Story by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports. Photos by Dylan Chua/Red Sports.

Russell Lim (FMS #12) rises for a contested lay-up. He scored a game-high 21 points despite the loss. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

Russell Lim (FMS #12) rises for a contested lay-up. He scored a game-high 21 points despite the loss. (Photo 1 © Dylan Chua/Red Sports)

Delta Sports Hall, Thursday, March 1, 2018 — Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) [ACSB] led from start to finish against Fairfield Methodist School (FMS) to claim a 89–72 victory for the zonal title in the South Zone B Division Basketball Championship Final.

“I think that we played well as a team and we learned from our mistakes from last year’s zonals,” commented Xavier Tan (ACSB #28), who finished with with 18 points in the victory. Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (ACSB #11) finished with a team-high 19 points while Khant Zay Naing (ACSB #8) added another 18 points.

Fairfield was led by Russell Lim (FMS #12) and Carl Belanger (FMS #22) who both scored 21 points to lead all scorers while Jin Sheng De (FMS #15) chipped in 10 points.

The first quarter saw ACS Barker jump right out of the gate with a 7–0 scoring run that was sparked by a three-pointer from Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (ACSB #11), forcing Fairfield to call a timeout with 6:59 on the clock to regroup themselves.

However, the remainder of the quarter would continue to be a struggle for Fairfield, who struggled with turnovers from bad passes that resulted in ACS Barker scoring easy transition baskets.

At the end of the first quarter, Fairfield found themselves behind 11–23.

Fairfield struggled to find their groove on offense in the second period until Russell Lim (FMS #12) splashed home a trey to ignite a 13–2 run that brought Faifield back to life with a 28–32 scoreline with 4:06 left on the clock.

Refusing to give up the lead, ACS Barker struck back with a 13–1 run of their own to end the first half with a 45–29 lead.

The third period saw ACS Barker unleashed a suffocating full-court man-to-man press that saw Fairfield concede turnovers off the dribble and bad passes. This resulted in ACS Barker leading by as many as 23 points at one point from fast-break points.

However, Fairfield refused to yield as they hustled hard on offense for second-chance points and managed to trim ACS Barker’s lead to make it a 67–50 scoreline heading into the final quarter.

ACS Barker would kick-start the final quarter by extending their lead to 77–54 with 7:12 left on the clock with the Fairfield defense struggling to contain their ‘run-and-gun’ offense.

Fairfield would then show their resilience by responding with a quick 8–0 run that made it 62–77 with 5:09 left and force a ACS Barker timeout.

However, ACS Barker’s lead would prove to be too much for Fairfield to overcome as the final buzzer sounded with ACS Barker walking off as zonal champions.

Both teams will next feature in the nationals.

“We feel confident but not over-confident about the nationals. I feel that we are a very strong team when we are on the same page and play as one,” Xavier Tan (ACSB #28) added.

Scoring by Quarter
ACS Barker vs Fairfield Methodist
1st Q: 23–11
2nd Q: 22–18 (45–29)
3rd Q: 22–21 (67–50)
4th Q: 22–22 (89–72)

Top Scorers
ACS Barker
Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (#11) — 19 points
Khant Zay Naing (#8) — 18 points
Xavier Tan (#28) — 18 points

Fairfield Methodist
Russell Lim (#12) — 21 points
Carl Belanger (#22) — 21 points
Jin Sheng De (#15) — 10 points

ACS Barker Roster
Wesley Wong (#2), Daniel Baking (#4), Dylan Lee (#6), Khant Zay Naing (#8), Miguel Cayanan (#9), Dervin Leiroy Rajandhran (#11), Calder Teo (#13), Glen Chiam (#14), Panca (#15), Kuah Zi’En (#22), Jaryl Wee (#26), Xavier Tan (#28)

Fairfield Methodist Roster
Ang Tze Haw (#4), Joshua Ho (#7), Jonathan Ang (#9), John Vannan (#10), Russell Lim (#12), Eddie Kim (#13), Jin Sheng De (#15), Carl Belanger (#22), Emmanual Low (#30), Tan Wen Jun (#31), Jeremy Graves (#33), David Chong (#36)

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