Story by Lim Yi Fei/Red Sports. Photos by Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.
Justen Chiam (#11) of North Vista Secondary shoots against Ngee Ann Secondary. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Thursday, March 22, 2018 — Consistent sharp shooting from North Vista (NV) Secondary overpowered the impressive ball movement of Ngee Ann Secondary (NAS) for a 69-51 in the preliminary round of the National B Division Basketball Championship.
Justen Chiam (NV #11) had a game-high 21 points while teammate Reuben David (NV #30) had 13. Maran Markus (NAS #33) and Ambrose Quek (NAS #7) from Ngee Ann put in 20 and 14 points respectively.
Soon after tip-off, North Vista grabbed a quick lead through a jumper but Ngee Ann followed up with their own jumper to tie the game.
Pushing the pace with their superior athleticism, the Vikings were able to cut into their opponents’ defence while drawing fouls in the process.
As Ngee Ann capitalised on fast breaks and dishing out to open shooter at the last moment, they were able to confuse their opponents and this led to open treys beyond the arc.
Ngee Ann, though unable to match up well in one-on-one situations, showed impressive ball movement when collapsing as a unit under the basket. They were able to move the ball around their opponents with minimal effort to convert their shots.
Plagued by foul trouble, North Vista relied heavily on their threes and drive-ins to pull away with the lead, ending the first quarter with a 25-19 advantage.
Sim Yi (NV #5), Justen Chiam (NV #11) and Reuben David (NV #30) were not going down without a fight as the trio advanced with triple threats and shot from three-point territory to widen the margin whenever possible.
Led by Adam Tan (NAS #1), Ngee Ann was able to fight back through interceptions that led to fast breaks, forcing North Vista out of their comfort zone.
Ngee Ann was up 38-30 at half-time.
Coming into the second half, it was as though lethargy kicked in as Ngee Ann’s lack-lustre defence gave their opponents ample chances to cut into the paint.
Seeing this as an opportunity to capitalise on, North Vista wasted no chances in drawing fouls on lay-up attempts. From there, the Vikings pulled away as they converted all their shots while Ngee Ann could only watch as their hard work in the first half withered away.
However, the boys in white never faltered. They carried on playing to the best of their ability and their grit pushed them through the last few moments of the game.
Eventually, North Vista’s second-half dominance took down Ngee Ann and secured a 69-51 victory for the Vikings.
Chan Qi Feng (#3) from North Vista said, “We did well on defence today. However, there were times when we gave them a lot of chances for offensive rebounds.”
“We can definitely improve on our offence and box-outs for the next few games. Let’s work hard together guys,” teammate Dillon Ong (#9) added.
With this win, North Vista now hold a 2–-0 win-loss record in the nationals and will play Fairfield Methodist next. Ngee Ann drops to a 0–-2 win-loss record.
Scoring by Quarter
North Vista vs Ngee Ann
1st Quarter: 25-19
2nd Quarter: 13-11 (38-30)
3rd Quarter: 13-11 (51-41)
4th Quarter: 18-10 (69-51)
Top Scorers
North Vista
Justen Chiam (#11) – 21 pts
Reuben David (#30) – 13 pts
Ngee Ann
Ambrose Quek (#7) – 14 pts
Maran Markus (#33) – 20 pts
North Vista Roster
Shayan Medhi Nejad (#2), Chan Qi Feng (#3), Vincent Gerard Embay Bancod (#4), Sim Yi Brenndon Ariffin (#5), Chace Ng Kai Le (#6), Amos Tai (#7), Dillon Ong Yan Kai (#9), Arnald Foo Wei Bin (#10), Justen Chiam (#11), Jayson Yanoria (#24), Damien Yau (#25), Reuben David F Amado (#30)
Ngee Ann Roster
Adam Tan (#1), Ambrose Quek (#7), Andre Mangahas (#11), Jason Ngor (#12), Lain Sang (#24), Kiyoshi Murakami (#26), Archriz Raven (#29), Maran Markus (#33), Luangboriboon Son (#35), Mika Laurence (#59), Ryan Chan (#66), Anson Yeo (#78)
More photos next page
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