Story By Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Clara Yuan

ahmad ibrahim vs north vista b division basketball

Lim Zhi Kang (NVS #12) denies the shot attempt by Nikos Go (AIS #12). (Photo 1 © REDintern Clara Yuan)

aquarius ad redsports


Singapore Basketball Centre, Wednesday, February 12, 2014 — North Vista Secondary (NVS) weathered a shaky start to post a 59–49 win over zonal rivals Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary (AIS) in the second round of the North Zone B Division Boys Basketball Championship. Sim Zhen (NVS #13) poured in a game-high 26 points, while Nikos Go (AIS #12) paced his team with 14 points.

The win puts North Vista at the top of Group X with a 4–0 win-loss record. Ahmad Ibrahim look to be in the driving seat to qualify second in the group as they hold a 3–1 record, with their final game coming against Woodgrove Secondary.

The initial eye test would have given the advantage to Ahmad Ibrahim, as their imposing frontline completely towered over North Vista’s starting five. This came into fruition in the first quarter, as Ahmad Ibrahim took advantage of their bulk down low to muscle in for easy shots. Lakksman Ganapathy (AIS #13) was one their key players, rebounding well on defence as well as using his strength in the post on offence to score.

North Vista ran very good offensive sets that spaced their players out well on the perimeter but they were unable to convert the open shots. When they tried to penetrate into the paint, the length of the Ahmad Ibrahim defence forced them into misses. The primary bulk of North Vista’s shot attempts in the quarter came from three-point land, but none of them dropped for the team. This caused them to score only eight points in the quarter.

North Vista switched to a full-court press in the second quarter. Ahmad Ibrahim’s unfamiliarity in dealing with the press became evident, allowing North Vista to crawl back into the game. North Vista made up for their lack of size with gutsy play, pressuring the Ahmad Ibrahim ball-handlers and forcing them into turnovers. This allowed North Vista to come back and take a two-point lead heading into half-time.

Ahmad Ibrahim started to break the North Vista press in the third quarter but they were unable to get any penetration in their half-court sets. This prevented them from gaining any decent momentum on the offensive end. Defensively, they switched to a 2-3 zone, which dealt effectively with North Vista’s attempts at entry passes into the post. Sim Zhen (NVS #13) was the spark for North Vista in this quarter, scoring two 3-pointers to keep his team within reach of Ahmad Ibrahim.

In the final quarter, North Vista switched to a 1-3-1 trap defence to close out the game. This baffled Ahmad Ibrahim enough for them to build a comfortable lead in the quarter. On the offensive end, they were helped by the fact that they finally started scoring on their 3-point attempts. This sparked a 10–0 run for North Vista after the score as tied at 45. This gave North Vista a lead that they would not relinquish, holding on until the end to win 59–49.

North Vista captain, Dorjee Chokka Lama (#4) said, “I think we played the best in the final quarter. We were initially nervous at the start of the match, especially the first quarter. Even when we were in trouble, our coach’s instructions helped to guide us and led the way. We scored well on our 3-pointers. We have to improve on our defence. It was evident Ahmad Ibrahim had the size advantage over us and we need to get used to that from other opponents. Hopefully we will be North Zone champions and we hope to make top four in Nationals.”

Scoring by Quarter
North Vista Secondary vs Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary
1st Quarter: 8–15
2nd Quarter: 23–14 (31–29)
3rd Quarter: 9–11 (39–40)
4th Quarter: 20–9 (59–49)

Top Scorers
North Vista Secondary
Sim Zhen (#13) – 26 points

Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary
Nikos Go (#12) – 14 points

North Vista Secondary Roster
Dorjee Chokka Lama (#4), Christian Co Pepito (#5), Nicholas Tay (#6), Jolo Emmanuel (#7), Fabian Low (#8), Sim Xuan (#9), Shiek Ridwan (#10), Sim Jun (#11), Lim Zhi Kang (#12), Sim Zhen (#13), Darius Ong (#14), Ng Jia Le (#15)

Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary Roster
Benedict Oh Shengyang (#4), John Michael Cuison (#5), Wee Zhiming (#6), Alvis Tay (#7), Michael Justin N Esplana (#8), Chan Cheng Hong (#9), Choo Yi Zhao (#10), Ikhide (#11), Nikos Go (#12), Lakksman Ganapathy (#13), Lau Beng Yew (#14), Wong Chee Kian (#15)

More photos next page