ITE record tumultuous 71-67 win over Singapore Polytechnic in POL-ITE basketball

Story by REDintern Gerald Goh.

Republic Polytechnic Competition Hall, Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) limped over the finishing line with a 71-67 victory over Singapore Polytechnic (SP), who battled their opponents every inch of the way.

SP recovered from a poor opening to threaten an upset over ITE, chipping away a 14-point deficit to come within two points of ITE. The storybook reverse never materialised, however, as ITE's superior tactical nous enabled them to shut out their opponents in the closing stages, albeit with a tinge of luck left over from their previous narrow 53-51 victory over Nanyang Polytechnic.

The start of the first quarter saw ITE dominate proceedings, with SP's ball control suspect as passes continually went astray. Unable to stem the tide of blue jerseys, SP continued to rack up the team fouls.

SP and national player Lim Wai Sian then led a late rally for his team, sinking three three-pointers, the last with under a minute remaining, to reduce SP's deficit to 18-21 at the end of the first quarter.

SP laboured to break down ITE's defence in the second quarter, missing five consecutive attempts on the basket. As SP's Choon Hao Wei was caught dawdling on the ball, ITE's Lim Fang Chiang cheekily took it off his fingertips to nail an easy shot and extend his team's lead to 25-18.

Continual poor passing from SP's players resulted in ITE's Tan Zhi Hao initiating two consecutive turnovers, the second going to Lim Fang Chiang who made no mistake on the fast break. Fang Chiang turned provider a minute later, slinging another interception for Wong Wei Jie to notch his basket.

With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, SP's Chua Kian Kok was caught out by the shot-clock, with coach Ng Loo Kuang appearing none too pleased. Kian Kok subsequently received an earful from a visibly-agitated Loo Kuang to release possession on the next play, only for the SP player to commit a turnover as SP finished the period trailing 26-38.

The third quarter saw a fired-up SP take to the court like men possessed. Wai Sian executed an acrobatic leap to knock away an ITE pass outside the semi-circle, the ball breaking kindly for power forward Muhammad nur Alfilall to post an easy shot.

With ITE on the ropes and recklessly conceding team fouls, Kian Kok drove to the basket to bring SP within six points of ITE at 48-54 at the end of the third quarter.

SP again failed to capitalise on their momentum, as Alfilall missed three consecutive shots and was immediately benched as a result. With the match tempo ramping up, Wei Jie plundered the ball from SP's Jeremy Siah, running free to effortlessly execute a finger-roll into the net.

It was continual end-to-end stuff, however, as SP's Poon Wai Kong ran into heavy traffic driving to the basket, before an unmarked Kian Kok slung another three-pointer to narrow the score to 57-60.

As the clock wound down, play became fitful as both sides called time-out after time-out in an attempt to out-strategise their opponents. With just over a minute left, ITE coach Yue Keng Siang cried foul for an alleged double-dribble by Wai Kong, but the referee was unimpressed.

SP's desperation in the dying seconds saw a series of intentional fouls by their players, Wai Sian blatantly obstructing Wei Jie as the ITE man found himself literally dragged away from the ball. Wai Sian's three-pointer bounced agonisingly off the rim as ITE grabbed the rebound and an eventual 71-67 victory.

ITE's Lim Fang Chiang reckoned that his side were run ragged by SP in the second half. "We (only) had stamina in the first two quarters… we need to train more on that." Fang Chiang also magnanimously praised SP's performance, noting that SP played well despite the absence of key point guard Edwin Low.

Noting that Temasek Polytechnic were in pole position to finish first, Fang Chiang added wistfully, "We'll try our best. But Temasek Polytechnic is too strong."

In the other POL-ITE match, Temasek Polytechnic recovered from a close first quarter to romp to a 65-49 victory over Ngee Ann Polytechnic.