BASKETBALL

North Zone ‘C’ Division Championship Final 2007
Presbyterian High vs North Vista Secondary
Wednesday, 25 July 2007 at the Singapore Basketball Centre

Story by Red Sports reader Ian Chew. Thanks!

Presbyterian High powered their way to the North Zone title when they beat North Vista Secondary 73-42.

Presbyterian High (in black and grey) on the attack against North Vista. © Ian Chew

Despite the large win by the boys in black, the first quarter was a close affair. From the start, Presbyterian High’s 1.92m centre Russell (#5) showed his prowess in rebounding, shot-blocking and scoring. Although North Vista struggled to cope with his height and agility, they had their own superstar player, forward Larry (#11). He single-handedly scored three 3-pointers to keep North Vista only three points behind at the end of the first quarter at 17-20.

In the second quarter, the other key player of Presbyterian High, Goh Y. M. (#8) began to make his presence felt. He scored two spectacular long range 3-pointers, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the quarter to extend Presbyterian High’s lead to 35-24 at the end of the first half.

The third quarter, however, was all Russell’s. He made his presence felt by powering into the basket to score numerous lay-ups. He displayed his versatility as well in dribbling the ball up the court by himself on two separate occasions and scoring the lay-ups. North Vista simply could not cope with his defensive ability as well and had to settle for attempting long range 3-point shots to keep close. The quarter ended with Presbyterian High ahead at 53-33.

"Will it drop in?" All eyes on the ball. © Ian Chew

In the fourth quarter, with the North Vista team visibly tiring, the fringe players of the Presbyterian team then found themselves with numerous opportunities for fast breaks. Presbyterian High quickly extended their lead to 72-40 with one minute left, before the North Vista team substituted their entire first team with their bench players. North Vista did themselves proud by playing well.

Presbyterian High eventually won the match comfortably 73-42.

Despite the loss, Head of Department of North Vista Helen Low was optimistic about her team’s chances. “With all the teams in the nationals being quite evenly matched, I believe we stand a good chance.” Deyi finished third while Maris Stella High finished fourth in the zone for the boys.

In the other ‘C’ Girls’ North Zone Final, Ahmad Ibrahim beat Yishun Town 47-38 to clinch the title.