Story and photos by REDintern Low Zheng Yu
Sim Yi (NV #5) shoots over the Christ Church defender. He is tied with Tiong Chuan Yao (NV #9) for team high 10 points. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Wednesday, February 22, 2017 — North Vista Secondary (NV) showed their grit and outlasted Christ Church Secondary (CC) to secure a 56-45 victory in the North Zone B Division Basketball Boys Championship.
With this win, North Vista have a 4-1 win-loss record in the second round and will enter the semi finals as winners of Group Z. They had won against Ahmad Ibrahim, Edgefield and Punggol previously, with their only loss coming from Catholic High.
This is the first loss of the season for Christ Church, giving them a 4-1 win-loss record in the second round. They had won against all of their opponents previously. However, due to the score difference, Christ Church will enter the semi finals as first runner-ups of Group Z.
North Vista managed to gain possession at the tip and went to work immediately. With a few quick passes, Ye Hui (NV #7) got free and scored the easy layup basket.
With their season on the line, North Vista played hard with urgency and intensity. Their defense was aggressive and they prevented Christ Church from scoring easily.
Christ Church were off to a cold start. Their layups and open shots which were usually made were not falling. However, Christ Church played smart and kept driving into the midst of the defenders to draw fouls.
Most of the time, Christ Church were fouled in the act of shooting which sent them to the free throw line. Christ Church made use of the free throw opportunities to keep the game close while adjusting their shots.
Christ Church’s plan succeeded as the North Vista’s players slowly saw themselves racking up fouls. Ye Hui (NV #7) got into foul trouble early and had to sit out to prevent himself from getting fouled out.
The first quarter ended with North Vista up 12-9.
With the opportunities Christ Church had at the free throw line, they got into a rhythm in the next quarter. Shots started to fall and they were back to making the shots they usually made.
Due to the foul trouble, North Vista went to their bench early. While North Vista had a high caliber bench, due to the importance of the game, they got off to a cold start.
Christ Church took advantage of the situation to mount a furious comeback. They were able to force turnovers as they got into North Vista’s passing lanes. These turnovers were converted to Christ Church’s points as they cut the lead North Vista had to one point.
The first half ended with North Vista up 25-24.
However, North Vista started getting into a groove in the third. They were able to get defensive stops and at the same time their shots started to fall.
North Vista outscored Christ Church 15-6 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Christ Church tried to fight back. Eugene Junior (CC #23) went on a scoring streak. He scored ten of his game-high 17 points in the fourth to close the gap.
Despite Eugene Junior’s (CC #23) efforts, North Vista’s Sim Yi (NV #5) made two key three pointers which boosted the morale of North Vista.
North Vista went on to secure the 56-45 victory over Christ Church.
Captain of North Vista, Ye Hui (NV #7), said, “We were not really playing well. We were restricted by foul trouble. This meant we had to be less physical which was to our disadvantage. As we do not have the size, we rely on this to make the opponent fumble, but now we had to play with less intensity. However, the fact that we wouldn’t want to be out kept us going regardless of the calls.”
Tiong Chuan Yao (NV #9) of North Vista added, “We know we are one step away from our goal, which is top four, so we persevered and fought hard to achieve our goal.”
Sim Yi (NV #5) of North Vista also complemented, “We were hungry, I am hungry, because I didn’t eat during recess. It may have translated to the game, so we were hungry for the win and we did it.”
Scoring by Quarter
North Vista vs Christ Church
1st Q: 12-9
2nd Q: 13-15 (25-24)
3rd Q: 15-6 (40-30)
4th Q: 16-15 (56-45)
Top Scorers
North Vista
Sim Yi (#5) – 10 pts
Tiong Chuan Yao (#9) – 10 pts
Christ Church
Eugene Junior (#23) – 17 pts
North Vista Roster
Justen Chiam (#0), Chan Qi Feng (#3), Vincent Gerard (#4), Sim Yi (#5), Ye Hui (#7), Willie Tan (#8), Tiong Chuan Yao (#9), Reuben David (#12), Jarren Neo (#13), Lim Joe Yang (#21), Dorian Chin (#23), Jayson Yanoria (#24)
Christ Church Roster
Wong Yi Dian (#20), Jason Soh (#21), Pan Ming Hui (#22), Eugene Junior (#23), Lin Kai Yao (#24), Brendon Koh (#25), Hsieh You Lin (#27), Oscar Ong (#28), Lee De En (#30), Rico Liu (#31), Ernest Kwek (#32), Jonathan Gue (#34)
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