National B Div Bball: ACS Barker down Bukit Panjang to earn 53–38 win

Story by REDintern Daniel Yeo. Photos by Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.

Calder Teo (#13) of ACS (Barker) shoots a lay-up against Sun Zhe (#11) of Bukit Panjang Govt. High. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Thursday, March 22, 2018 — ACS Barker’s collection of offensive weapons shot down Bukit Panjang’s hopes of another comeback win with a 53–38 victory in the first round of the National B Division Basketball Championship.

This means that ACS Barker now tops their group as the only team with a 2–0 win-loss record. Bukit Panjang is not far behind, with a 1-1 win-loss record.

Barker were led by Khant Zay Naing (ACSB #8) and Cayman Miguel (ACSB #9) with 12 points each, while Glen Goh (BP #7) and Jonah Foo (#17) each scored 10 points for Bukit Panjang.

Barker won the tip-off to give themselves the first possession of the game and used one of their half-court sets to give Xavier Tan (ACSB #28) a layup for their first two points shortly after.

On defense, Barker utilised their half-court press to keep Bukit Panjang scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, until Sun Zhe (BP #11) ended their scoring drought with two points of his own.

Throughout the first quarter, Barker’s collection of offensive talent shone through as five different players put the ball in the basket, giving them a 14-point lead as the second quarter began.

The start of the second quarter saw both teams turn the ball over and miss on tough shots, which created a number of opportunities for a fast-break. However, although neither team was able to capitalize, Bukit Panjang finished the half on a better note, having scored 10 points to Barker’s six.

The third quarter once again saw Barker’s offensive arsenal come into play, Cayman Miguel (ACSB #9) with an especially nasty move to put his defender in the spin cycle while pirouetting to the rim as his teammates on the bench let out a collective roar. The third quarter ended with Barker up 42–22 after a 17–7 scoring run.

However, in the fourth quarter, it was Bukit Panjang who began to play on both ends of the floor. They seemed to have figured out Barker in their half-court sets and locked them down multiple times to force shot-clock violations. On the offensive end, captain Jonah Foo (BP #17) took the brunt of the scoring responsibility, with 10 of Bukit Panjang’s 16 points in the quarter.

But after strong offensive performances by Barker in the first and third quarter, there was nothing Bukit Panjang could do to replicate their comeback win against Anglican High on Tuesday. The game ended 53–38 in Barker’s favour.

Despite the loss, Jonah (BP #17) stayed positive when reflecting on the way his team played on the day: “I think my team gave it their best, they played well. Even though we lost, we know we played our best, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

With the first round drawing to a close, Group A has three potential teams which could qualify for the next round. With this high-stakes matchup coming up for both teams, we asked what both teams would be thinking heading into the game.

Jonah (BP #17) said, “We’ll just do our best, even if we draw (in the group standings), we just play, give it our all and play basketball.”

Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (ACSB #11) commented, “We’re going to go in confident, but not overconfident. We’ll stay humble and fight hard.”

Bukit Panjang will be matched up with Montfort Secondary next, and ACS Barker with Anglican High.

Both matches will be held at OCBC Arena on March 26, with tip-off at 2.30pm.

Scoring by Quarter
Bukit Panjang v ACS Barker
1st Q: 5–19
2nd Q: 10–6 (15–25)
3rd Q: 7–17 (22–42)
4th Q: 16–11 (38–53)

Leading Scorers
Bukit Panjang
Glen Goh (#7) – 10 points
Jonah Foo (#17) – 10 points

ACS Barker
Khant Zay Naing (#8) – 12 points
Cayman Miguel (#9) – 12 points

Bukit Panjang Roster
Tan Wei Xin (#0), Kristoff Ramos (#1), Nathan Ng (#2), Glen Goh (#7), Qi Heng (#9), Sun Zhe (#11), Jovan Chiam (#12), Yong Qi (#16), Jonah Foo (#17), Henry Teo (#18), Shakur (#23), Lucas Leng (#26)

ACS Barker Roster
Wesley Wong (#2), Daniel Baking (#4), Dylan Lee (#6), Khant Zay Naing (#8), Cayman Miguel (#9), Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (#11), Calder Teo (#13), Glen Chiam (#14), Panca (#15), Kuah Zi’En (#22), Jaryl Wee (#26), Xavier Tan (#28)

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