Jurong edge out Chung Cheng High at the death to meet Catholic High in national basketball final

Story contributed by reader Ian Chew

Man of the hour, Randy Ng, gets mobbed by teammates after scoring his game-winning layup at the buzzer. (Photo 1 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Singapore Basketball Centre, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 – Jurong Secondary delivered the goods when it counted when they pipped Chung Cheng High (Main) 68-66 to squeeze into the National B Division Basketball Championship Final in a heart-stopping match. Randy Ng (#7, Jurong) scored a winning reverse lay up at the buzzer to send the Jurong bench and supporters into pandemonium and the Chung Cheng High team into despair.

From the start, Jurong played well to establish a comfortable 35-22 lead at the end of the first half. Randy dropped four 3-pointers in the first half alone, with teammate Zihao (#11) also contributing 11 points. With a 13-point lead at half-time, it seemed Jurong’s game to lose.

But Chung Cheng High’s Colin Chou (#13) had other ideas.

From a quiet seven-point output in the first half, he suddenly burst into life in the third quarter. Seemingly unstoppable with every possession, he took on the entire Jurong defense and scored at will. At the end of the quarter, he managed what few have done before – singlehandedly outscoring the entire Jurong team 23-17! His baskets included an incredible six 3-point shots, some from almost impossible angles. The gap was now four points at 48-52 and the crowd sensed a fightback of gigantic proportions.

They were not to be disappointed. A shell-shocked Jurong team could hardly contain the rising tide of Chung Cheng High’s offense in the fourth quarter. As a result, Jurong fell behind to a huge eight-point deficit at 54-62 midway through the fourth, which included another magical Colin Chou three-pointer.

Was there any fight left in Jurong’s tank?

In a change of tactics, Jurong emerged from their time-out with a full-court man-to-man suffocating defense. Struggling to break free of their markers, Chung Cheng High seemed very much affected by the physical Jurong play and committed numerous uncharacteristic turnovers. One particularly significant turnover involved a Chung Cheng player throwing the ball straight out of bounds from the halfway line immediately after a time out, much to the frustration of the Chung Cheng bench!

Jurong had by this time begun to claw back point by point and incredibly, retook the lead at 66-65 with six seconds to go. But their next move caused audlible groans from the Jurong bench when a Jurong player fouled Chung Cheng’s #12, who had a good game till then with 18 points of his own.

However, he could only convert one of two free throws to tie the game at 66-66, before fouling Zihao of Jurong with only 2 seconds to go. The entire Chung Cheng bench and supporters had their hearts in the mouths as they watched Zihao walk up to the free throw line.

Zihao went on to miss both free throws, but Randy Ng sneaked in for the rebound and converted the lay up at the buzzer to send the Jurong camp into ecstasy and a place in the final.

Said Colin afterwards, “We couldn’t cope with their aggressive defense at the end of the game, but I’m still proud that our team gave it our all in the game!”

In the other semi-final, Catholic High cruised to a 75-47 win over Seng Kang Secondary to set up a repeat of the 2006 C Division final where both teams also squared off for the national basketball title. The final will be played at Toa Payoh Sports Hall on Tuesday, April 22. Tip off time is expected to be 3:30 p.m.

Colin Chou of Chung Cheng High (in black) exploded into action in the third quarter but the team was too dependent on him and did not have the bench strength to pull through against Jurong. He finished with a game-high 36 points! (Photo 2 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Chung Cheng’s Tan Ee Ruey (#9, purple) driving past Jurong’s Justin Nadar (white). He failed to score in the match, however.(Photo 3 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Chung Cheng High’s Edward #15 goes for 2 of his 5 points. (Photo 4 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Whatever he lacked in size he certainly made up for it in heart! Here Jurong’s captain shows the way with his determination! (Photo 5 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Jurong’s Zihao (#11) goes for two in an 21-point performance. He missed two free throws right at the end but Randy Ng scooped up the rebound to score the game-winning basket. (Photo 6 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Jurong’s Nicholas Chan (#12) scored a crucial layup in the fourth quarter. He finished with 4 points. (Photo 7 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)

Jurong schoolmates celebrate the win. (Photo 8 © Leslie Tan/Red Sports)