By Gan Yu Neng/Red Sports

Presbyterian High’s Lim Zhi Cong (#8) evades North Vista’s defense for a layup. Zhi Cong scored a game-high 29 points. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)

 

Singapore Basketball Centre, Friday, July 26, 2012 — In the boys’ final of the North Zone C Division Basketball Championship, North Vista Secondary and Presbyterian High played a furious match that saw both teams tied 66-66 at the end of the final quarter.

Presbyterian High eventually took the game 73-68 during the extra period, claiming the North Zone trophy without a single defeat all season. This was North Vista’s first loss after a similarly flawless campaign.

The match was close all the way through, with neither side willing to cede dominance. In the final 15 seconds of the fourth quarter, North Vista were behind Presbyterian High by just one point, with the score at 64-65. Presbyterian High’s Lin Sheng Xiang (#9) then scored a single free throw to put the score at 66-64.

However, with less than five seconds to go, Sim Zhen (#13) from North Vista put in two points with a crucial jump shot to tie up 66-66, sending the North Vista supporters to their feet in a roaring frenzy and forcing the game into a five-minute extra period.

With the players from both sides visibly exhausted and both teams in penalty situations, Presbyterian High managed to outscore North Vista to create a five-point lead with only four seconds left on the clock. Sheng Xiang (#9) then took a pass from his teammate and hugged the ball for the dying moments of the game to ensure victory.

The pace of the game was intense right from the start. North Vista won the tip-off and put in a three-pointer within the first 20 seconds, courtesy of Christian co Pepito (#4). In response, Presbyterian High’s Lim Zhi Cong (#8) started off the scoring for the boys in red with a three-pointer of his own.

Supporters from both schools thronged the stands and screamed for their teams as the ball flew from player to player. Neither team wasted any time in advancing the ball, and the fierce action on court stopped only for time-outs, free throws and breaks between quarters.

The most visible player from North Vista was Sim Zhen (#13), whose speed and accuracy allowed him to pierce through Presbyterian High’s defense to either score — which he could easily do from either mid-range or from under the basket — or to pass to a teammate to put it in. Sim Zhen personally put in 17 points for his team, and contributed to many more. Despite being injured in the middle of the fourth quarter, after a brief rest on the bench he came back on court and made that vital jump shot that extended North Vista’s title hopes into extra time.

North Vista’s top scorer, however, was the team’s tallest member, Shiek Ridwan (#10), who finished with 22 points. Shiek’s height, combined with his agility, made him a force to reckon with. He could block shots, dart between his opponents to intercept passes, and most importantly catch offensive and defensive rebounds, giving North Vista more scoring opportunities while cutting down on Presbyterian High’s.

Also notable was Christian co Pepito (#4), whose nine points were all made from three-point shots. Between Christian’s long-range shots, Sim Zhen’s ability to pass Presbyterian High’s defense and to find teammates near the basket, and Shiek’s height, North Vista had many options for getting through Presbyterian High’s zone defense.

Probably the single most prominent player in the entire game, however, was Presbyterian High’s Lim Zhi Cong (#8). Zhi Cong led the charge on most of Presbyterian High’s offenses with his drives and passes. His speed and athleticism in itself made a large difference to the team.

At one point during a fast break in the second quarter, Zhi Cong missed a shot, jumped to catch his own rebound and then put it in for two, even as North Vista’s players were dashing back to their basket.

Zhi Cong’s strong physique bolstered him as he barged through North Vista’s leaner players in their defensive formation, enabling him to drive up close to the basket and force defensive fouls from his opponents. However, he could just as easily switch to making mid-range shots or even three-point attempts.

Zhi Cong finished with an incredible game-high score of 29 points, 12 of which came from three-point shots. Over the course of the match Zhi Cong was fouled eight times, and of his 16 free throws he made a respectable nine points.

Zhi Cong’s teammate, Lin Sheng Xiang (#9), also made a significant impact on his team with 16 points scored, all from his efforts in the second half alone. This included five successful free throws out of 10. Aside from being able to receive the ball even while guarded by North Vista’s defense, Sheng Xiang was himself very diligent at defending, intercepting passes from North Vista to return possession to Presbyterian High.

Tng Zhi Cai (#7), captain of the Presbyterian High team, kept an absolutely beastly guard on his opponents, cutting off their fast breaks and intercepting their passes. Not only did he personally put in six points on the scoresheet, he also contributed to many of his teammates’ points by stealing the ball from North Vista’s players to pass to either Zhi Cong or Sheng Xiang to advance and score.

There was never a point in the game when either North Vista or Presbyterian High seemed to be clearly leading or clearly losing. Neither team seemed at all fazed whenever the score favoured their opponents — in fact, it only seemed to galvanise them.

In the first quarter, with less than five minutes to go and the score tied at 9-9, Presbyterian High launched a surge of offensives to jump forward to an 18-9 lead. Not to be outdone, North Vista proceeded to shut out Presbyterian High for the rest of the quarter, while working on closing that gap.

Sim Zhen (#13) made a beautiful drive right through Presbyterian High’s defense for two, and Shiek (#10) caught one of Christian (#4)’s missed three-point attempts to make another two. With five seconds left on the clock, Shiek made another jump shot over the heads of Presbyterian High’s defense for North Vista to end the first quarter trailing by three (15-18).

North Vista had the largest lead of 10 points in the game in the third quarter. With the score at 45-35, Zhi Cong (#8) put in two free throws for Presbyterian High. North Vista’s Shiek (#10) responded by successfully putting in a jump shot after catching his own offensive rebound three times in a row, with Presbyterian High’s defense unable to do anything about it due to Shiek’s height.

In the space of less than 30 seconds, however, Zhi Cong put in a three-pointer, while teammate Tan Ejin (#14) caught Zhi Cai (#7)’s pass to score another two, to reduce the deficit to only five points at 42-47 for Presbyterian High.

With both teams so well-matched, the game came down to stamina in the extra period. In that final five minutes, Presbyterian High managed to almost completely shut out North Vista’s offense. With North Vista’s Sim Zhen (#13) injured and Shiek (#10) almost fouled out, North Vista managed to score only two points during extra time. Presbyterian High, however, scored seven points, well enough to beat their opponents by a decent margin.

With a total of 141 points scored, this game ties with Thursday’s 3rd/4th playoff between Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary and Christ Church Secondary as the highest-scoring game in the North Zone this season.

North Vista’s coach, Sim Chee Siong, felt the match could have gone either way.

“It was really 50-50 … We played well in the first two quarters, but in the third, the boys started to lose focus. Gave away easy points, made mis-passes … The other team, they played well in the second half; they were more aggressive in the defense,” said coach Sim.

Asked about his aspirations for the Nationals, Chee Siong responded with caution.

“Let’s try to get to the second round first. Now that we’re second place, we’re bound to meet a first place team from one of the other zones, so that’s one match gone … We still have a chance, but must try harder,” he said.

Chee Siong noted wryly that this was the fourth time he had gotten a team to the zonal top four, and the fourth time he has failed to win the zone final.

Ahmad Ibrahim beat Christ Church 77-64 in Thursday’s game for third place. All four schools will represent the North Zone in the upcoming National C Division Basketball Championship.

Score by Quarter
North Vista vs Presbyterian High
1st Q: 15-18
2nd Q: 21-14 (36-32)
3rd Q: 17-14 (53-46)
4th Q: 13-20 (66-66)
Overtime: 2-7
Final Score: 68-73

Top Scorers
North Vista
Shiek Ridwan (#10) — 22 points
Sim Zhen (#13) — 17 points
Jolo Emmanuel Carino Cristobal (#9) — 10 points
Christian co Pepito (#4) — 9 points
Nigel Go (#12) — 8 points
Daniel Koh (#15) — 2 points

Presbyterian High
Lim Zhi Cong (#8) — 29 points
Lin Sheng Xiang (#9) — 16 points
Liau Li Jiang (#4) — 6 points
Tng Zhi Cai (#7) — 6 points
Amos Lim (#6) — 6 points
Lee Zhi Yu (#10) — 5 points
Tan Ejin (#14) — 4 points
Dylan Lee (#13) — 1 point

North Vista Roster
Christian co Pepito (#4), Jeff Tan (#5), Danial Tai (#6), Sim Xuan (#7), Fabian Low (#8), Jolo Emmanuel Carino Cristobal (#9), Shiek Ridwan (#10), Tan Yi Xuan (#11), Nigel Go (#12), Sim Zhen (#13), Justine Carlo Duro Chansuyco (#14), Daniel Koh (#15)

Presbyterian High Roster
Liau Li Jiang (#4), Eugene Han (#5), Amos Lim (#6), Tng Zhi Cai (#7), Lim Zhi Cong (#8), Lin Sheng Xiang (#9), Lee Zhi Yu (#10), Cane Kristian (#11), Joel Kwok (#12), Dylan Lee (#13), Tan Ejin (#14), Joshua Ngo (#15)

North Zone C Division Basketball Championship — full fixtures and results

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