By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports
Kian Hao scored a game-high 24 points as his side cruised to victory against Yishun Secondary. (Photo 1 © Koh Yizhe/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Monday, April 19, 2010 – Kian Hao and Larry Liew of North Vista Secondary combined for 46 points to lead their team to a 74-49 thrashing of Yishun Secondary in the second round of the National B Division Boys’ Basketball Championship.
With the victory, North Vista recorded their second win in Group Y and are on the brink of booking a semi-final appearance, while Yishun will have to toil for a spot in the last four against Raffles Institution.
North Vista and Yishun are no strangers on the court having played each other in the North Zone final earlier this year. In that match, North Vista registered a comprehensive victory over Yishun and it looked like this national second round match was heading towards the same conclusion, with North Vista sprinting to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter.
Kian Hao was in impressive form, scoring 12 of his 24 points in the first quarter as his side successfully limited Yishun to just seven points.
Yishun tried to mount a comeback in the second quarter with Zhou Zhen Qiang dragging his side back into contention with back-to-back treys to make the score 17-22. They managed to further reduce the deficit to only three points at the half, setting the stage for an exciting final two periods with the score at 23-20 in favour of North Vista.
National youth player Larry Liew was not up to his usual high standards in the first half, but he turned on the style in the third quarter to crush any hopes of an Yishun upset. He went on a scoring spree, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the third quarter, including two consecutive three-pointers. Kian Hao added another eight points.
By the time they were done, Yishun were staring at a 17-point deficit at 32-49 entering the final quarter.
Although Larry was rested in the fourth period, North Vista continued to tear Yishun apart and extended their lead to as many as 28 points. Fast breaks were the key for North Vista as their opponents were unable to keep up with their punishing pace and eventually lost 74-49.
"Today we were not really on form," said Yishun captain Tay Wen Cheng. "At the half, when we were down by just three points, we thought we could win if we played well. However, our fitness was ultimately lacking and we didn't have the stamina to keep up with them (North Vista)."
Yishun will next play Raffles Institution on April 20th in hope of progressing to the next round.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to beat them by 20-plus points," added Wen Cheng.
For photos and stats, go to the next page
Leave A Comment