By reader AJCien.
Now that the semi-finals have ended, it’s time for the ultimate showdown between the best in A Division basketball. Hwa Chong Institution, battling on two fronts, now face off with Raffles Junior College (girls) and Anderson JC (boys) respectively. Here’s an analysis on what’s going to be in store for the final.
RJC-HCI girls final: A battle royale between two most established schools in the A Division with a history of championship titles. With the rivalry spilling over to basketball, this looks like an enthralling match to watch in a battle for the best school in 2008. HCI, by defeating Victoria JC, have effectively removed the very challenger who can seriously threaten RJC in the final. As much as HCI will be backed by a partisan crowd, RJC will prove a stiff challenge. RJC doesn’t seem to have let up in the last few matches, although St Andrew’s JC did give them a scare last time in the semis.
Prediction: RJC to deny a double (and HCI’s title since two years ago) by edging the tight match by a few points.
AJC-HCI boys final: On paper this looks like a no-brainer. In contrast to HCI who are basically on another unbeaten run, AJC have lost in the group stages, albeit having confirmed top spot by the time the matches were played.
The resting of key players for key phases did help AJC sustain its run to the final, with few injury problems plaguing the team. While the stronger HCI players can be pretty hard to stop, AJC has a team captain who can rally his troops. Skeptics may point to their captain Yan Ming being a one-man show, but I’ve a feeling that this is AJC’s year.
Jet-lag may cause HCI’s downfall. With two of their star players being rushed back from overseas just for the match, HCI may need to find a way to help the boys cope with the after-effects of the depressurised air cabin and its consequences of lower oxygen absorption, altitude sickness and fatigue. With a lead time of less than 24 hours from touch-down to match, it might be the trigger factor to a potentially dangerous loss in form in such a high-stakes match. How the HCI bench can backup the starting five remains to be seen. There may be squad depth but it can only be effective if all players have seen action in the season’s matches.
But AJC will also have a few things to face. In their last meeting in 2006, AJC choked at the big stage, when a 3rd quarter romp by HCI deflated the team. And this year, their Jekyll and Hyde form did put off a few, where they lost in supposedly-winnable matches. The real AJC showed up in the semis, but will they do the same in the final? Or they will cower in terror at facing HCI’s partisan crowd?
Prediction: As an alumni I’d like AJC to win, and if they did they would put in their all and edge this closely (<5 points). But with HCI in hot form, a somewhat more realistic prediction would be HCI winning by 6-14 points (assuming their star players recovered in time from jet lag, if not, 5 or less.)
Post-match report
A Division Girls Final
A Division Boys Final
Can somebody kindly explain to me in greater detail the effects of jetlag? I do not seem to have adequately grasped the concept from the article.
Lol thanx for the compliments. I’d be making match-day coverage, with videocam on tow so that I can write my analysis of how the final went in my post-match report, so hope the finals are a blast!
AJCien, props to you. This is a great preview piece, and I can’t wait to read your match report!
Hi AJCien, don’t worry about video. I think just getting a match report contributed from you will be great for the readers. There is a volunteer photographer for the game so together with your written report, I think bball finals are covered.
I can’t make the bball final or else I would have done a RedSportsTV ep. Sorry.
Although, i must add, video footage may be too much of an ask… So i hope redsports tv helps
I’ll be covering this all out. A professional looking report with minute by minute plays, analysis of every quarter of the matches, and match footage
I don’t think it’d be lopsided like last year. Somehow the unpredictable form of AJ meant that there may be something hidden up their sleeve. A defensive approach with counter attacking tendencies may be one of the approaches AJ may take in the face of formidable opponents like hc. That’s why i gave a conservative points margin, though no doubt this may end up as a high scoring affair
The girls final, though may become a war of attrition. With the pressure too much to bear when you bundle trophies with bragging rights, i think both will play conservatively, and points for both sides will barely hit the 50s
We are looking for someone to help write the story. Any one of you readers interested?
Hmmm…… I wonder if the losing team can triumph over the winning team.
erm. duh
Thanks for the confidence, expert, but friendlies rarely show what a team is really capable of. Our final is a pretty even match up so I don’t think either prediction carries much weight: it really just depends on how we perform on the day itself.
I think the results on thursday will be interesting.
For the Girls’ game: I think there’ll be a winner and of course hence, a losing team too.
For the Guys’: It might be a tough game but the winner will triumph over the losing team so there’s definitely alot to look out for since the game will be decided by “whoever scores more points than the other on paper”.
By the way jiawen are you calvin’s friend.
nah, jet-lag wont be an issue for the two big boys and it definitely wont be just a marginal victory 😀
i think the prediction for the girls bball finals is frivolous. hwachong have beaten rgs in a friendly earlier this season and will find it no problem to do so again, regardless of the margin of the win, it’ll still be a win.
the truth is i just cannot see how this will be a HCI loss if HCI play their usual way…
the attempt to talk about jet lag affecting the players is quite laughable. beijing and singapore have negligible time differences and the players already faced it when getting there.. i highly doubt this will completely affect their play…
and they still have chonglin.. id even say that without shengyu and calvin the chance of beating ajc is still there… hongyao is a solid pg… and ah bao pretty much destroys all other centers in strength.
yes, weixian is great.. so is yan ming and the rest of aj. i look forward to seeing a great game of bball though… no matter wat happens
Although many teams will be deem as the underdogs upon meeting the HCI’S, i still think that HCI will win this year. But however, i hope that this year, it will be a tough fight between the two, instead of the previous IJC against HCI game. GO AJC!
Yan Ming is my idol.. HAHAHAHA
anyways, jun, do i know you?
vance… stop loving him… lol. but fine. he’s good.
AJ BBALLERS JIAYOU! (:
I love Yan Ming… He OWNS…
HAHAHA
nice analysis dere =)
HCI will thrash AJ by bout 20 pts minimum..