Story by REDintern Rebecca Yip

New Town vs Boon Lay C Div bball

Boon Lay’s Tan Yi Zhi (#14) finds himself in a New Town sandwich as he goes for a lay up. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)


 
Clementi Sports Hall, Thursday, July 5, 2012 — New Town Secondary came up tops in a high-stakes game, narrowly beating Boon Lay Secondary 24-21 to secure a spot in the second round of the Boys’ West Zone C Division Basketball Championships.

New Town needed a win to top Group D, while Boon Lay’s narrow 21-22 loss to Clementi Town meant that they needed a win to renew their hopes of getting into the second round as runner-up of Group D.

Boon Lay’s captain Daniel Poh (#9) was the leading scorer of the match with 16 points, and was one of only two players who made it onto the Boon Lay score sheet. New Town’s captain, Denilson Soh (#7), led his team with 15 points.

Boon Lay started off strong and led 5-4 after the first quarter. However, that was their last lead of the match, as the tall Daniel was tightly policed by the New Town defence, who restricted his ability to score more. Boon Lay’s players also failed to convert many chances at the basket.

When asked how he thought his team fared under the pressure, Daniel humbly gave credit to his team-mates, saying that they played better than expected. He said: “They worked really hard to give me all the easy balls and take the hard fouls from the opposing team. I am fine, but they are all walking injured after the match.”

New Town have won all four of their matches thus far and are looking forward to playing tougher opponents in the second round. Captain Denilson Soh (#7) thought his team played well against a strong team, but needed to work on stamina, shooting and most importantly, their mental strength in order to face up against stronger teams.

Boon Lay face Kranji in their final first round game on Monday, July 9. They are currently level on points with Hwa Chong Institution and still have a chance to qualify for Round Two if they beat Kranji, and if New Town do them a favour by beating Clementi Town when they meet on the same day.

Score by Quarter
New Town Secondary v Boon Lay Secondary 

1st Q: 4-5
2nd Q: 10-4 (14-9)
3rd Q: 6-5 (20-14)
4th Q: 4-7 (24-21)
Final: 24-21

Top Scorers

New Town

Denilson Soh Cai Jun (#7) – 15 points
Wan Min Xiong (#10) – 4 points

Boon Lay

Daniel Poh (#9) – 16 points
Huang Yong (#13) – 5 points

New Town Lineup
Harittaran (#4), Malcolm Wang Jing Xiang (#5), Justin Yue Yi Xin (#6), Denilson Soh Cai Jun (#7), Leong Daniel (#8), Cleve Low Wei Jie (#9), Wan Min Xiong (#10), Justin Tan Zhen Zhou (#11), Kwan Jong Xiang (#12), Patrick Low Wei Jie (#13), Sherman Goh Jun Ze (#14), Sai Vikash S/O Sin Kumar (#15)

Boon Lay Lineup 
Villanueva Jeremie Gonzales (#4), Ong Yeow Koon, Jaron (#5), Yoe Fang Rayner (#6), Aidil Sufyan B Abdullah (#7), Lin Shi Yu (#8), Poh Yong Xian, Daniel (#9), Tyrone Tan Jing Long (#10), Wong Song Yi (#11), Hafis Saleem B Mohamed Basheer (#12), Huang Yong (#13), Tan Yi Zhi (#14), Chong Minlon (#15)

West Zone C Division Basketball Championships – full fixtures and results 

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