Story by Lim De Jun/Red Sports

Temasek Poly (white) defeated Nanyang Poly 89-66 in their opening game of the POL-ITE Basketball Championship. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Temasek Poly (white) defeated Nanyang Poly 89-66 in their opening game of the POL-ITE Basketball Championship. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

ITE College West, Monday, October 24, 2016 — Powerhouses Temasek Polytechnic (TP) and Republic Polytechnic (RP) dominated their opening games of the Polytechnic-Institute of Technical Education (POL-ITE) Men’s Basketball Championship.

TP defeated Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) 89-66 while RP eased past Singapore Polytechnic (SP) 65-26.

A much closer game saw ITE see off Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) 77-58.

NYP were able to convert most of their 3-pointers to match TP in the first quarter. However, Kelvin Lim (TP #22) was able to penetrate the tight NYP defense to score most of his team’s points and his presence forced NYP into turnovers which TP were able to convert into points.

NYP managed to maintain their composure but it wasn’t enough to stop TP from securing their first victory by 23 points (89-66).

Terry Lua (TP #17) had a game-high 25 points while Sim Zhen (#13) led NYP with 18.

Poh Wei Jun (#12) of NYP felt that his team could improve on their overall defense, offense as well as rebounding. He said the loss could be due to his team being not as prepared and for them to get to their goals, they have to work even harder for their next game on Thursday.

A dominant RP display in their 65-26 win over SP was led by Leon Kwek (#10) and Hiew Zi Jie (#11) with 13 points each, with Zi Jie dropping two 3-pointers.

RP put up a tight defense, causing SP to make quite a few turnovers. Despite that, SP were able to maintain their composure and tried to slow the game down by focusing on their plays.

Leon Kwek (RP #10) posed a strong threat, forcing SP into nervous, forced out shots which they turned into points.

Even though SP were having a tough game, their teammates on the bench cheered them on as they kept their fighting spirit.

Leon Kwek (RP #10) said, “Our team did a pretty decent job today but for us to reach our goal, we have to work on our defensive ideas as well as our screens. This will help us to be the better team in the league. Our strongest opponent would be TP and for us to beat them, we just have to play our hearts out and accept whatever the result would be.”

Anthony Tan (SP #6) said, “Our team wasn’t able to keep up with the opponents as we were under tremendous pressure. We definitely have to work more on our shots as we had too many wasted ones. Our box outs and rebounds have to be more stable. As for our next game, all we have to do is to play it with a more relaxed mind and enjoy the game. Better defense would help us a lot for our next game.”

The last game of the evening between ITE and NP had an intense atmosphere. ITE made most of their shots and put up a tight defense while NP had a strong inside game which they used to their advantage.

In the first half, both teams traded the lead, with ITE’s good team chemistry matched by NP’s aggressive fast breaks.

ITE trailed but soon caught up and took the lead after Leow Jun Wei (ITE #9) shot three consecutive 3-pointers. Jun Wei (#9) would go on to have a game-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers.

NP made it close, led by Hanhs (#7) with his team-high 24 points, but ITE pulled away to wrap up the 19-point win (77-58).

Stuwat Chen (ITE #11) said, “Our team played rather well despite the lack of training. Our team in general has really great teamwork and this enabled us to execute our plays better. As for our next few games, we definitely have to work on our rebounding as a whole team where not just the bigger players get the rebounds.”

Hanhs (NP#7) said, “We were not prepared and many people did not step up their game. We lost our fighting spirit when we were trailing behind and that this cost us our victory. We must keep the fighting spirit up even when we fall behind and this would help us a lot.”

NP next play SP, RP will go up against TP, and ITE will face NYP. The first game starts at 6pm, on Thursday, October 27, at ITE College West.

Top Scorers
NYP
Poh Wei Jun (#12) – 13 points (2 x 3-pointer)
Sim Zhen (#13) – 18 points

TP
Kelvin Lim (#22) – 16 points
Terry Lua (#17) – 25 points

SP
Billy Ng (#11) – 8 points
Tan Yih Jing (#14) – 8 points

RP
Leon Kwek (#10) – 13 points
Hiew Zi Jie (#11) – 13 points (2 x 3-pointer)

ITE
Leow Jun Wei (#9) – 27 points (6 x 3-pointer)
Shiek Ridwan (#10) – 12 points

NP
Bryan Ang (#11) – 8 points (2 x 3-pointer)
Hanhs (#7) – 24 points

Team Roster
NYP
Lim Zhi Kang (#0), Kenneth Goh (#1), Patrick Ng (#2), Benjamin Soon (#3), Foo Jun Jie (#6), Alvin Yuen (#7), Chia Wen Rong (#8), Zandell Lee (#10), Jeryl Neo (#11), Poh Wei Jun (#12), Sim Zhen (#13), Kok Yihan (#24), Phang Ming Hwee (#34), Jason Ong (#45), Kiri Ng (#99)

TP
Darius Ong (#3), Toh Jing Jie (#6), Myron Lim (#7), Chaw Ji Keong (#8), Lim Rui Jie (#9), Koh Jia Rong (#10), Siew Siang Chong (#11), Chua Wei How (#13), Terry Lua (#17), Zhai Si Ming (#19), Kelvin Lim (#22), Jordan Lee (#23), Sean Khor (#34), Clement Sim (#95), Naqib Borhan (#99)

SP
See-To JunWei (#00), Donovan Tan (#1), Chua Yi Xuan (#2), Xiao Yu Tong (#3), Sean Ong (#5), Anthony Tan (#6), Conrad Tan (#7), Ho Zheng Xian (#9), Lim Chuan Yong (#10), Billy Ng (#11), Jonathan Teo (#12), Tan Yih Jing (#14), Chong Wen Xuan (#15), Ang Ken Huat (#23), Joshua Chu Rong En (#86), Joseph Kong (#91)

RP
Daniel Poh (#5), Zoel Lee (#7), Ling Yoke Ming (#8), Bryan Chua (#9), Leon Kwek (#10), Hiew Zi Jie (#11), Andrew Tang (#13), Shaun Ang (#15), Tng Zhi Cai (#17), Sean Ong (#18), Marco Kok (#20), Chan Jia Yuan (#27), Hiew Zi Wei (#34), Zhen Yu Hui (#42), Andy Yeow (#95)

ITE
Alvin To (#4), Thng Yong An (#5), Dominic Tan (#6), Sim Jun (#7), Jeff Tan (#8), Leow Jun Wei (#9), Shiek Ridwan (#10), Stuwat Chen (#11), Nicholas Leong (#12), Mike Lee (#13), Adrian Gonzales (#14), Darren Ng (#15), Goh Jun Yung (#16), Joshua Alas (#16), Kokulananthan (#17)

NP
Wong Chun Kit (#1), Cleve Low (#2), Bryan Ng (#4), Victor Chua (#5), Kok Yi Heng (#6), Hanhs (#7), Alagu Sundaram (#8), Wayne Teng (#10), Bryan Ang (#11), Evan Ng (#16), Choo Jing Xian (#17), Ngor Wee Keong (#19), Kelvin Chu (#25), Sia Wei Hng (#77), Misheel Bayaraa (#99)

POL-ITE Basketball Championship – fixtures and results

More photos next page

RP vs SP action photos, click here

ITE vs NP action photos, click here