Story by REDintern Emer Hoong. Photos by REDintern Adeline Lee.

Ng Qi Hui (VJC #10) driving past her defenders. (Photo 1 © REDintern Adeline Lee)

Ng Qi Hui (VJC #10) driving past her defenders. (Photo 1 © REDintern Adeline Lee)

Singapore Basketball Centre, Monday, April 11, 2016 – Victoria Junior College (VJC) defeated National Junior College (NJC) after an intense battle in their opening game of the National A Division Girls Basketball Championship.

VJC saw a 10-point lead disappear in the fourth quarter before a buzzer-beater from Shannon Tham (VJC #9) secured the slim victory.

VJC had a strong start and established an 11-5 lead after the 1st quarter.

NJC took many shots in the 2nd quarter to close the gap but the shots were not falling for them. VJC pulled further away, scoring four unanswered points to extend their lead to 15-5.

Shannon Tham (VJC #9) scored two free throws to give VJC a 17-7 lead at the end of the quarter.

By the mid point of the third quarter, VJC had built up a 21-10 lead with points from Shannon Tham (VJC #9) and Ng Qi Hui (VJC #10). Tay Jin Wen (NJC #22) scored a 3-pointer just as the third quarter ended but VJC still had a 10-point, 23-13 lead.

NJC put together 10 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter. Chok Xinyan (NJC #2) and Eleana Tan’s (NJC #15) 3-pointer reduced the deficit to seven points (18-25), then Caline Tang (NJC #66) added another two and VJC’s lead was now down to five.

NJC were on a roll, with Angela Chen (NJC #55) and Cheryl Eio (NJC #77) scoring three points between them to make it a two-point, 23-25 game with 5 minutes left in the clock.

NJC steped up their defence and made it difficult for VJC to get past the half court line. but both teams struggled to score for awhile as the score remained unchanged ta 25-23.

With 2:30 left on the clock, tension mounted and NJC called a timeout.

After the timeout, Tay Jin Wen (NJC #22) drove in and scored while drawing a foul. She sank the free throw and NJC now had a one-point lead with 1:55 left on the clock.

VJC regained the lead through Shannon Tham (VJC #9) at 27-26 with 58 seconds to go. Jin Wen (NJC #22) then managed to draw a foul and scored one of her free throws to tie it at 27-all with 50 seconds to go.

The score remained unchanged with 12 seconds left and VJC called a time out. With two seconds left, Ng Qi Hui (VJC #10) took possession and scored a buzzer beater to secure a 29-27 victory.

Score by Quarter
1st Q: 11-5
2nd Q: 6-2 (17-7)
3rd Q: 6-6 (23-13)
4th Q: 6-14 (29-27)

NJC Roster
Tan Sock Min (#00), Chok Xinyan (#2), Selina Fang Jialin (#3), Vera Phang Jiali (#5), Dhaveena (#6), Lenet Kong Yu Qi (#12), Eleana Tan (#15), Tay Jin Wen (#22), Angela Chen Zhiyao (#55), Caline Tang Yan Wen (#66), Cheryl Eio Yi Yun (#77), Tamelly Lim Jia Yi (#88)

VJC Roster
Liew Shu Lynn (#4), Jereca Png (#5), Chelsea Eng (#6), Teo Yoke Say (#7), Amelie Lim (#8), Shannon Tham (#9), Ng Qi Hui (#10), Lee Yoo Jin (#11), Tan Zhao (#12), Lim Wen Sin (#13), Koh Hwee Ching (#14), Vivian Hau ( #15)

National A Division Basketball Championship – fixtures and results

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