North Vista Secondary narrowly edge out Seng Kang and move on to the final of B Division North Zone basketball

Story by REDintern Alan Chiang. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Singapore Basketball Centre, Monday, March 2, 2009 - North Vista Secondary pulled off a hard-fought 68-65 victory over Seng Kang Secondary in their B Division North Zone Basketball Championship semi-final.

Gabriel Tan (NV #9) revealed his best and made a huge impact as he contributed 23 points in the victory, relieving the loads for Larry Liew (NV #11) and Kian Hao (NV #7) who were closely defended by Seng Kang. Both of them had performed well previously in the qualifying rounds and contributed 14 points each in this game.

Seng Kang started with much fanfare as they went on a 6-2 run with just 1:30 of play. However, North Vista took their first lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter at 14-12. Both Kian Hao (NV #7) and Gabriel (NV #9) combined well as they attacked the basket ferociously. But Gerald (SKS #9) put on a good display with an eight-point game in the quarter. By the end of the first quarter, Seng Kang were leading 21-20.

The lead was soon overturned as Larry (NV #11) and Kian Hao (NV #7) sprang into life. North Vista were leading by three points when Seng Kang called for timeout with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter. The tactical move bore fruits as Seng Kang entered the half-time break leading 33-31.

With a much-needed rest, Seng Kang were able to increase their lead to five points at the start of the third quarter but North Vista levelled the score at 43-43 with 3:40 left after Kian Hao (NV #7) and Qiu Zhen (NV #5) drained big crucial points. By the end of the quarter, North Vista managed to nick through with a 1-point 49-48 lead.

The final quarter saw Gabriel (NV #9) add 10 points and no one was able to stop him. North Vista led by as many as five points with 1:00 left to play and they did just enough to hang on and win the match 68-65.

After the match, North Vista coach said, "I think the team did well even though they were tired after long periods throughout the competition. We have key players like Larry (#11) and Kian Hao (#7) marked closely but they didn't know Gabriel (#9) is our secret weapon."

However, Gabriel (NV #9) mentioned that he did not fare too well. He said, "For now, I will concentrate on the next game - the final."

Match Statistics:
Scores by quarter
1st Q: NV 20 - SKS 21
2nd Q: NV 31 - SKS 33
3rd Q: NV 49 - SKS 48
4th Q: NV 68 - SKS 65

Top scorer
NV
Gabriel Tan (#9) - 23 points
Larry Liew (#11) - 14 points
Kian Hao (#7) - 14 points

SKS
Gerald (#9) - 22 points
Han Boon (#14) - 18 points