Story by Ian Chew/Red Sports
Jurong East Sports Complex, Friday, June 27, 2008 – Few fans stayed for the second match of the day but fewer still could have forseen the result. Indonesian league team CLS Knights hustled their way to a sensational upset over the tournament favourite Segamat Rimba Timor 47-44 in an enthralling match.
Despite boasting a roster of seven national players together with three ex-national players, the Malaysian league champions looked out of sorts from the start. It was no surprise then, that they went into the first quarter break 16-19 down. Chief culprit Chow Kin Hoong’s (#11) normal deadly shooting touch went ice-cold, missing all his attempts from the three-point arc.
Instead, it was CLS Knights’ disciplined set play, coupled with robust defending, that surprised their opponents as well as the spectators. Displaying a military-like teamwork and slick passing, the CLS forwards regularly found each other free for uncontested shots and layups. Jeffry (#0) also showed the crowds what proper shooting is like with two three-pointers in the first quarter.
The spectators’ eyes grew as wide as the points gap in the second quarter as SRT could only manage a miserable one-point output. Missing on wide open jumpers and turning over the ball regularly, the Malaysian forwards could not produce any sort of offensive rhythm for all their efforts. Indonesian Karno Hassan (#24) added salt to their wounds with two back-to-back 3-pointers for an astounding 29-16 first half lead.
SRT’s frustration threatened to boil over at the half-time whistle in an altercation with CLS’ captain Charly Affandi but they had only themselves to blame for the lacklustre performance.
If the Indonesian team was feeling euphoric over their unexpected fortunes, it did not last long.
Roused by a half time pep talk from their coach, Segamat Rimba Timor completed their Jekyll and Hyde performance with a 17-7 spurt in the third quarter. Their aggressive drives to the basket paid dividends as they drew fouls to close the gap. A full-court zone trap defense also worked its magic against a less experienced Indonesian team consisting of six rookies. Malaysian Alex Yeow (#14) led his team with six points in the quarter and his team trailed by only three points at 33-36 at the third quarter break.
That set the stage for a highly-contested fourth quarter.
Both teams’ desire to win was evident in their hustle for possession. Coupled with some contentious refereeing calls, this made for a thoroughly enjoyable match for the spectators who were all involved in cheering for their heroes by this time.
Segamat Rimba Timor had quite a few chances to win the match in the end. However a costly fast break layup miss by centre Ng Thiam Hong (#15) meant that the plucky Indonesian Knights, who finished fifth in their country’s professional league this year, held on for a dream win.
Knights team manager Christopher Tanuwidjaja was understandably crowing about his team’s achievements.
“Against a team with that many national players, I didn’t even expect a win. Compared to them, we have only one national player together with six rookies in our roster. It is a fantastic result!”
However, he did sound a note of caution for his team in their next match against the home crowd favourite Cagers.
“It will be a good experience for my team against the twin towers of Cagers and my players will be relishing matching up against players of a high standard,” he said.
Catch the Cagers in action as they look to extend their winning streak in the competition with a match against the surprising CLS Knights tonight at 7pm at the Jurong East Sports Complex.
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