Story By Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Rebekah Abbott

KCPSS_HIHS_BOYS_BBALL_BDIV_1

Lim Kian Huang (HIHS #8) drives the ball down the court past his opponents. (Photo 1 © REDintern Rebekah Abbott)

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Guangyang Primary School, Wednesday, February 5, 2014 — Kuo Chuan Presbyterian School (KCPS) fueled their hopes of qualifying for the second round with a close 49–45 win over Holy Innocents’ High School (HIHS) in the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship. Keen Weei (KCPS #9) led all scorers with 20 points. Kuo Chuan came back from giving up a 10-point lead in the first quarter to seal the win.

Kuo Chuan came out of the gates running, displaying a solid defence that stifled Holy Innocents’. Their proactiveness allowed them to poke balls away from dribbling Holy Innocents’ players, leading to easy lay ups on the other end. On offence, they made use of proper spacing to score, which allowed them to take an 18–8 lead at the end of period.

Holy Innocents’ took their turn in the spotlight in the second half, as they showed that they were no slouches on defence as well. Their players swarmed the half court and closed out well on Kuo Chuan shooters, riding an 11–2 scoring streak to trim the deficit. Kuo Chuan’s scoring drought, coupled with sloppy mistakes, allowed Holy Innocents’ to creep back into the game. Holy Innocents’ took a 25–23 lead heading into the half-time break.

Kian Huang (HIHS #8) was pivotal in helping Holy Innocents’ extend the lead in the third quarter. He facilitated the offence and helped out immensely on defence. Holy Innocents’ were able to get fast breaks on offensive breakdowns by Kuo Chuan, which contributed to them running away with the game in this period.

All was not lost for Kuo Chuan as they summoned the last of their reserves in the final quarter as they went on a 9–0 run to snatch the lead. This left Hily Innocents’ shell-shocked at this point, although Francis (HIHS #14) scored to return the game to parity.

With a little over a minute left in the game, Keen Weei (KCPS #9) came through to help his team to the win. He scored a three-pointer to tie the game and followed that up with a converted foul-in to put away the game for good.

The 49–45 win leaves Kuo Chuan requiring a win in their final match against Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) to stand a chance of qualifying for the second round.

Holy Innocents’ captain, Kian Huang (#8) said, “We played pretty terrible at the start, especially our first quarter offence. We made a lot of turnovers that we normally would not make. Our defence was not up to standard, while on offence, our shots were really off. We have to train harder for the next game, get our offence right and make our open shots. I hope that we can make the second round, or even the semi-finals.”

Kuo Chuan captain, Cheong Yeow (#6) said, “I am happy that we won, as this means we are closer to the second round. We passed well today and we displayed exemplary teamwork. We need to have more plays in the half-court set for the next game as well as swing the ball more.”

Scoring by Quarter
Kuo Chuan Presbyterian vs Holy Innocents’ High
1st Quarter: 18–8
2nd Quarter: 7–15 (25–23)
3rd Quarter: 6–15 (31–38)
4th Quarter: 18–7 (49–45)

Top Scorers
Kuo Chuan Presbyterian
Keen Weei (#9) – 20 points

Holy Innocents’ High
Louis Govender (#6) – 12 points

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian
Brandon (#4), Chay Hong Da (#5), Cheong Yeow (#6), Brian (#7), Darren (#8), Keen Weei (#9), Min Jet (#12), John (#13), Jordan (#14), Herman (#15)

Holy Innocents’ High Roster
Jacques Ong (#4), Tay Ji How (#5), Louis Govender (#6), Brandon Tei (#7), Lim Kian Huang (#8), Brendan Neo Jia Wei (#9), Rinshun (#10), Ren Li (#11), Nicholas Leong (#12), Patrick Chew (#13), Francis (#14), Myo Min Tun (#15)

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