Victoria JC overcome Temasek JC with a late surge in A Division basketball quarter-finals

Story by REDIntern Alan Chiang, Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports

Singapore Basketball Centre, Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Victoria JC surged in the final quarter to overcome Temasek JC 43-30 to clock up their first victory in the A Division Basketball Championship quarter-final stage.

Victoria JC appeared to be the hungrier side for a victory to keep their hope in the competition alive, as they were beaten by Raffles Institution earlier. Temasek JC, fresh from the victory against Anderson JC on Monday, had to beat Victoria JC in order to book a place in the semi-finals.
However, it was Victoria who prevailed and they had to thank Macus Yap (#4) and Julian Low (#15) as they combined for massive 34 points.

Right from the start, Victoria JC attacked the paint with Wee Liang (#7) and Julian (#15) spearheading the offense to establish a 5-point lead. Within the next few minutes, it was all Temasek JC as they took over the lead and managed to hold on to a two-point 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The first quarter also witnessed a total of four 3-pointers from both sides.

The second quarter proved to be a tight affair as only a total of 11 points were scored between the two teams. Most of them belonged to Temasek JC as they started forcefully. Loh Teng Rui (TJC #4) got all seven points, including two nice-looking 3-pointers for his team as they took a 5-point 19-14 lead by half time.

After a tough team talk among the Victoria JC bench, they emerged out of the shadows. Their never-say-die attitude was shown on the court as they outscored Temasek JC 8-2 for the third quarter to take a slender 22-21 lead. Their points were contributed by Macus Yap (VJC #4) and Julian (VJC #15).

Both teams got off to a slow start in the final quarter as they looked to claim a win. The game was tied twice in the final period at 24-24 and 30-30 but strong play from Victoria JC saw Macus (#4), Wee Liang (#7) and Julian (#15) making important points to take a 3-point lead with 2:41 remaining.

The Temasek JC attack seemed to dry up in the dying minutes and Victoria JC finished off the game with a 13-point victory.

"We wasted a lot of chances earlier but managed to make them in the last quarter," said Julian Low (VJC #15), who made two vital 3-pointers in the final period. "We had to put up with a good fight from Temasek JC so our team performance was excellent."

He added, "We also improve on our stamina in preparation for the match against Temasek JC."

Victoria JC will need a win in their next match against Anderson JC, who shocked Raffles Institution 50-49. A last-gasp shot by Chen Jia Hong (AND #7) gave them the victory.

Match Statistics
Scores by quarter
1st Q: VJC 10 TJC 12
2nd Q: VJC 4 TJC 7
3rd Q: VJC 8 TJC 2
4th Q: VJC 20 TJC 9

Top scorer
VJC
Macus Yap (#4) - 18 points
Julian Low (#15) - 16 points

TJC
Loh Teng Rui (#4) - 13 points