BASKETBALL

International Schools Invitational Basketball League 2007
U-16 Division 1
Catholic High School vs United World College ‘A’
Tuesday, 25 September 2007 at United World College South East Asia

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

Catholic High School, the three-time National ‘B’ Division champions, kicked off their U-16 International Schools Invitational Basketball League (ISIBL) campaign with a thumping 51-21 win over the United World College ‘A’ team last Tuesday.

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Alex Seegers (#6, UWC) tries to go around Lim Fang Yee of Catholic High. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

James Hong, Jonathan Cher and Jabez Su, the triple Js of the Catholic High team, combined for 34 of the 51 points in their Division 1 match although the team showed signs of rustiness with air balls and failed layups that had their coach ranting and raving away on the sidelines. Jabez, who was the only ‘C’ Division player drafted in to play for the ‘B’ Division team, looked very comfortable playing with his seniors.

Though the result of the match was never seriously in doubt, the UWC team impressed with their strength and physical style of play. They managed to hold off Catholic High by packing the painted area in defense and grabbing most of the rebounds. Jan Spittle of UWC top scored with five points for his team.

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“If you can’t go over, you can always go under.” The fast and skilful Kevin Megalowa finds some space between Jabez Su and James Hong (#6) of Catholic High. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Sensing that UWC were not as quick and skilful, the Catholic High team quickly went into a full court pressure defense which forced numerous turnovers from the UWC team. The open play favoured the Catholic High forwards who then capitalized on their speed and fitness to extend the scoreline.

Their next match will be against the Overseas Family School (OFS) on Friday, 28 September 2007 at 4.15pm at the Overseas Family School site off Orchard Road.

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Jai Nanavan of UWC tries for a basket over the outstretched hand of Chong Ming Xuan (#14). © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

UWC :

Wahleed Choudry (#1)
Kevin Magalowa (#4)
Nguyen Vo (#5)
Alex Seegers (#6)
Untit Kapoor (#8)
Bunn Choong (#9)
Henry Maw (#10)
Kenzo Ishikawa (#11)
Ken Yoneda (#12)
Jai Nanavan (#14)
Jan Spittle (#15)
Dmar Pia (#16)

Catholic High:

Ngo Jie Wei (#4)
Lim Fang Yee (#5)
James Hong (#6)
Jonathan Cher (#7)
Jason Pok (#8)
Jabez Su (#9)
Lee Qi Ming (#11)
Wong Kam Seng (#13)
Chong Ming Xuan (#14)
Chua Wen Bin (#15)

U-16 Division 1 standings (position/school/win-loss record/points):

1. United World College ‘A’ (1-3) – 6
2. Anglo-Chinese School (International) (1-1) – 4
3. Catholic High School (1-0) – 3
4. Overseas Family School ‘A’ (1-0) – 3
5. Raffles Institution (1-0) – 3
6. Woodlands Ring Secondary School (0-1) – 1
7. Clementi Town Secondary School (0-0) – 0

U-16 Division 1 results:

UWC ‘A’ 45 ACS(Int’l) 35
OFS 39 UWC ‘A’ 23
RI 41 UWC ‘A’ 38
ACS(Int’l) 39 Woodlands Ring 34

Catholic High’s Fixture list:

28 Sept (Fri) – Overseas Family School vs Catholic High @ 4.15pm OFS
Break for exams
29 Oct (Mon) – Catholic High vs Clementi Town @ 2pm CCAB
30 Oct (Tue) – Raffles Institution vs Catholic High @ 2pm CCAB
31 Oct (Wed) – Catholic High vs Woodlands Ring @ 2pm CCAB
7 Nov (Wed) – Catholic High v Anglo-Chinese School (International) @ 2pm Catholic High

What is the ISIBL? It is a basketball league for interested schools and runs from mid-September to the end of November each year. There are 4 categories available: Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-19. The mix of international and local schools is the most interesting feature of the league. You can find out more information at the following website: http://www.apsm.com.sg/index.php.

More pictures in the gallery.