Contributed by reader

Jurong West Sports Hall, Wednesday, April 8, 2009 – Unity Secondary waded through a paper thin Catholic High defense to sensationally hand the defending B Division basketball champions their first loss of the season.

Despite missing key players and twins David and Peter Soo through injury, Lim Fang Qi (#5) and Remus Low (#12) stepped up and downed 21 and 13 points respectively to earn their team a famous 72-67 victory.

Yet it did not seem that way at the start.

Catholic High had relied on accurate jumpers from point guard Dominic Lim (#10) to jump to a 9-4 lead and appeared comfortable.

However, Unity’s Fang Qi sparked off his team’s run with a long 3-pointer which bounced in through the net fortuitously. That inspired a 15-4 run for Unity to take the first quarter 19-13 to the surprise of the crowd.

Normally, you would expect Catholic High to bounce back in the subsequent quarters but Unity stood up to any Catholic High runs by scoring threes on their own. It did not help that Catholic High forwards Wong Kam Seng (#11) and Jabez Su (#4) were cold from the perimeter, failing to connect with any of their 3-pointers.

As the game progressed, Catholic High began to show signs of tiredness in their efforts to chase the game. Their efforts in the second and third quarters barely made a dent in the scoreline, and they trailed 49-54 at the end of the third.

Unity’s Ng Wei Xiang (#14) was at this time doing a great job of containing Catholic High centre Goh Kong Tat (#12), despite carrying four fouls in the fourth quarter. He also flew into the Catholic High paint for some crucial offensive rebounds to keep Unity ahead.

Catholic High did attempt a last-ditch run at the Unity defense, but the West Zone runners-up held firm to record a remarkable 72-67 victory.

Yet the result did not change the fortunes of both teams as they have already qualified on the back of their earlier wins. Both teams will face strong challenges in their respective groups, to make this year’s competition one of the most open in recent memory.

Scoring by Quarters
1st Quarter: Catholic High 13 Unity 19
2nd Quarter: Catholic High 16 Unity 14
3rd Quarter: Catholic High 20 Unity 21
4th Quarter: Catholic High 18 Unity 18

Top Scorers
Lim Fang Qi (#4, Unity Sec) – 21 points
Chong Ming Xuan (#14, Catholic High) – 19 points
Jabez Su (#4, Catholic High) – 18 points

First half highlights of the game:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j9hfzHj1N0

Second half highlights of the game:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkeDP_jhdK8