Story by REDintern Lim Yi Fei. Photos by REDintern Chua Zhen Rong.
Seah Jin Yong (WG #8) with his lay up attempt against North Vista. (Photo 1 © REDintern Chua Zhen Rong)
Republic Polytechnic, Tuesday, February 28, 2017 — Three-point shots and a solid defence allowed Woodgrove (WG) Secondary to triumph 71-62 over North Vista (NV) Secondary in the semi-finals of the North Zone B Division Boys Basketball Championship.
With this win, Woodgrove improve to a 9-1 win-loss record since Round 1 and they will play Presbyterian High next in the final. North Vista drop to a 9-2 record.
Owen Liow (WG #11) had a game high of 27 points while Cheng Ye Hui (NV #7) led his team with 19.
The first quarter started with Woodgrove working on their man-to-man defence immediately and securing open two-pointers. However, North Vista fought back to tie.
With Owen Liow (WG #11) and Andy Liow (WG #14) using their size to deny offensive under baskets, they limited North Vista’s ability to drive into the paint. North Vista was clearly outmuscled by both of Woodgrove’s centres and struggled hard to score baskets.
Woodgrove advanced with several forceful under baskets while limiting their opponents to shooting from the three-point line, eventually ending the first quarter with a 21-13 lead.
The second quarter saw North Vista with the energy for quick passes to keep themselves open. They also vied for all their offensive and defensive rebounds which allowed them to slowly reduce the deficit. The careful and well thought out gameplay from North Vista allowed them to gain back control of the game.
However, they soon got too aggressive which led to two defensive fouls. Mispasses from North Vista gave Lacsado Santiago (WG #7) three stolen balls to convert into fastbreaks.
By halftime, Woodgrove had a slight 33-32 advantage.
North Vista started on their full-court press in the third quarter to deny Woodgrove. Followed by two missed passes from Woodgrove, North Vista had chances to fastbreak and pull away with the lead.
Woodgrove were suddenly no match for North Vista and had no choice but to linger behind the three-point line, ending the quarter trailing 47-51.
Down to the last quarter, Woodgrove sank a 3-pointer but North Vista answered back to tie. Woodgrove then made four back-to-back clutch threes and managed to take the lead they never lost.
Woodgrove captain Andy Liow said, “We managed to lead in the first quarter with our defence. Slowly, North Vista picked up their offence in the second and third quarter. By the end of third quarter, we are losing. But we fought hard and kept our mentality strong to beat them in the fourth quarter.
“We were however too complacent with our lead in the first quarter and we let them score more than us in the second and third quarter. That’s the thing we need to improve on.”
North Vista’s Tiong Chuan Yao (#9) said, “We shot quite well and made quite a lot of shots but we let them take shots too. That’s why we lost the game. We weren’t doing our best on our defence and we had a lot of trouble guarding.”
Scoring by Quarter
Woodgrove vs North Vista
1st Q: 21-13
2nd Q: 12-19 (33-32)
3rd Q: 14-19 (47-51)
4th Q: 24-11 (71-62)
Top Scorers
Woodgrove
Owen Liow (#11) – 27 points
North Vista
Cheng Ye Hui (#7) – 19 points
Woodgrove Roster
Edwin Soo Ian Zhang (#4), Chong Shao Kai, Sky (#5), Aw Kai Jie (#6), Lacsado Jack William Santiago (#7), Seah Jin Yong (#8), Chen Pengkun (#9), Yap Chun Jack (#10), Liow Cheng Xun Owen (#11), Andy Lim Jia En (#12), Soh Keng Yip (#13), Liow Cheng Lin Andy (#14), Fang Hanbin (#15)
North Vista Roster
Justen Chiam (#0), Chan Qi Feng (#3), Vincent Gerard (#4), Sim Yi (#5), Cheng 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)
More photos next page
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