Story By Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by REDinterns Clara Yuan and Rebekah Abbott, Joseph Lee/Red Sports
Ng Hanbin (SIM #22) successfully blocks and prevents Lim Boon Kiat (RP #14) from scoring. Hanbin finished with a team-high 20 points. (Photo 1 © REDintern Clara Yuan)
NTU Sports and Recreation Centre, Monday, January 27, 2014 — Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) captured its second straight Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Basketball Championship with a dominating 94–58 win over Republic Polytechnic (RP). Gary Yeo (RP #4) led all scorers with 21 points, while Ng Hanbin (SIM #22) had 20 points to lead his team. The match was a foregone conclusion by the end of the third quarter, as SIM built up a lead so big that they could afford to empty their bench.
Both teams were off to slow starts, as the game saw a scoring drought in the first two minutes of play. RP were strong on defence, managing to shut out initial SIM drives to the basket. Unfortunately, they could not replicate their success on the offensive end. As the quarter wore on, SIM became more accustomed to the defence, finding gaps to exploit and score easy baskets.
SIM blew the game wide open in the second quarter, chiefly due to the contributions of Hanbin (SIM #22). He made three 3-pointers in the quarter, along with some nifty facilitating on the low block. His strong display negated the absence of a key player for SIM, Chase Tan (SIM #83) who had to sit out the second quarter after picking up his fourth foul. This allowed SIM to take a 21-point lead at half-time.
RP showed signs of life after the break with Wei Hao (RP #1) and Zhen Qiang (RP #3) both making consecutive layups to mitigate the lead SIM built up. Their strategy in the quarter was to go for the 3-pointer at every opportunity, in a bid to chip away at the lead. However, their hot shooting from previous games did not manifest here, which dug an even deeper hole for them. Edwin (SIM #1) had a nice assist in this period, throwing a wraparound pass on the fast break for his man to score. By the end of the third, SIM were well in control of the match and cruising to their second straight title.
The benches were emptied in the fourth quarter in what essentially became ‘garbage time’. SIM sent in their reserve squad during this period. Not to be outdone by their peers that started, the reserves showed that they could hold their own too, draining five straight 3-pointers near the end of the game. The SIM bench went into a frenzy after each make, with the loudest cheers reserved for the final shot.
RP captain, Nethanel Ng (#5) said, “Hats off to SIM, they were the stronger team tonight. Their defence was really good today and they managed to contain us. We were too rushed early on, landing us with a big deficit we could not reduce. Making the finals was a good experience for us and we hope to work on this.”
SIM captain, Lim Yong Teck (#13), commented, “It feels good to win back-to-back championships. Some of us are graduating and it’s a good way to end university life. We came into the final game wanting to win it really badly, and I think all the hard work put in by all the players paid off.”
Scoring by Quarter
SIM vs RP
1st Quarter: 19–9
2nd Quarter: 24–12 (43–22)
3rd Quarter: 21–16 (65–38)
4th Quarter: 29–20 (94–58)
Top Scorers
Singapore Institute of Management
Ng Hanbin (#22) – 20 points
Republic Polytechnic
Gary Yeo Jun Yuan (#4) – 21 points
SIM Roster
Edwin Low Kwok Heng (#1), Neo Li Zhe Richard (#2), Wong Kok Yong Dallas (#5), Phua Hong Yuan (#11), Lim Yong Teck (#13), Tiong Zi Cheng (#14), Wong Kar Chuin Jason (#17), Yeo Zhi Kuang (#24), Ng Hanbin (#22), Jansen Koay Zhen Yen (#23), Koh Wei Jie (#33), Zhou Zhen Jie (#34), Woo Tian Wei (#45), Chase Tan (#83), Ken Owyong Zhi Xiang (#91)
RP Roster
Poh Wei Hao (#1), Chua Deng Yu Daryl (#2), Zhou Zhen Qiang (#3), Gary Yeo Jun Yuan (#4), Ng Huai En Nethanel (#5), Huang Haojie Joseph (#6), Toh Qing Huang (#7), Lim Bryan (#8), Toh Wee Keong (#9), Gabriel Teh Zhong En (#10), Ong Jun Jie (#11), Wu Qing De (#12), Chua Wei Jian (#13), Lim Boon Kiat (#14), Sean Lim Han Ming (#15)
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