Story and photos by REDintern Low Zheng Yu
Andy Liow (WG #14) with the hoop and the harm. He had a team high 13 points. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Friday, February 10, 2017 — A clutch performance by Woodgrove Secondary stopped Bowen Secondary’s comeback to win 38-32 in the North Zone B Division Basketball Championship.
With this win, Woodgrove improve to a perfect 5-0 win-loss record. They look to play Orchid Park next.
This is Bowen’s second loss of the season after losing to Christ Church 41-47. They will be up against Presbyterian High next.
In the first quarter, Woodgrove made use of their size to score. Knowing that they have the size advantage, Woodgrove kept feeding their centers the ball, letting them feast in the paint area.
This was a successful tactic as Woodgrove managed to rack up points from center Andy Liow (WG #14).
While Bowen could not contained the Woodgrove centers, they answered by scoring more to catch up. However, Bowen were still down 7-12 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Bowen changed their defensive tactics. They had more help-side defense which prevented the Woodgrove centers from taking advantage. They fought on equal footing after the change in defensive style, matching Woodgrove point for point to trail by five (15-20) heading into the half-time break.
However, Woodgrove upped their defense intensity, stopping the Bowen scoring streak. This prevented Bowen from catching up while they scored to widen the gap.
By the end of the third quarter, Bowen were down 11 points.
Unaffected, Bowen started their comeback in the fourth. They were disciplined in their defense, racking up some turnovers which were converted to fast-break points. Bowen were slowly chipping away at the deficit with their persistent efforts.
With a minute and a half left, Darryl Chan (BW #17) of Bowen made a clutch three to bring the deficit to just two. This boosted the morale of Bowen and gave them momentum.
In their next possession, Bowen took a timeout to come up with an offensive play to try to tie the score. However this broke Bowen’s momentum. Their pass was intercepted and Aw Kai Jie (WG #6) went on a fast-break.
He was fouled, and given two free throws. Kai Jie (WG #6) made one of two to increase their lead to three points.
On the ensuing possession, Bowen were not able to score as Woodgrove upped their defense intensity. Woodgrove ultimately won 38-32.
Woodgrove captain, Andy Liow (WG #14), said, “We did well in the first two quarter on the defensive side and was still leading. However, we slacked too much in the third and fourth quarter. We let Bowen score too many points.
“Our mentality was not strong. We need to have strong second half mentality, need to improve on that. We were very scared to turn the ball over with our passes. We also need to go for loose balls.
“We are facing Orchid Park next. We will go back and make some adjustment for Orchid Park and I am confident for our next game.”
Scoring by Quarter
Woodgrove vs Bowen
1st Q: 12-7
2nd Q: 8-8 (20-15)
3rd Q: 11-5 (31-20)
4th Q: 7-12 (38-32)
Top Scorers
Woodgrove
Liow Cheng Lin Andy (#14) – 13 pts
Aw Kai Jie (#6) – 13 pts
Bowen
Lee Yao Hong (#11) – 13 pts
Woodgrove Roster
Edwin Soo Ian Zhang (#4), Chong Shao Kai, Sky (#5), Aw Kai Jie (#6), Lacsado Jack William Santiago (#7), Seah Jin Yong (#8), Chen Pengkun (#9), Yap Chun Jack (#10), Liow Cheng Xun Owen (#11), Andy Lim Jia En (#12), Soh Keng Yip (#13), Liow Cheng Lin Andy (#14), Fang Hanbin (#15)
Bowen Roster
Melvin Jovan Gho (#0), Jacky Lim Chye Huat (#2), Avinesh S/O Sangaraju (#4), Jerome Soh Zheng Hao (#10), Lee Yao Hong (#11), Oh Hong Leng Lucas (#12), Ng Zhiyong (#42), Chan Jing Quan, Darryl (#17), Nestor Chua Jun Wei (#18), Clement Choo (#23), Darshan S/O Pragash (#24), Nicholas Liew Thai Kent (#46)
More photos next page
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