Presbyterian High emerge victorious against Maris Stella High in B Division North Zone basketball semi-final

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

Singapore Basketball Centre, Monday, March 2, 2009 - Presbyterian High trounced Maris Stella High 84-56 in their B Division North Zone basketball semi-final to advance to the final against North Vista Secondary.

It was the second encounter between the two sides after their earlier match in the qualifying group stages which Presbyterian High won 50-36.

Maris Stella kept the first quarter tight and trailed only 15-18 at the end of the first quarter. Maris Stella then managed to level at the start of the second quarter at 20-20.

Soon after, it was Presbyterian High that broke away with key players Russel Low (PHS #5) and Yao Ming (#8) adding eight and seven points respectively in the remaining period of the second quarter. A 3-pointer by Jun Jie (#11) extended their lead to 11 points at 40-29 before both teams headed for the break.

Their lead continued to increase and with 4:22 left in the third quarter, they had a huge 22-point cushion over Maris Stella at 56-34. Again, it was Russel (PHS #5) and Yao Ming (PHS #8), who combined for a total of 16 points, as well as Jonathan (PHS #7) who came off the bench and contributed with six points in the third quarter.

Maris Stella started to fade away and Presbyterian High built a 26-point, 67-41 lead by the end of the third quarter to leave them headed for the third and fourth placing match this coming Wednesday.

The match ended with Presbyterian High overwhelming Maris Stella 84-56. Russel (PHS #5) and Yao Ming (PHS #8) impressed many by finishing with 30 and 22 points respectively.

After the match, the Presbyterian High teacher-in-charge said, "I think Yao Ming (#8) did better as he was on-form. He helped to stabilize the team. Moreover, both Russel (#5) and Yao Ming (#5) are of national calibre, so we are building a team around them."

Russel (PHS #5) agreed that Yao Ming (PHS #8) fared better. He said, "I rate my game as a 1-out-of-10 performance as I had foul trouble early in the game. But I hope to play well in the next game and win the final."

Presbyterian High have won all their matches by at least a 14-point margin throughout. The former champions in 2003, Presbyterian High look good to lift the North Zone Championship title on Thursday.

Match Statistics:
Scores by quarter
1st Q: MSH 15 - PHS 18
2nd Q: MSH 29 - PHS 40
3rd Q: MSH 41 - PHS 67
4th Q: MSH 56 - PHS 84

Top scorer
MSH
Jonus Tok (#12) - 18 points
Samuel Yeo (#7) - 16 points

PHS
Russel (#5) - 30 points
Yao Ming (#8) - 22 points