang
Q1: 9-12
Q2: 8-9
Q3: 2-12
Q4: 4-6
Final: 23-39

Top scorers:
Whitney (Bukit Merah, #13) - 14 points
Tan Jia Mei (Guangyang, #14) - 12 points
Xue Fen (Guangyang, #12) - 9 points