Story by reader ike and Lai Jun Wei. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.
Singapore Basketball Centre, Friday, August 15, 2008 – It was supposed to be a very close and intense fight, one which all was looking forward to. This match would determine who would top the table and avoid meeting Group X winners Raffles’ Girls. However, Dunman Secondary seemed to have underperformed in this match, falling to Unity Secondary 34-47.
Unity started their rampage early in the first quarter, scoring several points for the team. Siti Amnah (Unity, #6) and Ramona (#15) were on a scoring streak as they put in point after point. Dunman on the other hand were struggling to put points on the scoreboard, especially when attacking in the paint. Facing strong defending by Unity, Dunman were often left reeling when the Unity players stole possession. Yilin (Dunman, #14) who often tried to barge her way through the tight defence, would find herself sandwiched by Unity players, making her scoring chances even more difficult. She managed to draw a foul from Li Jun (Unity, #14) early in the first quarter to earn two free throws. She successfully converted her two chances, bringing her team’s score to 3. However, Unity’s rampage continued as they scored point after point, building up on their already immense lead. Their passing and decision making were well executed. Though they were not incredibly accurate in all their shots, they still managed to score quite a substantial amount of points via layups. Hours of training have finally paid off as their lay ups almost found their way into the basket every time. The first quarter ended with Unity leading Dunman by a staggering 20-5.
With such a substantial lead, Unity seemed to have stepped off the pedal a little, as they went more on the defensive. Unity’s defending was firm, but were unable to stop Dunman from drawing fouls out from them. This gave Dunman a chance to catch up, as the free throws were golden opportunities to put points back on the scoreboard. Scoring a total of nine points in this quarter, they overtook Unity’s score of seven. However, Unity was not showing obvious signs of slack either. Siti (Unity, #6) scored all seven points for her team in the second quarter, one of them being a 3-pointer.
The score at half time stood at 27-14, something quite unexpected from two supposedly well-matched teams. But the second half started with Dunman fighting for a comeback. A spirited Dunman turned aggressive in their defence, especially from within the paint. They particularly targeted Diane (Unity, #10) when she tried to break through for a lay up. Their zonal defence was quite strong, though they missed several of their shots and layups. Several times, they were not fast enough to get back into their defensive mode when Unity had a fast break. Towards the end of the quarter a freak accident which saw Yilin (Dunman, #14) fail to grab a rebound, She fell to the ground, landing on her wrist. As she lay there grimacing in pain, a time out was called and she had to be helped off the court. Using this to their advantage, Unity got the upper hand especially in the rebounds. The quarter ended with both teams scoring nine points each.
Dunman went in to the fourth quarter refusing to accept their setback. They charged on, pressurising their opponents to commit fouls. Jowilly (Dunman, #8) had steady ball control, which she used to her team’s advantage. She helped create many scoring opportunities with her accurate passing. Unity, already having their players commit many fouls, had to be careful not to commit more. Li Jun (Unity, #14) and Ramona (#15), two key players had already committed five fouls each and another one would result in them being fouled out. The Unity coach, seemingly furious in the first two quarters that his team had let Dunman catch up finally let up a little in the final quarter. But he was still quite strict, shouting out instructions to his players on court. He retired Li Jun and Ramona, preventing them from committing more fouls. Pamela (Unity, #8) was then called upon to play out the remaining duration of the game. One comical moment was when she let slip of the ball while attempting to catch a rebound. As the Dunman players charged back to their offensive side, she stuck her tongue out as she played catch up. Probably what her coach had said to her before she came up came true! Unity’s defence was still too strong for Dunman. The players focused hard on their opponents, denying them chances to score. Unity matched Dunman’s final quarter score of 11 points each, and eventually won 47-34.
Dunman, with 2 wins and 1 loss are second in Group Y. They would most probably face Group X leaders Raffles Girls in the semi-finals. Unity on the other hand would face either the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School or Zhonghua Secondary depending on who wins the showdown on Monday, 18 August.
Top scorers:
Siti (Unity, #6) – 20 points (one 3-pointer)
Ramona (Unity, #15) – 9 points
More pictures in the gallery.
Editor’s note: If you recognise yourself or your team mates in any of the photos, feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update the captions accordingly. Thanks!
jia yous uss,c div. both boys and girls
we can do it! double champ this year horhs!
dmn#4-shikin
dmn#5-ru wei
dmn#14-yilin
dmn#15-rabiatul
dmn#12-stephanie
dmn#11-cheryl
dmn#8-jowilly
dmn#13-jill
dmn#9-izzati
the one going for the basket in mid air is 4, not 14
erm, the fourth picture after the unity vs dunman post? it should be
unity #15 tries to break out of DUNMAN #5 defence. not unity #5.
Unity number 6
Siti Amnah.
Haha Nana for short (;
unity#6-NANA
unity#9 janice
unity#10 diane
unity#8 pamela
untiy#15 ramona
unity#14 li jun
unity #4 hui ting