Story by REDintern Samantha Yom. Photos by Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports.

Tang Kah Wai (PHS #10) attempts a floater over the defense. He poured in a game-high 27 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Monday, March 26, 2018 — Presbyterian High School (PHS) scored a 54–40 triumph over Unity Secondary School (USS) in their final Preliminary Round match of the National B Division Boys’ Basketball Championship to finish as the top seed of their group.

Going into the game, both teams had already secured a berth in the Quarter Finals. Yet, none of them were planning to rest on their laurels, since either stood a chance to walk away as the top seed of their group.

“Going into the Quarter Finals as the group leader means that the next round would hopefully be easier for us,” noted Presbyterian High’s captain Kovan Toh (PHS #5).

Clearly, there was still much at stake for both sides. They definitely played like there was, with both teams neck-and-neck all the way up to half-time.

Presbyterian’s Aaron Chaw (PHS #26) sunk the opening basket, only to have his team’s lead quickly nullified by Unity’s Nurhairie Nazief (USS #15). In fact, the first quarter continued to see every effort by one team to pull away greeted by an equalising shot by the other.

That being said, both Presbyterian High and Unity had initially struggled with their teamwork and communication, resulting in a slew of misplaced passes and turnovers.

Both teams were tied a total of six times, even at the buzzer, which ended the quarter with a scoreline of 14-all.

With a finger roll lay-up, Presbyterian High’s Tang Kah Wai (PHS #10) opened the second quarter. He went on to rake up a total of 27 points, making him the game’s top scorer and the contributor of half of Presbyterian High’s total points.

His team had an obvious height advantage over their rivals too. As a result, Unity was seen opting for more bounce passes to get past Presbyterian High’s sturdy defence. They were not without a strong defence either, choosing to deploy a half-court press.

Unfortunately, it was not quite enough, as Presbyterian High began to break away, beginning with a shot-clock-beating trey sunk by Kah Wai (PHS #10) mid-way through the second quarter.

Presbyterian High began to falter towards the end, their lacklustre ball control often allowing for Unity to gain possession of the ball, and by half-time, the scoreline was a close 28–25.

Things were looking more promising for Pres High in the third quarter, which began with a field goal from behind the arc by Foo Yong Ming (PHS #12). The boys in white eventually managed to amass an eight-point lead that put them safely ahead of Unity.

The penultimate quarter ended with a scoreline of 37–29.

A few misplaced passes by Unity at the start of the final quarter allowed for Pres High to capitalise on the turnovers. However, they were quick to rectify this and came back with solid, swift passing within the arc.

Meanwhile, Presbyterian High took advantage of the success they found in garnering rebounds to further widen their lead, closing the match with a scoreline of 54–40.

Looking back on the match, Captain Kovan (PHS #5) admitted that Presbyterian High had a less than ideal start but was still pleased with his team’s performance.

“We started off a little shaky but the team still came through in the end and we managed to take the lead in the third and fourth quarter. The team played okay. It was not bad so I would say job well done to them,” recounted Kovan (PHS #5).

And regardless of whether they play a good match or not, the team is always there to help one another improve

Kovan (PHS #5) added, “Along the way, we always remind each other to correct our mistakes and then we move on.”

Scoring by Quarter
PHS vs USS
1st Quarter: 14–14
2nd Quarter: 14–11 (28–25)
3rd Quarter: 9–4 (37–29)
4th Quarter: 17–11 (54–40)

Top Scorers
PHS
Tang Kah Wai (#10) – 27 points

USS
Jarric Quek Jun Ying (#3) – 9 points
Jonathan Ng Zi Bin (#35) – 8 points

PHS Roster
Constantin Lim (#3), Ivan Kau (#4), Kovan Toh (#5), Thomas Lor (#7), Tang Kah Wai (#10), Foo Yong Ming (#12), Goh Yi Xiang (#13), Jaron Ng (#15), Dylan Lee (#20), Gifford Chua (#21), Aaron Chaw (#26), Reuben Ng (#35)

USS Roster
Melvin Chua Dong En (#1), Ryan Hoa Wai Ming (#2), Jarric Quek Jun Ying (#3), Raymus (#4), Nicholas Peh Chi Leong (#7), Spencer (#8), Li Ming (#9), Jude Emmanuel Viray Pabustan (#11), Neo Tock Peng (#12), Nurhairie Nazief (#15), Clarence (#20), Jonathan Ng Zi Bin (#35)

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