Story by REDintern Daniel Yeo. Photos by Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.
Moses Peh (#11) of Dunman Secondary shoots against Guangyang Secondary. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Tuesday, March 20, 2018 — Dunman Secondary (DMN) emerged the victors of a closely contested National B division Basketball Championship first-round matchup against Guangyang Secondary (GYS) 46-39.
This meant that Dunman got off to a good start with a 1-0 win-loss record, while Guangyang fell to a 0-1 win-loss record.
Dunman was led by Leroy Loh (DMN #8) and John Ng (DMN #12) with eight points each, while Guangyang was led by Lacdao John Aldrei Cueto (GYS #4) and Brendan Lee (GYS #12) with 13 apiece.
The game commenced, and the first possessions saw both teams impressively space the floor with 4-out 1-in offences. This created massive space for driving lanes, but neither team was able to use this to their advantage.
Guangyang seemed to be using a swing offence, placing their offensive emphasis on extensive ball movement. Another part of the swing offence, post-ups, were used especially by their big man, Nicholas Chua (GYS #20). It looked like he was the biggest player on the hardwood, and Dunman knew that, double-teaming him whenever Guangyang tried to feed him in the post.
In the second quarter, both teams showcased their stifling post defence. There was no way that players from either team were going to lay the ball up without being pressured from multiple angles.
However, during one of those defensive plays, John Ng (DMN #12) dove for a loose ball, and while doing so, had his leg collide with another player. He was slow to get up, and it was clear that he was injured. Regardless, play continued as he attempted to limp towards the other end of the court, eventually settling cross-legged on the floor near the three-point line.
It was a bizarre sight to see Dunman set up their offence while playing four-on-five basketball. Guangyang used this opportunity to pressure the ball-handler and rack up some steals, but surprisingly, John managed to play some solid defence in the restricted area once Guangyang came racing toward him on the fast break.
Although Guangyang looked bigger and longer than their opponents, they were unable to crash the offensive boards. On the other hand, Dunman seemed to come into the third quarter with a mindset to do exactly that, pulling down their own misses and putting them back up and in for easy points.
When asked about it, Guangyang acknowledged: “We didn’t do a good job of boxing out.”
The final quarter of the game began with both teams neck-and-neck at 31. Dunman set the tone in no time, forcing Guangyang into a shot clock violation as well as more offensive rebounds to draw crucial fouls from Guangyang.
Remarkably, the player who scored the first points of the fourth quarter was none other than John Ng (DMN #12). He may have aggravated an old injury, but made sure to make an impact on the game with a putback which put Dunman up two once he checked in.
The score got closer as it neared its conclusion, with Guangyang trailing Dunman by a mere seven points. Dylan Tan (DMN #13) made sure to keep them at bay, however, with a dagger trey to extend the lead to double digits.
But Guangyang was not done – almost immediately after, they scored on a layup, which brought them within nine points. This time, it would be Leroy Loh (DMN #8) who responded, delivering another dagger of a trey to finally put Guangyang out of reach.
Dunman came out of this matchup with Guangyang winners 46–39, but they felt like they can still kick it into another gear: “We could have been more focused, we don’t have much experience since this is our first time playing in the Nationals but we’re trying to make it as far as we can.”
Dunman will take on Christ Church Secondary next, while Guangyang takes on Jurong Secondary. Both matches will be held at OCBC Arena on 22 March with tip-off at 2.30pm.
Scoring by Quarter
Dunman vs Guangyang
1st Q: 6–8
2nd Q: 11–8 (17–16)
3rd Q: 14–15 (31–31)
4th Q: 15–8 (46–39)
Leading Scorers
Dunman
Leroy Loh (#8) — 8 points
John Ng (#12) — 8 points
Guangyang
Lacdao John Aldrei Cueto (#4) — 13 points
Brendan Lee Jun Hong (#12) — 13 points
Dunman Roster
Marquez Joseph Alcantara (#4), Tiong Hoe Jian (#5), Guo Zhi Wei (#6), Chua Jia Ming (#7), Leroy Loh (#8), Liam Seth Israel (#9), Bryan Yong (#10), Moses Peh (#11), John Ng (#12), Dylan Tan (#13), Ethan Chan (#14), Parulan Jespar (#15)
Guangyang Roster
Kong Chek Shen Jackson (#0), Eugene Ho Zhi Wei (#1), Rio Chong Han (#2), Andy Lim Yu Kwang (#3), Lacdao John Aldrei Cueto (#4), Brendan Lee Jun Hong (#12), Darrel Tan (#13), Nicholas Chua Wee Kiat (#20), Siddharth (#21), Vallejo Carino Gabriel Vince (#24), Kwong Liang Bin (#26), Evan Ang Jia Le (#30), Gideon Rajan S/O Balakrishna (#41)
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