Story By Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports
John Christopher (Unity #6) passes against Jurongville. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Friday, February 21, 2014 — Unity Secondary shook off a very physical Jurongville Secondary 60–34 in the second round of the West Zone B Division Boys’ Basketball Championship.
John Christopher (#6) and Jacinth Figueroa (#10) led Unity with 15 points apiece. Hartley Muze (Jurongville #12) had 11 points to pace his team.
This win puts Unity at the top of Group Y with a 3–0 win–loss record. They look poised to qualify for the zonal semi-final, barring any unforeseen circumstances in their remaining two matches.
Jurongville had the size advantage down low, but they failed to exploit it. They fell into Unity’s half-court trap press, letting Unity control the pace of the game. Yong-An (Unity #5) showed good awareness to make a good steal and draw a foul on one of the plays.
Jurongville had a small run in the second quarter to cut the deficit, as they started to get into the paint frequently and exploited the size mismatch. Despite this, Unity’s solid pick and roll offence helped them steady the ship and maintain the lead. Kovic Lee (Unity #8) made two consecutive three-pointers in the quarter, helping his team’s cause.
Unity cruised throughout the second half, as they made up for their size disadvantage with a speedy lineup. Jacinth (#10) and John Christopher (#6) were vital for Unity. John Christopher (Unity #6) consistently poked balls away from the Jurongville ball-handlers, before setting up Jacinth (Unity #11) for easy layups.
Unity also finally started making their 3-pointers, after a suffering a slump for a couple of games. Jurongville consistently got very physical with the Unity players and they could be seen retaliating. This landed Unity in foul trouble a couple of times, but did not decide the match outcome. Unity finished the game 60–34 winners, overcoming a strong physical adversary that they have not encountered in the course of this season so far.
Unity captain, Foo Jun Lin (#7), said, “Today was very unexpected, as they played a very physical game. We tried to fight back, but we ended up in foul trouble. We have to look to limit them in our upcoming games.”
Scoring by Quarter
Unity Secondary vs Jurongville Secondary
1st Quarter: 13–5
2nd Quarter: 15–12 (28–12)
3rd Quarter: 21–9 (49–21)
4th Quarter: 11–8 (60–34)
Top Scorers
Unity
John Christopher (#6) – 15 points
Jacinth Figueroa (#10) – 15 points
Jurongville
Hartley Muze (#12) – 11 points
Unity Roster
Maung Khant Htet (#4), Thng Yong-An (#5), Caraig John Christopher Bico (#6), Foo Jun Lin (#7), Lee Ko Vic Ariel Nestor (#8), Tan Min Hui (#9), Jacinth Figueroa Aban (#10), Caraig David Martin Bico (#11), Matthew Choo Ming-En (#12), Maverick Jercel E. Dasig (#13), Leon Chin Wei Chen (#14), Shahrul B Ramdan (#15)
Jurongville Roster
Alwin Koh (#4), Chin Chang An (#5), Shawn Tan (#6), Liew Yue Jun (#7), Yap Kai Xuan (#8), Xing Han (#9), Zen (#10), Terrence Lim (#11), Hartley Muze (#12), Yong Kang (#13), Jun Wei (#14), Bernard Yong (#15)
West Zone B Division Boys Basketball Championship — Fixtures and Results
More photos next page
Yeah, and i think you guys should pay more attention to Kovic he’s a special player!! one of the stars of unity along with jacinth, john and yong an!!
Yes he did, he made 2 field goals while one was waved off because of a foul. Haha no worries!
but in the 3rd quarter he made 3 field goals. i saw it! maybe the refs didnt count it. Well its okay no big deal!
Dear reader,
Could you provide any evidence of his 18 points? I have the official scoresheet with me and it shows that Kovic only scored 11 points in the game. He made 3 field goals, 2 free throws and a three-pointer according to the referees who tracked the game.
Excuse me, i was at the game and Kovic Lee(Unity #8) had 18 points. You guys got the score wrong. I counted his points.