Story by REDintern Samantha Yom. Photos by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports.

Tori Chua (SCGS #7) pulls up for a shot en route to a game-high 15-point performance. (Photo 1 © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

Tori Chua (SCGS #7) pulls up for a shot en route to a game-high 15-point performance. (Photo 1 © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Thursday, March 29, 2018 — When you have faced the same opponent time and again, you know their lineup by heart, can easily list their strengths and weaknesses, and have their set plays pretty much figured out.

The very fact that you have both met so often on court means a couple of things: It means you both play well, consistently well, that is. It means you are each other’s worthy opponents. And it means that winning the match requires more than just excellent teamwork and skill – you need to win the mental game too.

That is exactly what Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) did when they triumphed over North Vista Secondary School (NV) 62–21 in their first Quarter Finals match of the National B Division Basketball Championship.

Needless to say, the pressure was on for both sides. After all, the game was a rematch of their North Zone Finals, which saw SCGS narrowly defeat North Vista 52–50.

“There was definitely pressure. We know that we are not the most talented team out there, so we just hoped for the best and worked really hard,” commented SCGS’s top scorer Tori Chua (SCGS #7, 15 points).

Yet, with the help of some visualisation and reflection, they were able to get into the right frame of mind despite the pressure.

Tori added, “In the bus, we listen to our music and get really focused. We think about what we have to improve on and our areas of weakness to make sure that we don’t repeat those mistakes in the game. We’ll visualise our different plays and options we have, and how to break our opponent’s defence.”

Meanwhile, North Vista went into the game knowing they were without one of their main players, Ang Zi Yi Lydia (NV #7), who had contributed a solid 17 points in SCGS and North Vista’s Finals showdown.

“We lacked one of our main players so there was a disadvantage, but we still fought hard,” said Joli Kweh Jia Qi (NV #5), who went on to speak of how North Vista had a team talk prior to the match to calm everyone down.

However, sans Lydia, it seemed as though North Vista did not quite have what it took to take down the North Zone champions, as they trailed behind from start to finish.

That being said, both teams were off to a slow start, with the scoreline only at 2–2 more than 6 minutes after the tip-off. North Vista was met with SCGS’s sturdy defence in the paint and struggled to drive to the basket, while SCGS, on the other hand, could not make their lay-ups.

Instead, they found more success behind the arc, sinking two successive treys with the help of Tori (SCGS #7) and Fatin Nazura Bte Mohammad Rafi (SCGS #4). By then, it was clear that SCGS had chosen to rely on three-pointers to get them the win.

The first period ended with a scoreline of 8–5 in SCGS’s favour.

The second quarter saw North Vista opt for a half-court press on SCGS, while the latter administered a full-court press in a bid to force their rivals into turnovers. This allowed them to gain possession and fall back onto their game plan, swinging the ball around the perimeter before attempting making attempts at three-pointers.

SCGS sunk an impressive total of five treys in the second quarter to build a healthy 13-point (26–13) lead over their rivals, whose field goals attempts always seemed to fall just shy of the basket.

SCGS went on to extend their led throughout the third quarter, largely thanks to Crystal Nathasha D/O Mathi Vanan (SCGS #9). With her remarkable agility, she was able to intercept passes and dodge past North Vista’s defence to go for fast breaks.

North Vista could only manage five points, all of which were contributed by their top scorer Nurul Haziqah (NV #0). The scoreline after the penultimate period was 44–18.

In the final quarter, Nurul (NV #0) continued to shine. Her aggressiveness was obvious on court, as she was the one who was consistently driving to the basket and attempting fast-breaks lay-ups.

SCGS maintained their top form and pressed on with their defence in the final quarter to add another 18 points to their name. By the final buzzer, they had accumulated a whopping 41-point lead over North Vista, ending the match with a scoreline of 62–21.

This time, triumph came far more easily for SCGS and a lot of it boiled down to their mindset going into the game.

Tori (SCGS #7) explained, “We knew that today’s game was going to be a tough match so we mentally prepared ourselves for what was to come and how hard we’ll have to play – that we’ll have to last all four quarters.”

They certainly did, and with much success.

Scoring by Quarter
SCGS vs NV
1st Quarter: 8–5
2nd Quarter: 18–8 (26–13)
3rd Quarter: 18–5 (44–18)
4th Quarter: 18–3 (62–21)

Top Scorers
SCGS
Tori Chua (#7) – 15 points
Fatin Nazura Bte Mohammad Rafi (#4) – 13 points
Crystal Nathasha D/O Mathi Vanan (#9) – 13 points

NV
Nurul Haziqah (#0) – 9 points

SCGS Roster
Fatin Nazura Bte Mohammad Rafi (#4), Haziera Bte Hairudinsah (#5), Jovys Woo Sze Lee (#6), Tori Chua (#7), Rachel Tan Rui En (#8), Crystal Nathasha D/O Mathi Vanan (#9), Wee Yi-Ning Freda (#10), Rachel Ang Rui Ci (#11), Margaret Suriya (#12), Nur Nadia Bte Abdul Ghani (#13), Alisa Sarah Bte Jefri (#14), Joanie Phua Wen Xi (#15)

NV Roster
Nurul Haziqah (#0), Lim En Tong (#2), Joli Kweh Jia Qi (#5), Lydia Ang Zi Yi (#7), Long Yan Xi (#8), Charis Lum Yi En (#9), Ros Ellisyah Nur Umairah Binte Mohamed Aminudin (#12), Hazirah Bte Arifin (#14), Pansy Chua Wen Xin (#25), Grace Suganya D/O Arokiaraj (#28), Jasmine Wong (#35)

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