BASKETBALL

South Zone ‘C’ Division Basketball Championship 2007 Semifinals
Raffles Institution vs Peirce Secondary
Catholic High vs Queensway
Cedar Girls’ School vs New Town Secondary
Raffles Girls’ School vs Zhong Hua Secondary
Friday, 20 July 2007 at CCAB

Story by Ian Chew, a teacher of Catholic High. Thanks!

Raffles Institution booked their place in the South Zone ‘C" Division Championship Final when they cruised to a comfortable 58-39 win over Peirce Secondary at a semifinal match played at CCAB last Friday. They outlasted their opponents through superior strength and fitness to maintain an unbeaten record into the final to be played at Delta Sports Hall on Tuesday, 24 July.

Yet the match was more keenly contested at the beginning. The Peirce team kept the game close by keeping RI in sight. At the end of the first quarter, RI were leading only by 16-11 thanks to sharp shooting guardTan Baiyong of Peirce who scored two3-pointers in the quarter.

The second quarter was no different as both teams went to toe-to-toe in points, scoring 12 points apiece. Peirce managed to frustrate the Raffles team with some robust defending to end the first half five points down at 23-28.

However, it was in the second half that the strength and fitness of Raffles Institution team showed. After a rousing team talk by coach Poh Yeang Cheng midway through the third quarter, RI increased their lead by grabbing offensive rebounds. The Peirce team’s strategy of stopping the RI team through tough fouls backfired as RI converted virtually all their free throws. Chua Wei Zuan (#7), Jordaan Goh (#8), Ryan Tan (#9) and Daniel Chander (#12) of RI were key in contributing points in a second half where they outscored Peirce 30-16 to eventually triumph 58-39.

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal game, Catholic High beat Queensway Sec 83-37 to set up a mouth-watering South Zone Final with traditional rival Raffles Institution. They won through a tight man-to-man defense, power centre plays and quick fast breaks. Jabez Su led all scores with 20 points while guards Dominic Lim and Edmund Tan added 11 points apiece. Nelson Tan (#9) and Johann Yeo (#11) of Queensway Secondary also starred for their team with 11 and nine points respectively.

In the semifinal games for girls, Cedar Girls narrowly beat New Town Sec 33-32 while Raffles Girls crushed Zhong Hua Sec 81-22. They winners will face each other on Tuesday, 24 July at Delta Sports Hall at 1:00 pm. The boys’ final will be played at 3:00 pm.