Story contributed by reader Teo Siang Yang

all-star game

A Nanyang Girls’ High player representing the West Zone goes for two against two South Zone players from Yuying. (Photo courtesy Teo Siang Yang)

CCAB, Wednesday, March 18, 2009 – The South Zone girls’ all-star team beat the East Zone 32-27 to win the 2009 all-stars championship.

The best B Division basketball girls came together in four zonal teams – North, South, East, West – for bragging rights. It was also a chance for the girls to be one of 18 players to get a call up for the 2009 national combined schools team.

At 8.30am, enthusiastic faces flooded the courts of CCAB. There was no tension, no pressure and no rivalry in the air. Instead, they were anticipating fun and friendship.

At 9am, the whistle blew to start the first game of the day between the South and North Zones. The South Zone girls, led by Mr Teo Hock Hoe, had a flying start. With great rhythm and solid defense, they surged to an early lead. With a stellar cast of Yuying, Cedar, Raffles Girls’ and Singapore Chinese Girls’ players, they dazzled the crowd with a series of crisp passes and domineering post plays. The South Zone girls eventually beat the Northerners 45-26.

The next game saw the East Zone girls go up against the West Zone. Both sides were neck-and-neck throughout most of the game. East Zone Champions Anglican High and third-place Duman Secondary made up most of the East Zone squad while Nanyang Girls’ High had four players playing for the West Zone. Both sides got into their rhythm late in the first half but it was the Easterners who prevailed to win the game 32-25.

The East won all three of their round-robin games to make the final against the South whose only lost came against their final opponents. This left North and West to play off for third place.

The North Zone girls, anchored by Yishun Town players, took the lead early when both sides switched from man-on-man defense to a 2-3 zone defense. The tired West girls did not seem to be able to score and ran out of ideas to stop the North attacks.

In the first 15 minutes, it sure looked like West Zone would have to settle for fourth. However, the second half saw a whole new West team with coach Joe So tweaking the system. As a result, the West started scoring and took th lead with five minutes remaining to eventually finish 49-37 winners in the highest-scoring game of the day.

The final between South and East also proved to be a good game. The East came out strongly in the first eight minutes and they dominated both the post and the top of the arc. East Zone and National Schools coach Danny Wong's understanding of his players was outstanding.

However, South were never very far away. Although they were trailing for most part of the game, the kept their heads up and did not give up. In the last six minutes of the game, the Southerners broke away and took the lead and never looked back to finish 32-27 winners.

South Zone - Champions
East Zone - Runners Up
West Zone - 3rd
North Zone - 4th

Round-Robin Results
South 45 North 26
East 32 West 25
East 45 North 33
South 35 West 15
West 35 North 23
East 29 South 18

all-star game

A Unity player lays up for her North Zone team against the West. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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The South Zone team take a timeout. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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An Ahmad Ibrahim player representing the West looks for an opening. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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A Jurong West player breaks through the South Zone defence for the West Zone all-star team. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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The South Zone all-star team emerged champions. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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The East Zone all-star team finished second. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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The West Zone all-star team finished third. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)

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The North Zone all-star team finished fourth. (Photo courtesy of Teo Siang Yang)