Preview of 2009 B Division basketball zonal championships

The inter-school B Division boys’ basketball zonal championships tip off this week for all four zones and the excitement continues to build up towards the national rounds.

Catholic High School will open their defense of their national title this friday at CCAB against a resurgent Queensway Secondary in what will be an intriguing match. It will be interesting to see if the senior players of the defending champions can uphold the team, seeing that they did not perform well in the C Division competition last year.

At the same time, Queensway boast of 1.95m-tall Jia Jun, arguably the tallest centre in the whole of the competition this year, and would provide Catholic High with a stern test.

Fellow zone rivals Raffles Institution look set to qualify for the next round, having the services of their star Chinese player Wang Jia Cheng and Sec 3 point guard Justin Chua.

In addition, Gan Eng Seng Secondary look promising and are set to advance to the second round together with Yuying Secondary and Mayflower Secondary, both of whom finished in the top four in the C Division South Zone Championship last year.

In the north zone, Presbyterian High will be aiming to avenge their previous year’s early exit at the hands of Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary. Coincidentally, they are grouped together in the first round and you can expect fireworks at their game in Singapore Basketball Centre on January 21.

Yet both should have no problems qualifying, seeing that Presbyterian High and national under-16 centre Russel Low is nearing his peak form and Ahmad Ibrahim boast a formidable starting five.

The casualty from this group should be Maris Stella High School, who will be kicking themselves for their bad fortune of being drawn in the same group as the potential north zone champions.

Other schools which should make the second round in the competitive north zone include Seng Kang Secondary (who recently clinched the pre-season B Division tournament), Chung Cheng High (Yishun) and Woodlands Ring Secondary.

In the West zone, familiar powerhouses Jurong and Unity Secondary will battle it out for honours. Yet newcomers New Town Secondary will prove a tough challenge, led by captain Lor Weng Siang.

At the same time, one should not count out Hwa Chong Institution, who have been steadily improving since the debacle in the C Division competition last year where they were dumped out by an umpire error with the shot clock.

The match between Unity and Hwa Chong Institution on Monday, January 19, at 3pm at the Clementi Sports Hall should provide basketball fans with an exciting game.

Anglican High School, fresh from a C Division national championship triumph last year, should prove favourites for the East zone championship title.

Their team, consisting of a bulk of Secondary 3 players including last year’s MVP Sherwin Yen and point guard Chee Khan Liang, also enjoys home court advantage. They may have to contend with stronger opposition in the national rounds though.

For B Division groups, fixtures and results go to: SCHOOLS FIXTURES & RESULTS

N.B. Due to the high traffic of this site, it’s sometimes almost impossible to get into the the results page. Have patience. If you don’t have, go play bball. 😉

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