By Gan Yu Neng/Red Sports

ahmad ibrahim vs raffles girls' school c div bball

Tan Ke Ning (#11) of Ahmad Ibrahim lays up over the challenge of Jeannine Tang (#14) of Raffles Girls’ School. Ke Ning had a game-high 10 points while Jeannine finished with 5. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

 

Clementi Sports Hall, Thursday, August 2, 2012 — In a match that started as a close fight, Raffles Girls’ School pulled away starting with a dramatic buzzer-beater in the second quarter and finished the match with a 30-23 win over Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary in their last match of the National C Division Basketball Championship. Both teams, having already been eliminated from the next round, played only for pride.

The teams were tied at the end of the first quarter, and with Ahmad Ibrahim’s Tan Ke Ning (#11) making a lay-up in the last 15 seconds of the second quarter to make it 12-12, it looked as though they would walk off level. However, Raffles struck back in the final second when Shriya Chettiar (#15) put two in to end the first half 14-12. Raffles went on to stay ahead for the rest of the game.

Ahmad Ibrahim managed to keep within four points or less of Raffles all the way until the last four minutes of the game. Leading 25-23, Raffles proceeded to shut out Ahmad Ibrahim for the rest of the quarter, scoring five more points to finish the game 30-23 winners.

Throughout the game, Raffles were continually able to outwit Ahmad Ibrahim’s defense. Once the ball was advanced to Ahmad Ibrahim’s basket, Raffles would pass the ball around until they found an opening they could take advantage of.

Raffles had an advantage in their center, Shriya Chettiar (#15), who was able to capture the rebound many times on both offense and defense, being too tall for Ahmad Ibrahim to compete with. This gave Raffles the liberty of making repeated attempts at the basket until they got their shots in.

For Ahmad Ibrahim, Tan Ke Ning (#11) scored a game-high 10 points, six of which were from three-pointers. Ke Ning’s speed and accuracy made her the biggest threat to the Raffles defense. She also had her own sense of flair.

At one point in the second quarter, after a turnover, Ke Ning took the ball all the way up to Raffles’s perimeter, waited patiently on the spot for the Raffles defense to overtake her and get into formation beneath the basket, and then very calmly sank a three-pointer.

However, over the course of the game, it became clear that Raffles’s ability to keep the ball in play at Ahmad Ibrahim’s basket, as well as retain possession of offensive rebounds, gave them too much of an advantage for Ahmad Ibrahim to break down.

With this result, Raffles will finish Round 1 of the Nationals third in their group while Ahmad Ibrahim finish fourth. Neither school will move on to the second round.

Ahmad Ibrahim’s captain, Ke Ning (#11), felt that her team had room to improve.

“Starting, we did quite well, but then later maybe we got tired. Our center also same height as everyone else, so Raffles will get the offensive rebound … We did quite well, we really ran for every ball. Maybe we can improve our defense; sometimes we get confused, don’t know where to stand,” said Ke Ning.

Raffles’s captain, Ming Wei (#9), felt that her team played well.

“I felt we had a lot of fighting spirit,” she said, “We really worked hard today, and it paid off.”

On their opponents, she said, “They did really well. I really respect them; they did a really good job.”

On their targets for next year, Ming Wei commented: “We always want to strive to do better. Next year I’m going on to B Div; I think my juniors will set a high target to improve on our results this year.”

Score by Quarter
Raffles vs Ahmad Ibrahim
1st Q: 7-7
2nd Q: 7-5 (14-12)
3rd Q: 9-9 (23-21)
4th Q: 7-2
Final Score: 30-23

Top Scorers
Raffles
Shalleeni Rameash (#10) — 8 points
Stephanie Ler (#13) — 6 points
Zheng Tong Xin (#5) — 6 points
Jeannine Tang (#14) — 5 points
Dianne Yeo (#7) — 2 points
Shriya Chettiar (#15) — 2 points
Priya Dharshini (#12) — 1 point

Ahmad Ibrahim
Tan Ke Ning (#11) — 10 points
Koh Hui Ling (#7) — 6 points
Patty Tan (#8) — 5 points
Hairani (#12) — 2 points

Raffles Roster
Amber Voo (#4), Zheng Tong Xin (#5), Joon Hui Xuan (#6), Dianne Yeo (#7), Brenda Tan (#8), Goh Ming Wei (#9), Shalleeni Rameash (#10), Lim Jie En (#11), Priya Dharshini (#12), Stephanie Ler (#13), Jeannine Tang (#14), Shriya Chettiar (#15)

Ahmad Ibrahim Roster
Chen Qiu Rong (#4), Megan Sio (#5), Lim Jia Xi (#6), Koh Hui Ling (#7), Patty Tan (#8), Vivian Lim (#9), Christy Oh (#10), Tan Ke Ning (#11), Hairani (#12), Lim Pei Xi (#13), Teh Min Chi (#14), Yeo Jia Jun (#15)

National C Division Basketball Championship — full fixtures and results

More photos in gallery next page