Story and photos by Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports
Gundu Mahidhar Reddy (#9) drives in for two. He had a game-high 10 points. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Monday, April 24, 2017 — Pioneer Junior College (PJC) continued their unbeaten streak with the 48-28 victory over Meridian Junior College (MJC) in the National A Division Basketball Championship.
With this win, PJC have a 5-0 win-loss record currently after defeating Dunman High School (DHS), Tampines Junior College (TPJC), National Junior College (NJC) and River Valley High School (RVHS) previously. They will enter the second round as first of group B.
On the other hand, MJC currently have a 3-2 win-loss record. They defeated NJC, RVHS and TPJC but lost to DHS previously. They are second in group B currently but their advancement depends on the upcoming matches of DHS and NJC.
As soon as the match started, PJC got to work. They played hard on both ends of the floor and were able to get several transition baskets. With the height advantage, they were able to get several offensive rebounds for second chance points. Despite knowing that it will be a tough game, MJC did not give up. They fought hard but PJC led 13-8 after the first quarter.
PJC continued their stellar performance throughout the game. They played well on both offensive and defensive end to limit MJC’s scoring while increasing their lead. MJC were able to keep things close by hustling and knocking down their shots. MJC were down eight heading into the third quarter as PJC led 21-13 at the half.
However, PJC erased all chances of a comeback victory when they put the pedal to the metal in the second half. With their defense, they limited MJC to just three points in the third quarter while they scored 11 of their own. Gundu Mahidhar Reddy (PJC #9) led the charge with game-high 10 points.
While MJC were able to find their marks and knock down two three-point shots from Aaron Ho (MJC #14) and Teng Wei Jie (MJC #5) in the fourth, they could not stop PJC’s offense due to the size and height advantage PJC had over them.
With time winding down, MJC’s fourth quarter efforts came too late as PJC eventually took the game 48-28.
PJC’s captain, Dexter Tan (PJC #17), said, “I think we did well on our defensive end in the second or third quarter and limited them to just three points. So it’s really about the defensive end. We stop them defensively which allowed us to go on many transition fast-breaks to score the easy points and extend our lead.”
“I think our greatest opponent next round is Anderson, but that being said, there’s a lot of good teams out there and we shouldn’t underestimate each and every one of them. It won’t be just Anderson that will give us a tough fight as all the teams are here to compete and will give their best. So I think everyone has an equal footing in the second round.”
Scoring by Quarter
PJC vs MJC
1st Q: 13-08
2nd Q: 08-05 (21-13)
3rd Q: 11-03 (32-16)
4th Q: 16-12 (48-28)
Top Scorers
PJC
Gundu Mahidhar Reddy (#9) – 10 pts
Low Junchen (#0) – 9 pts
Gavin Tay Wei Yu (#11) – 9 pts
MJC
Aaron Ho (#14) – 9 pts
Jarrett Yip (#7) – 7 pts
PJC Roster
Low Junchen (#0), Tan Jia Sheng, Jason (#1), Gregory Chan Xu Zhan (#6), Joshner B De Guzman (#7), Thomas Joseph Lee Alba (#8), Gundu Mahidhar Reddy (#9), Gavin Tay Wei Yu (#11), Ng Jun Kai, Shawn (#12), Lim Jin Long (#13), Tony Zhang Xue Yi (#14), Dexter Tan Yan Liang (#17), Mohammad Yousuf (#23)
MJC Roster
Shaun Lee (#1), Kiren Teo (#2), Nathanael Tan (#3), Teng Wei Jie (#5), Jarrett Yip (#7), Gan Qing Yang (#8), Sim Jia Ming (#9), Jiam Tzi Yu (#11), Aaron Ho (#14), Gabriel Tan (#20), Chim Chee Yong (#26), Ashraf Khan (#69)
More photos next page
Leave A Comment