Jurong West Sports Hall, Wednesday, April 8, 2009 – In the end it was too little, too late.

Raffles Institution valiantly stood up to what was arguably their most difficult test against the unbeaten Presbyterian High School boys, but still came up short in a 58-43 loss.

Raffles Institution displayed their intentions clearly from the very start. Their defensive intensity was commendable as they hounded the North Zone champions to a standstill in the first quarter. Key Presbyterian High centre Russel Low was obviously a marked man, with a Raffles body leaning on him throughout the match.

Raffles’ physicality seemed to disrupt the Presbyterian High offense as Russel picked up two quick offensive fouls in the first quarter alone. Teammate Yao Ming’s frustrations also spilled over at one point, seeing his team’s possession turned over unnecessarily.

Yet the weakness of Raffles became clear as forward Wang Jia Cheng emerged as the only consistent point-getter for the team. Despite an avalanche of opportunities obtained through their defensive pressure, the Raffles forwards failed to make their possession count and they ended the first half trailing 22-24.

You can only contain a player like 1.93m tall Russel for so long though.

Gradually adjusting to the game, he took advantage of gaps in a fast tiring Raffles defense to do greatest damage to the Rafflesians. Spinning, turning or rebounding, the Raffles players simply had no answer to Russel’s moves in the paint. To top it off, Russel was consistent from the free throw line throughout the game, thus punishing any attempts to foul him.

Though Raffles’ Jia Cheng did convert some spectacular lay-ups, it hardly succeeded in closing the gap in points.

Yet at this time, the real drama was unfolding in the adjacent court between Hwa Chong Institution and Temasek Secondary. Temasek were surprisingly 58-54 in the lead with barely two minutes left on the clock in a free-flowing attacking game from both sides. (If Temasek had won the game, Raffles Institution would qualify regardless of the results of their game against Presbyterian High.)

However, Hwa Chong Institution reeled off six straight points to edge ahead. Temasek though, had the chance to tie when the team was awarded three free throws with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. None of the free throws were converted and Hwa Chong happily qualified for the second round as a result.

Unable to depend on Temasek for a favour and staring at a huge 15-point deficit in the final two minutes of the game, Raffles Institution continued giving their all nevertheless, never for a moment relaxing their harassing defense. Their remarkable fighting spirit will definitely be missed in the quarter final rounds.

Scoring by quarters:
1st Quarter: Presbyterian High 11 Raffles Inst 6
2nd Quarter: Presbyterian High 24 Raffles Inst 22
3rd Quarter: Presbyterian High 40 Raffles Inst 32
4th Quarter: Presbyterian High 58 Raffles Inst 43

Quarter Final Boys Grouping
X1 Anglican High School
X2 Unity Sec
X3 Dunman Sec
X4 Hwa Chong Institution

Y1 New Town Sec
Y2 Presbyterian High School
Y3 Queensway Sec
Y4 Catholic High

Quarter Final Girls Grouping
X1 Jurong Sec
X2 Yishun Town Sec
X3 Raffles Girls
X4 Nanyang Girls High School

Y1 Anglican High School
Y2 Dunman Sec
Y3 Chung Cheng High (Main)
Y4 Unity Sec

See exciting first half highlights of game:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvXPbf8_kHc

See exciting second half highlights of game:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGwkgDuHf0Q