Yishun capture adidas It Takes 5ive title

BASKETBALL

adidas It Takes 5ive Schools’ Basketball Championship 2007
Yishun Secondary School vs Commonwealth Secondary School
Thursday, 30 August 2007 at the Singapore Basketball Centre

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

Yishun beat Commonwealth 59-54 this afternoon in the final of the adidas It Takes 5ive Tournament.

Tan Yuan Bin of Yishun on a layup in the game against Commonwealth. Yuan Bin contributed 4 points to his team’s effort. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

With a quick passing game and accurate shooting, Yishun jumped out to a 15-9 lead by the end of the first quarter with Lim Peng Seng leading his team with six points in the quarter. In the second quarter, Commonwealth, led by their captain Loh Shiah Leei (#4) with seven points, fought back to outscore Yishun 18-14 to narrow the gap to two. By the end of the second quarter, the score was 29-27 in Yishun’s favour.

Teo Zhi Xiang of Commonwealth drives through for a layup. Zhi Xiang scored 6 points in the game. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Commonwealth hauled themselves level at 29-29 briefly but Yishun again pulled ahead to lead by three. Midway through the third quarter, Commonwealth took the lead for the first time in the game at 36-35. Both teams traded baskets and the score was 41-41 with 1:09 on the clock. Yishun managed to edge ahead 44-42 by the end of the third with Zhou Zhen Qiang (#11) scoring six points in the quarter.

Jason Lim of Commonwealth on a layup while Tan Jun Ming of Yishun looks on. Jason scored 11 points in the game. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

At 8:33 on the clock in the fourth, Yishun pulled ahead to 47-42. They then stretched their five-point lead to nine with less than five minutes to play with the score at 55-46. Loh Shiah Leei of Commonwealth then had a three-point play to narrow the gap to six and bring his team to 49-55. Shiah Leei then raised cheers from his bench when he sank another two to make it 51-55. Yishun’s Lim Zheng Jie (#10) replied immediately for his team to relieve the pressure.

Wong Say Jong of Yishun dribbles himself out of a tight situation. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

With the score now at 57-51, Jordan Kwong (#13) of Commonwealth sank a free throw to make it a six-point game. Zhou Zhen Qiang then went on a layup at 1:17 on the clock to make it 59-52. A successful basket by Jason Lim (#12) of Commonwealth then made it 54-59. After a timeout called by Commonwealth, Jason found himself with space and time for a jumper but it failed to go in. With only 12 seconds left, Yishun held on to possession to eventually emerge winners of the adidas It Takes 5ive Tournament.

Wong Say Jong of Yishun scores on a breakaway. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Zhou Zhen Qiang of Yishun shows some hang time as he drives to the basket. Zhen Qiang scored 11 points for his team. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Lim Peng Seng (#8) of Yishun lets fly while Teo Zhi Xiang (left) and Lee Ke Qing of Commonwealth can only look on. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Yishun:

#4 Tan Yuan Bin
#5 Charles Ngiam
#6 Soh Jun Hong
#7 Toh Hong Sheng
#8 Lim Peng Seng
#9 Wong Say Jong
#10 Lim Zheng Jie
#11 Zhou Zhen Qiang
#12 Tan Jun Ming
#13 Qamarul Ariffin
#14 Bernard Chan
#15 Warren Tan

Commonwealth:

#4 Loh Shiah Leei
#5 Lee Ke Qing
#6 Loh Chuen Gio
#7 Ong Ding Xiang
#8 Teo Zhi Xiang
#9 Jason Heng
#10 Ng Jing Siang
#11 Elston Ng
#12 Jason Lim
#13 Jordan Kwong
#14 Lee Shao Hao
#15 Ng Sheng Zhe

Match statistics:

1st quarter: Commonwealth 9-15 Yishun
2nd: 18-14
3rd: 15-15
4th: 12-15

Scorers:

Yishun:

#4 Tan Yuan Bin (4 pts)
#7 Toh Hong Sheng (17 pts)
#8 Lim Peng Seng (11 pts)
#9 Wong Say Jong (2 pts)
#10 Lim Zheng Jie (14 pts)
#11 Zhou Zhen Qiang (11 pts)

Commonwealth:

#4 Loh Shiah Leei (16 pts)
#5 Lee Ke Qing (3 pts)
#6 Loh Chuen Gio (2 pts)
#7 Ong Ding Xiang (4 pts)
#8 Teo Zhi Xiang (6 pts)
#11 Elston Ng (5 pts)
#12 Jason Lim (11 pts)
#13 Jordan Kwong ( 7 pts)

More pictures in the gallery.