By Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports

West Zone B Division Basketball Jurong Secondary vs Unity Secondary

Leslie Chen (#7) of Jurong shoots the ball against Thng Yong-An (#8) of unity. Chen led Jurong with 20 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

Jurong West Sports Hall, Wednesday, February 25, 2015 — Jurong Secondary’s offensive balance overcame Unity Secondary’s one-two backcourt punch as they topped the defending national champions 60–48 in the second round of the West Zone B Division Basketball Championship.

Jurong climbed to the top of group X with the victory, maintaining their flawless win streak. This is Unity’s final game of the second round, and their only loss in the entire season thus far. Both teams are set to advance to the semi-final.

Unity’s agile backcourt duo of John Christopher (#7) and Thng Yong-An (#8) pushed the tempo right from tip-off, propelling the defending national champions to an early lead. However, Jurong’s imposing frontcourt of Hairul Syamil (#6), Leslie Chen (#7) and Mohammed Naseer (#9) kept the game close, as both teams were even at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Jurong’s Hairul Syamil (#6) and Unity’s John Christopher (#7) were both called for their fourth personal fouls, and had to be benched. Unity’s loss outweighed Jurong’s as the latter took advantage to mount a 7–0 run to take the lead.

Mohamad Norisham (#8) was nimble on the defensive end, forcing several Unity turnovers to help bolster Jurong’s lead. Jurong went into the break with a seven-point lead.

Jurong continued their offensive onslaught in the second half as they opened the third quarter with a barrage of three-pointers from Mohamad Hilman (#5) and Chen (#7). In the absence of John Christopher (#7), Thng (#8) and Tan Min Hui (#9) stepped up on the offensive end, keeping Unity in the chase.

Late in the fourth quarter, Unity experienced a scary moment when Thng (#8) went down with an ankle injury, almost sidelining the Unity guard. However, Thng (#8) remained on court for the remainder of the game.

Despite a 27-point effort from Thng (#8), Jurong’s player depth was just too much, as they snapped Unity’s streak, handing them the 48–60 loss.

“Despite our bad start in the first quarter, we managed to take the lead. Their defence was tight but we poured in a few three pointers to extend our lead. Nevertheless, Unity brought their game and it was definitely a tough match,” said Mohamad Norisham (#8).

The Jurong vice-captain added, “We will definitely work harder on both our defence and offence.”

Jurong have one final game against New Town Secondary, who went down 35–52 to Unity in an earlier game. The game will be played at 12.30 p.m., on February 27, at Jurong West Sports Hall.

Score by Quarter
Jurong vs Unity
1st quarter: 10–10
2nd quarter: 21–14 (31–24)
3rd quarter: 23–13 (54–37)
4th quarter: 6–11 (60–48)

Top scorers
Jurong
Leslie Chen Kai Lin (#7) – 20 points (2 x 3-pointers)
Mohamad Hilman B Mohamad I (#5) – 18 points (1 x 3-pointer)

Unity
Thng Yong-An (#8) – 27 points (1 x 3-pointer)

Jurong Roster
Chua Qi Wei (#4), Mohamad Hilman B Mohamad I (#5), Hairul Syamil B Mardan (#6), Leslie Chen Kai Lin (#7), Mohamad Norisham B Nazaruddin (#8), Mohammed Naseer B Sahul Hameed (#9), Venneth Chua Chin Tat (#10), Samson Sim Wen Yang (#11), Wu Ming Ming (#12), Tan Zun Wen (#13), Goh Xian Hao Glendon (#14), Gregory Chan Xu Zhan (#15)

Unity Roster
Brandon Tan Jun Kai (#4), Lok Jun Jie (#5), Huang Jun Heng (#6), Caraig John Christopher Bico (#7), Thng Yong-An (#8), Tan Min Hui (#9), Karl Brian Dizon Villegas (#10), Liu En Hong (#11), Matthew Choo Ming-En (#12), Maverick Jercel E. Dasig (#13), Sheares Ang (#14), Victor Benedict V. Montallana (#15)

2015 West Zone B Division Basketball Championship (Boys) – Fixtures and Results

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