Story and photos by REDintern Benedict Yeo
Three Unity players trying to thwart Gladys Ng (CCSS #29). (Photo 1 © Benedict Yeo/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Monday, April 3, 2017 – Christ Church Secondary School (CCSS) beat Unity Secondary School (USS) 60 – 45 in the National B Division Basketball Championship.
Having lost one game and won one game, Christ Church is currently second in Group Y, alongside Yishun Town, and will be facing the leader of the group – North Vista Secondary School – in their upcoming match. Winning the next match will place them in a good position to advance to the top 4, though much of it is still dependent on the performance of the other teams.
Unity will face off Yishun Town Secondary School in their next match. Having lost two games and is currently at the bottom of the group, they will have to win in order to have a chance at advancing to the top 4.
With the first whistle blown, both teams were quick to start the match on a strong note. Nazirah (USS #5) netted the first score with a 2 point throw. The scores rose as both schools took turn to score, with Christ Church slightly edging out Unity by 4 points at the end of the first quarter.
The match continued into the second quarter when not before long, at the eight-minute mark, Christ Church had to substitute Valentia Wong (CCSS #21) due to an injury. This dampened the mood of the team which disrupted the momentum of Christ Church. The scoreboard remained stagnant as both teams fought to emerge from each other’s defence.
Finally, Christ Church managed to break the stagnant scores when Kau Wen Qi (CCSS #32) went in and took two points. This was when the match started to get hot as Unity came back quick with 5 points. The second quarter was rounded up with Christ Church scoring both free throws and leading the game 24 – 19.
Seeing the need to accelerate the pace of the game, Christ Church started off the 3rd quarter with a 2 point offensive pullback. At this juncture, with Christ Church’s lead widening, Unity called for a timeout. The timeout proved to be useful when Alayna (USS #11) tossed the ball into the net for a three-pointer, bringing the score to 22 – 30. This was followed by yet another 3-pointer from Nazirah (USS #5).
However, Christ Church was not to be defeated. They retaliated with a 6-point comeback to lead with 36 points. Soon after, Unity disadvantaged themselves by getting into penalty, allowing Christ Church to capitalise on it by scoring two free throws. The third quarter ended with Christ Church having a 13-point lead.
The last quarter proved to be the most exciting. Unity started the quarter strong by scoring two points but could not sustain the heat as Christ Church disrupted them with two consecutive three-pointer. The 20 points lead by Christ Church was sustained throughout the match until the final two minutes. This was when Unity became fiery in their moves, fighting tough to narrow the gap to 10 points.
Despite their valiant efforts, Unity’s strategy of delaying the game time through repeated fouls backfired when Christ Church capitalised on the free throws. Christ Church eventually edged their lead to 15 points and emerged as the winner when the final whistle was blown.
Valentia Wong (#21) of Christ Church said, “The injury that I sustained during the second quarter affected my mood as I was afraid that I would let the team down. However, I know that winning this game will bring us closer to being the Top 4 so I preserved on.”
Kau Wen Qi (#32) of Christ Church also echoed her views. When asked on how she felt her team fared for this match, she replied, “Everyone fought together in this match and did their best so I think we did quite well.”
Scoring by Quarter
Christ Church vs Unity
1st Q: 12 – 08
2nd Q: 12 – 11 (24 – 19)
3rd Q: 16 – 08 (40 – 27)
4th Q: 20 – 18 (60 – 45)
Top Scorers
Christ Church
Kau Wen Qi (#32) – 23 pts
Unity
Nazirah (#5) – 14 pts
Alayna (#11) – 14 pts
Christ Church Roster
Valentia Wong (#21), Wong Wei Li (#22), Chew Sheng Xuan (#23), Zafira Alyssa (#24), Tan Hui Xuan (#25), Shannevie Teo (#26), Mildred Por (#28), Gladys Ng (#29), Chen Xiao Juan (#30), Peggy Goh (#31), Kau Wen Qi (#32), Sharifah Fahimah (#35)
Unity Roster
Nazirah (#5), Videl (#6), Jeslyn (#7), Nadirah (#8), Alayna (#11), Adilah (#12), Celest (#13), Eunice (#15), Syazwani (#17), Esther (#23), Bonnie (#77)
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