Story by reader Kelwin Koh

CCAB, Monday, February 23, 2009 - Peirce Secondary beat Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) 59-48 in a Round 2 game of the B Division South Zone Basketball Championship.

This was a game that held relatively little meaning for ACS(BR) but was a must win for Peirce Secondary. However, if you strolled into the CCAB courts just shortly after tip-off you'd think the roles were reversed. ACS(BR) started on their heels for the first two possessions and allowed back-to-back 3-pointers by Peirce shooters.

But the 6-0 deficit woke up the ACS(BR) and they went on a rampage led by their inspirational centre #13 and the two forwards. Successive bank shots in the paint by ACS(BR) saw them reclaim the lead with five minutes to go in the 1st quarter.

Peirce Secondary's trademark press defense was missing for the second game in a row as their assistant coach Wong Wei Long attempted to switch to a zone defense to try to negate the slightly taller ACS(BR) frontline.

With the game increasingly getting out of control for Peirce Secondary, the coach called a timeout to try to stem the ACS(BR) momentum. After the timeout, Peirce Sec came back determined to make a defensive statement. With power forward Lowell (#10) boxing out together with their centre Kok Ping (#12), Peirce managed to get a couple of stops and reduce the deficit to 10 points, ending the quarter trailing 16-26.

The 2nd quarter saw Peirce reverting back their pressing ways and the substitution of shooting guard Hadi (#15) proved instrumental in breaking down the ACS(BR) attack. His quick hands and pesky defense created several turnovers and led to quick baskets by the Peirce team.

ACS(BR) refused to relinquish their lead and maintained their attack from inside the 3-point line. However their lack of a consistent long range shooter was starting to show as they were unable to capitalise on the few occasions where the Peirce press was broken and there were ACS(BR) players free behind the 3-point line. This is an area that ACS(BR) must address if they want to progress beyond the zonal championships in the near future.

Backed by the strong play of Peirce forward Royson (#5), Peirce slowly cut the ACS(BR) lead point by point. Seeing that the ACS(BR) team was starting to get into foul trouble, the Peirce boys began attacking the basket with more ferocity and it led to the sudden ejection of the ACS(BR) #15 near the end of the 2nd quarter.

His departure dealt a big blow to the ACS(BR) team as he was primarily responsible for slowing down the high octane offense of Royson (#5). With him out of the game, and the ACS(BR) team over the foul limit, Peirce Secondary finally pulled even at the end of the 1st half with the score tied at 32-32.

The third quarter saw the Peirce assistant coach Wei Long employ a rotation of three different players to continually harass the ACS(BR) guards and this led to numerous turnovers and a gradual lead built by the Peirce team. This tactic proved to be effective as they had several defensive specialists who were interchangeable from the bench – Jerry (#7), Hadi(#15) and Zuo Kuan (#6). Their quick hands and pesky defense proved to be a huge obstacle that ACSB could not seem to overcome.

Trailing 34-38, the ACS(BR) coach called a timeout and the boys regrouped with a renewed conviction to reduce the lead and try to hang around to hopefully make a push in the 4th quarter. Led by their center #13, ACS(BR) pounded the glass and swarmed the Peirce frontline, winning rebound after rebound. ACS(BR) continued to go to their bank shots which proved to be the money shot the entire game and reduced the lead to two points by the end of the quarter.

A slow start by Peirce in the 4th quarter saw ACS(BR) capitalise and pull to within one point (44-45). The Peirce players were seen to be strolling back on defense and there was a sudden loss of focus by the team. Their assistant coach Wei Long quickly called a timeout and gave them a new set of instructions which seemed to jolt them out of their daze.

They resumed their press defense and with quick outlet passes and fast break points pulled away to a 55-44 lead by the eight-minute mark. ACS(BR) however refused to give up and tried to stage a later rally especially since they noticed that several of the Peirce starters were on the bench. Fortunately the bench players that came on for Peirce – Kok Tiong, Jonas, Jerry and Hadi – managed to hold the fort in combination with the remaining starters and the game ended with a 11-point win for Peirce with a final score of 59-48.

With this win, Peirce Secondary conclude their second round of the South Zone championship and await the result of the match between Gan Eng Seng Secondary and Queensway Secondary to see if they qualify for the zone semi-finals and the national championship rounds. If they do, this would be the first time in the school’s history that a B Division team has made it to the national championship. This team is also the same group that made it to the C Division national championship quarter-finals in 2007.

ACS(BR) should take great pride in the way they played today's game, overcome with fatigue as they were in the 3rd and 4th quarter. They continued to fight on and played to the final whistle. With such strong spirit and pride, this team will be one to watch out for in the next few years.