Story by Ellis Yap/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports

National A Division Girls' Basketball Championship NYJC vs NJC

Ong Sin Kee (#6) of Nanyang Junior College drives against (#6) of National Junior College. Ong scored 16 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

Singapore Basketball Centre, Wednesday, May 13, 2015 — Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) cruised to their first ever final with a 58–41 victory over National Junior College (NJC) in the semi-final of the National A Division Girls’ Basketball Championship.

With the win, NYJC remain as the only unbeaten team alongside Hwa Chong Institution (HCI). The two teams will contend for the title in the finals.

Coach Andre Wong was all praise for the girls.

“I am very happy, because we’ve spent 10 years trying to achieve what we have done today,” he said.

“The girls put in a lot of effort and their hard work and success can be seen throughout the season, but sometimes that alone is not enough. You need a little bit of luck and this year, I guess we were luckier, because we managed to beat RI by two points.”

Ong Sin Kee (NYJC #6) and Dawn Liew (NJC #11) led all scorers with 16 points each. It was a low scoring affair in the beginning of the quarter with both teams starting off slow.

The first basket came from NYJC only after nearly five minutes of play. Tan Li Min (NYJC #7) and Nicole Chung (NYJC #4) sparked the crowd with two wide open lay-ups on consecutive possessions. NYJC finished the quarter with a slight 12–7 lead.

Much like many of their previous games throughout the season, NJC were trailing after the first quarter. While in the previous games, NJC were always able to bounce back from early scares and eventually win the games, NJC could not accomplish a comeback this time round.

NJC quickly fell to a 31–12 hole by the end of the second quarter as a result of defensive lapses, coupled with strong offense from NYJC. NYJC limited NJC to just five points in the second quarter while dropping nineteen points through a concerted team effort.

NYJC were in full control in the third quarter, holding NJC scoreless until Dawn Liew (NJC #11) sank a free throw with three minutes left on the clock.

NJC outscored NYJC 18–11 in the final quarter but the game was already out of grasp. NYJC went on to pocket the 58–41 victory, advancing to their first ever final.

NYJC captain, Ong Sin Kee (#6) said, “I think we played a good game today. We were very focused in the game today; everybody did their part. We still need to do better on our defense as we were actually outscored in the final quarter (6–18). The girls from HCI (Hwa Chong Institution) have very strong mentality, judging by the game that they played against RI (Raffles Institution). In order to beat them, we need to be very determined and be mentally prepared.”

In the other semi-final, HCI outlasted Raffles Institution (RI) in overtime. With the victory, NYJC will face HCI in the final, which will be played at 1 p.m. on May 19, at Jurong East Sports Hall. NJC will face RI in the 3rd/4th playoff game, which will be played at 1 p.m. on May 15, at the Singapore Basketball Centre.

Scoring by quarter
NYJC vs NJC
1st Quarter: 12–7
2nd Quarter: 31–12 (19–5)
3rd Quarter: 47–23 (16–11)
4th Quarter: 58–41 (11–18)

Top scorers
NYJC
Ong Sin Kee (#6) – 16 points (1 x 3-pointer)
Ong Sze Ming (#9) – 13 points (1 x 3-pointer)

NJC
Dawn Liew (#11) – 16 points (4 x 3-pointer)

NYJC Roster
Nicole Chung (#4), Toh Hui Ying (#5), Ong Sin Kee (#6), Tan Li Min (#7), Teo Wei Xin (#8), Ong Sze Ming (#9), Tan Jaymie (#10), Sim Zhi-Ting (#11), Annkatrin Clarissa Kreiger (#12), Jaslyn Koh (#13), Yeo Shi Yi (#14), Genevieve Chew (#15)

NJC Roster
Gwen Sim (#4), Selina Fang (#5), Chok Xin Yan (#6), Quah Jing Wen (#7), Vera Phang (#8), Kristerbel Pang (#9), Kho Yan Xin (#10), Dawn Liew (#11), Lenet Kong (#12), Emer Hoon (#13), Ng Jing Yi (#14), Eleana Tan (#15)

National A Division Girls’ Basketball Championship — fixtures and results

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