Story and photos by Zachary Foo/Red Sports.

Nicholas Chang (RI #12) successfully blocks CJC #5. RI have progressed into the next round of the National A Division Basketball Championship. (Photo 1 @ Zachary Foo/Red Sports)

Singapore Basketball Centre, Wednesday, May 2, 2019 — Raffles Institution (RI) successfully progressed from Group D as the second seed into the next round of the National A Division Basketball Championship after beating Catholic Junior College (CJC) 66–39 in their final group match.

Bryan Teo (RI #3) led the way with 15 points, while Reuben Yang (RI #24) followed close behind with a 14-point effort.

RI started the game on a 12-0 run in the first quarter, relying on an effective full-court press to generate turnovers for easy buckets. CJC had its moments when they managed to get some points on the board, but Reuben Yang (RI #24) stifled any CJC momentum by scoring six straight points to end the quarter.

The second quarter was a closer affair, as RI and CJC both struggled to make their shots in their half court sets. The bulk of RI’s points came off turnovers from running the full court press, while CJC found some success from getting to the line.

The game started to slip from CJC’s grasp in the third quarter, as RI combined slick passing and great shooting beyond the arc to stretch the lead to 27 by the end of the quarter. Bryan Teo (RI #3) helped himself to three 3-pointers in the run, while his teammates Joshua Lim (RI #7) and Chua Kai Xuan (RI #11) both added one each.

CJC put up a spirited fight to trim the lead down in the final quarter, as they limited their turnovers and settled into a groove. However, it was not enough to overcome the huge deficit and RI walked away 66–39 winners and stamped their place in the next round.

RI captain Li Chen Bin (RI #23) said: “We set a few goals coming into this match. There were a few defensive errors that we made in the previous match against HCI and we set out to improve upon them in this game. I think we did show that we are capable as a team of doing that against CJC today.”

Scoring by Quarter
RI vs CJC
1st Quarter: 18–4
2nd Quarter: 13–8 (31–12)
3rd Quarter: 26–13 (57–25)
4th Quarter: 9–14 (66–39)

Top Scorers
RI
Bryan Teo (#3) – 15 points
Reuben Yang (#24) – 14 points

CJC
(#5) – 9 points
(#15) – 6 points

RI Roster
Zhou Zi Heng (#2), Bryan Teo (#3), Joshua Lim (#7), Darryl Tee (#10), Chua Kai Xuan (#11), Nicholas Chang (#12), Adam (#17), Samuel Chin (#21), Li Chen Bin (#23), Reuben Yang (#24), Yan Tai (#26), Garrison Goh (#30)

CJC Roster
We were unable to obtain the roster for Catholic Junior College. If you know any of the players, kindly post them in the comments below and we’ll update the post. Thanks.

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