By Tay Jun Wen/Red Sports
Benjamin Neo (Dunman #7) getting ready to send a strong spike over as Leung Lok Heng (Xinmin #8) rushes over to block. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)
Presbyterian High School, Monday, April 1, 2013 – Dunman Secondary defeated Xinmin Secondary 2–0 (24–26, 18–25) in their final Round 2 game in the National B Division Boys Volleyball Championship. Both teams will be advancing to the semi-finals.
Before their face-off, Dunman defeated Bukit Panjang Government High 2–1 (25–19, 22–25, 25–23) to pick up two points and three other from their 2–0 (25–8, 25–15) win over Catholic High. Xinmin had six points before today’s game. Three from defeating Bukit Panjang 2–0 (26–24, 25–18) and three by their 2–0 (25–18, 25–22) win against Catholic High.
The result of the game would decide the first and second placing in Group Y.
Dunman was leading 2–1 in the first set, before Xinmin went on a four-point streak to lead 5–2. The four-point lead was kept till 6–4, where Dunman scored three in a row to lead 7–6. Xinmin equalised at 7–7 as they stepped back up. Both teams tried to continually step ahead of their opponents but found themselves tied at 8–8 and 9–9.
Three unanswered points from Xinmin gave them the lead, 12–9. Dunman struggled to close the gap but only managed to break even at 18–18. The tie continued to 24–24, whereby two consecutive points by Dunman stole the set from Xinmin.
The second set saw Dunman take the early lead at 5–3 but Xinmin managed to catch up and the teams tied once more at 5–5. This tie continued as both teams scored four more points each (9–9), until Dunman went on a four-point streak to lead 13–9.
Xinmin tried to fight back but Dunman kept their four-point lead up till 18–14. From there, every point scored by Xinmin was returned twice or even thrice by Dunman. Dunman extended their lead to five points (20–15) and then six (22–16). Leading by six at 23–17, a point scored by Xinmin resulted in a two point response by Dunman, winning the set at 25–18.
Xinmin’s captain, Leung Lok Heng (#18), commented that they had not played well as they did not get their first touches right.
“Our morale dipped when they (Dunman) started to pull away. They are very good opponents and had good defence,” said Lok Heng.
With regards to their upcoming semi-finals match, Lok Heng thinks that his team has a chance of going to the finals.
Dunman’s captain, Liew Jun Wan (#12), said: “We managed to play quite well today. I think my team previously had only individual skills but now we have teamwork as well.”
Jun Wan also hopes that his team enters the finals. “If we play well, our chances could be quite high,” said Jun Wan.
Dunman will be meeting St. Hilda’s Secondary at 12 pm on April 3. At 1.30 pm on the same day, Xinmin will be facing Punggol Secondary in their semi-finals. Both games will be played at Presbyterian High School.
Score by Sets
Xinmin vs Dunman
1st Set: 24–26
2nd Set: 18–25
Xinmin Roster
Toe De Xuan (#1), Ong Zong Kai (#2), Sim Wei Jie Edrick (#3), Nicholas Ng Yan Chang (#6), Stanwin Khoo Jin Leon (#7), Melvin Ng Cheng Wei (#8), Goh Yi Zheng (#9), Mohamed Rusydi B Haron (#10), Tan Jia Qing Darius (#11), Eugene Tan Wee Chin (#12), Tan Kiat Hwe (#13), Jonathan Tan Zhong Neng (#15), Sim Song He (#17), Leung Lok Heng (#18)
Dunman Roster
Seah Jun Wei Jeryl (#1), Sherman Toh Jia Wei (#2), Ong Chu Yao (#3), John Nazz A Gayamo (#4), Koh Chun Wei (#5), Lim Ray Hern Zachary (#6), Benjamin Neo Ser Teng (#7), Sim Chee Ann (#8), Hilson Lee Wei Siang (#9), Kenneth Lek Qi Yu (#10), Leo Ding Wei (#11), Liew Jun Wan (#12), Lim Chun Ming (#13), Ng Yan Long Bryan (#16)
2013 National B Division Boys’ Volleyball Championship – fixtures and results
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