Kranji Primary School, Monday, April 5, 2010 – Going into the final national inter-primary basketball first round game with their backs to the wall, the Chua Chu Kang Primary boys produced a gutsy display to pip Teck Ghee Primary 48-47 for their group’s first placing.

Chua Chu Kang had earlier lost to Bedok Green Primary and needed to win their third qualifier while Teck Ghee had cruised through their earlier two games, both by more than 30-point margins.

Although outmatched in size, Chua Chu Kang were certainly not lacking in spirit. Their speedy forwards drove repeatedly into the lane for lay ups and earned for themselves a 16-11 first-quarter lead.

The second quarter saw Teck Ghee’s 1.8m centre Misheel Bayaraa entering the game for the first time and he immediately made a huge impact for his team. Towering over the rest of the players in the court, his rebounds and lay ups enabled his team to close the gap to 28-28 at the half.

Any thoughts that Teck Ghee will go on to steamroll past Chua Chu Kang were quickly banished as David John (Chua Chu Kang #11) carried his team’s offense to take a surprising third quarter 43-35 lead. The Chua Chu Kang defense also successfully stifled many of Teck Ghee players’ attempted passes to their centre and thus limited him to just five points in the third quarter.

Chua Chu Kang then changed tactics in the fourth quarter as they delayed their offense in an attempt to run down the clock. The move seemed to backfire as Teck Ghee steadily closed the gap. Turnovers committed by the Chua Chu Kang players also resulted in both benches yelling instructions to their team on the court.

In the tense final seconds, Teck Ghee’s centre Misheel Bayaraa managed to intercept a pass and dribbled all the way down the court for a successful lay up. Unfortunately though, the two points were not enough to overturn the deficit and Chua Chu Kang emerged winners as well as the group leader, to the delight of the Chua Chu Kang supporters.

A jubilant teacher-in-charge and coach for the team, Mr Ong Yam Huat attributed the win to his team’s fighting spirit.

“I told the team earlier that they had to be prepared to return their jerseys if they were knocked out after today’s game!” he said.

Yet there was still consolation for the losing side as Teck Ghee also qualified for the quarter-finals despite their loss. Both teams were joined by First Toa Payoh Primary and Kranji Primary, who had earlier won their games to advance to the quarter-final stage as well.

First Toa Payoh Primary beat Fernvale Primary 35-25 while Kranji Primary cruised to a 46-26 victory over Telok Kurau Primary.

The quarter final matches well begin on Monday, April 12th.

Groupings for the quarter-final
X1 – Kranji Primary
X2 – Anderson Primary
X3 – Nan Chiau Primary
X4 – Teck Ghee Primary

Y1 – Changkat Primary
Y2 – Chua Chu Kang Primary
Y3 – First Toa Payoh Primary
Y4 – Kheng Cheng Primary

Scoring by Quarters
Teck Ghee Primary v Chua Chu Kang Primary
1st Q: 11-16
2nd Q: 17-12
3rd Q: 7-15
4th Q: 12-5

Top Scorers
Teck Ghee Primary
Misheel Bayaraa (#14) – 25 points

Chua Chu Kang Primary
#11 David John – 17 points
#14 – 8 points

Teck Ghee Primary v Chua Chu Kang Primary 3rd Quarter Highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t-4tfL-f2U

Teck Ghee Primary v Chua Chu Kang Primary 4th Quarter Highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJflje715-Q

Fernvale Primary v First Toa Payoh Primary 3rd Quarter Highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-49mjPLgMvI

Fernvale Primary v First Toa Payoh Primary 4th Quarter Highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2zuGoMp3fE

Kranji Primary v Telok Kurau Primary 3rd Quarter Highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnR4tTxmDIg

Kranji Primary v Telok Kurau Primary 4th Quarter Highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKpMMbbrDBU