BASKETBALL

National ‘C’ Division Championship 2007
Jurong Secondary vs North Vista Secondary
Thursday, 16 August 2007 at Singapore Basketball Centre

Story and pictures by Leslie Tan. © Red Sports/soulbreath pictures

Jurong Secondary were pushed to overtime by North Vista before winning their match 55-49 this afternoon in the National ‘C’ Division Championship.

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Randy Ng (in red), who scored a game-high 19 points for Jurong, finds himself covered by Gabriel and Qiu Zhen (right) of North Vista. Gabriel was the top scorer for his team with 15 points. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Both teams played strong, fast and aggressive basketball with neither team able to pull away for a clear lead and the first quarter ended with Jurong slightly ahead at 10-9. North Vista, who only started their ‘C’ Division team in 2005, found themselves lagging behind Jurong in the second quarter, losing the quarter 10-16. The first half ended 26-19 in favour of Jurong.

North Vista, who finished second in the North Zone, needed a win to stay in contention. With points coming in from captain Larry (14 points for the game), Gabriel (15 points) and Glen (two three-pointers), they found new energy for the third quarter to outscore Jurong 6-4 and narrow the score to 25-30.

In the fourth quarter, the excitement level of the game went up a notch. North Vista came on strong to overhaul the deficit and creep up slowly on Jurong. They eventually pulled level and with 1:08 left on the clock, were three points ahead at 40-37. A timeout was called and when play resumed, Jurong regained their composure to bring themselves back level to 40-40 and then surge ahead to 42-40 with 31 seconds remaining.

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Teo Han (#11 in red) of Jurong hits a jumper while a North Vista player defends. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

With 20s on the clock, a North Vista offensive fell apart when a pass from Larry (#11) went through the legs of Bryan (#12), leading to groans on the North Vista bench. With the ball now in their possession, Jurong played to keep possession. However, North Vista played aggressively enough to force a turnover and Bryan found himself clear for a layup. To the relief of the North Vista bench, the ball sank in and the game was headed for overtime.

Trading baskets, both teams were neck-and-neck. with 53s left in overtime, Jurong pulled ahead to 51-48. Drawing a foul with 35s left, Larry of North Vista went to the line but missed both his free throws. In the tussle for the rebounds, Larry found himself with a three-point opportunity but just missed. Then Gabriel of North Vista drew another foul and went to the line. He sank one of two free throws to narrow the score to 49-51. With Jurong on the offense, North Vista forced them to shoot from the free throw line. Jurong missed both free throws but managed to grab the rebound and score a basket, bringing the score to 53-49. A final North Vista offensive move fizzled out and Jurong was left with an easy layup to make the final score 55-49.

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A North Vista player drives through while a Jurong player tries to defend. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Match Statistics:

1st quarter: Jurong 10-9 North Vista
2nd quarter: 16-10
3rd quarter: 4-6
4th quarter: 12-17
overtime: 13-7

Overall: Jurong 55-49 North Vista

Top scorers:

North Vista: Larry Liew (14 pts); Gabriel (15 pts)

Jurong: Randy Ng (19 pts); Justin Nadar (12 pts)

North Vista (11-2):

Jeric Lim (#4)
Kuah Hwee Wen (#5)
Jackie Goh (#6)
Collin See (#7)
Gabriel Tan (#8)
Glen Sim (#9)
Soon Qun Liang (#10)
Larry Liew (#11)
Bryan Lau (#12)
Lo Yi Chuan (#13)
Cheah Kun Leng (#14)
Tan Qiu Zhen (#15)

Jurong (won-loss record unknown):

Gavin Low (#4)
Lucas Lim (#5)
Manese Ross Paolo (#6)
Randy Ng (#7)
Lim Zixiang (#8)
Oh Wei Jian (#9)
Mohd Danish Han (#10)
Teo Han (#11)
Nicholas Chan (#12)
Lee Zhen Ming (#13)
Clement Neo (#14)
Justin Nadar (#15)

Editor’s note: If you recognise yourself in the pictures, please let me know your names in the COMMENTS section and I will update the captions. Thanks. More pictures in the gallery.