By Les Tan/Red Sports

west zone b div bball

Ang Shihe (HCI #6, red) drives for two against Kranji. HCI eventually won 39-38 to qualify for the semi-finals at Kranji’s expense. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Clementi Sports Hall, Friday, February 26, 2010 – Hwa Chong Institution edged out Kranji Secondary 39-38 to secure their semi-final place in the West Zone B Division Boys Basketball Championship.

Kranji, who came into the game with a 2-2 win-loss record, had to beat Hwa Chong (3-1) to give themselves a shot at a semi-final place.

This set the scene for an intense game that saw Hwa Chong trail in the first two quarters before they turned the game around. Hwa Chong will now go on to face Jurong Secondary in the semi-finals.

Jurong beat New Town Secondary 54-34 in a top-of-the-table clash to see who would finish first in their group and avoid runaway favourites Unity Secondary.

New Town trailed by 10 in the fourth but could not close the gap and faded away in the final minutes.

“This was the most intense match in the group,” said Jurong captain Mohd Danishan. “Both teams wanted to avoid Unity in the semi-finals. We tried to prevent them (New Town) from cutting in and also to prevent Shamir (New Town #7) from shooting. We were mentally and physically prepared for New Town.”

“It was an exciting game with lots of steals,” said Heng Wei, a Secondary 2 student from Jurong who watched from the sidelines with a bunch of his schoolmates. “Ronald (#5), Jefferson (#6) and Danish (#4) are our best players. I think we have a chance of beating Hwa Chong [in the semi-finals] but it will be a close game.”

Unity wrapped up the second round with an 82-33 win over Hua Yi Secondary.

“Our hardest games so far have been against Hua Yi, Kranji and Hwa Chong,” said Unity captain Remus Low.

“New Town’s biggest threat is Shamir,” added Remus, when asked about their semi-final opponents next week.

Unity’s semi-final match against New Town is scheduled for 3pm, Thursday, March 4th, 2010, at Clementi Sports Hall. The other semi-final between Jurong and Hwa Chong will be played simultaneously at the same venue.

Group X
Jurong (5-0, win-loss)
New Town (4-1)
Nan Hua High (2-3)
River Valley High (2-3)
Hillgrove (2-3)
Bukit Batok (0-5)

Group Y
Unity (5-0)
Hwa Chong Institution (4-1)
Hua Yi (3-2)
Kranji (2-3)
Bukit Panjang Govt High (1-4)
Tanglin (0-5)

west zone b div bball

Shamir (New Town #7) makes another drive to the basket against Jurong. His team went down 34-54 to Jurong and will now have to face Unity in the semi-finals. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

N.B. Go to the SCHOOLS FIXTURES & RESULTS page for more information.

For more photos, go to the GALLERY.