By Lee Hwee Cheng

Nanyang player reaches around Ahmad Ibrahim’s no.7 in an attempt to grasp the ball.  It was such aggressive defending, unnecessary at times, that got Nanyang into incessant foul trouble, which in turn converted into many free-throw points for Ahmad Ibrahim. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Clementi Sports Hall, Monday, March 26, 2007 – The much anticipated National B Division Basketball Championships finally tipped off full-blast at the Clementi Sports Hall on Monday, with six full games that stretched more than four hours to whet everyone’s appetite.

Red Sports brings you the story – in pictures.

In the first games of the day that tipped off just slightly before 1400h, Nanyang Girls’ overcame early stumbles and struggled with foul trouble to beat a fearless Ahmad Ibrahim 51-33 on Court 1, while Singapore Chinese Girls’ played tough defence and diligent offence to narrow out Manjusri 46-39.

Nanyang’s no.8, Adeline Ang, power-dribbles her way past a defender towards the basket.  Adeline, also part of the West Zone All-Star Team, was a key driving force in the sometimes-sluggish Nanyang squad that day.  The game was tied at 15-15 up to mid-Q2, at which point Adeline and four other fresh teammates were substituted into the game.  Nanyang took the first half 25-16 and never looked back. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Ahmad Ibrahim’s no.12, the ‘go-to’ girl amongst the team, makes one of her many fast-break attempts for that day.  The key threat to the opponent, she dribbled, sprinted, made field-goals, and even scored the first three-pointer of the game – all in the first two quarters of the game.  But man (or woman, for that matter) is no machine, and even superheroes need a break.   Ahmad Ibrahim’s ‘go-to’ girl looked burnt out by Q3, and though she still kept on at the game, Ahmad Ibrahim could hardly stop the score gap from widening for the rest of the game. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports



Manjusri’s no.7 Lindy Low stays low (no pun intended) to ease past the defender as she dribbles on the left toward the basket against SCGS.  The guard was running all over the offensive and defensive front line, helping to bring her team briefly to a 24-22 lead at halftime after trailing 15-11 in Q1. Lindy did not manage to convert many of her offensive attempts, but she was a major team player providing valuable assists and defensive threats.  Manjusri once again lost due to their own lack of physical stamina, and their already-slack defence proved no threat to the bold and straight-charging opponents. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports



Singapore Chinese Girls’ no.15, Chin Ying Xin, makes a beautiful one-handed shot attempt.  One of the three tall, athletic and pony-tailed forwards who altogether played a very simple yet very effective game, Ying Xin was the dynamo who showed no fear, and seemed to have only one destination everytime she had the ball in her hands – the basket. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports



Singapore Chinese Girls’ no.8 Sara Choong drives her way down toward the basket for a lay-up but unexpectedly meets Manjusri’s Lindy Low in mid-air.  SCGS’s no.8 makes up part two of the tall, athletic and pony-tailed forwards, while teammate no.11 Christiane Wong completes the trio. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports


The second session at 1515h saw the tip-off of the first Boys games of the National Championships. Chung Cheng High (Main) roughed it out with Nan Hua Secondary to take down their first game 50-40, while Presbyterian High narrowly beat Outram Secondary 50-46 but not before breaking out in cold sweat as the game almost slipped out of their grip.

Nan Hua’s no.12 charges ahead for a fast-break attempt, while the opponents race to catch up.  On average, the Nan Hua boys were lacking in height and size in comparison to the Chung Cheng boys.  But what they lacked, they made up for it in athleticism and hard work. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

Chung Cheng’s no.9 Colin makes one of his trademark quick dashes down the court on a fast-break attempt, while the rest of the players are left in his trail.  With feet that seem to move faster than most others on court, the pocket dynamite was unstoppable on Monday. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

"Huh? Coach, don’t talk to me, there’s a defender right behind me."  Nan Hua’s no.10 eyes the ball like an eagle waiting to swoop down on its prey, while the opponent hesitates on the next move. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

Presbyterian’s center no.10 receives triple-team treatment as he goes up for the basket.  Almost unstoppable in the paint with a menacing presence outweighing everyone else, he made the perfect partner for his quick guards and forwards who would move and confuse the defence and then in the perfect moment of chance, drop the ball into the center’s hands as he positioned himself right below the basket. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Outram’s no.7 power-jumps with a beautiful finish to a lay-up, in a rare display of Outram aggression in the first half.  Outpaced and outwitted by a quicker and more confident opponent both on the offensive and on the defensive ends, Outram seemed to be at a loss for counteraction for the large part of the first two quarters. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Presbyterian’s no.8 Edwin makes an aggressive drive down the lane with his good left-hand.  A North Zone all-star, Edwin was one of the three pairs of quick hands and legs for Presbyterian, running fast and diligently for the offensive and the defensive ends and making quick decisive passes. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Outram’s no.10 Lian An readies himself to jump for a shot while Presbyterian’s no.6 Kah Liang attempts to foil it.  Lian An stepped up in this game, making tireless fast-break dashes and picking rebounds in the fourth quarter, being a key driving factor in levelling the game at 44-44 with 1:33m left on the clock.  Unfortunately, just as Outram took a very brief lead at 46-44 with 50 seconds left to go in the game, Lian An also picked up his fifth personal foul and had to bow out of the game. 


The final games that tipped off at about 1630h turned back to the girls. Dunearn Secondary struggled against an equally raw Raffles Girls School and won the game 34-30, while Chung Cheng High overcame a rough start to beat Mayflower Secondary 42-39.

The Dunearn girls boost their morale with a team cheer after a pep talk from the coach during a time-out.  The girls may not have a strong team experience as some other teams, but they looked like they were all out to fight hard… and looked like they had fun doing so.  © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

A Dunearn girl tussles with RGS’s no.12 for the ball before a jump-ball was called by the referee.  RGS seemed to have players in the right athletic physique, but unfortunately, couldn’t leverage on their physical advantage.  They trailed in the game right from the beginning, ending the first half at 12-23. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

RGS’s no.8 looks ahead for charging space as she takes the ball down the court.   © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

Chung Cheng’s no.9 reaches up to release the ball into the basket while Mayflower attempts to block the shot from behind.  The Chung Cheng girls had a slow sluggish start, making uncharacteristic errors and getting plagued by a poor shooting form.  They ended the first quarter 9-14, but caught up with the groove in the second quarter to take over the lead 26-23. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

A Mayflower girl drives and almost stumbles into the tight defence in the paint.  Mayflower played a good tough game, posing a formidable threat to the opponent but lost on point difference through their own foul trouble. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

"Help!"  Mayflower player finds herself in a tight situation, surrounded by three defenders, as she attempts to forge ahead with the shot. © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

Editor’s note: We have managed to get hold of some of your names, but not all.  We’d like to have a name to every face in every picture on this web site!  So if you recognise yourself or your team mate, please let us know the name and we’ll do the update on the captions. Please visit the picture gallery for more action shots.