Story by REDintern Charles Lim. Photos by REDintern Julianna Jothi.

Captain Tay Wee (Hall 12 #6) caught in action attempting to shoot.

Captain Tay Wee (Hall 12 #6) caught in action against Hall 10. (Photo 1 © REDintern Julianna Jothi)

Sports Recreation Centre, Friday, February 15, 2019 — With their splendid performance, Hall 12 pulled ahead and won with a comfortable victory 71-57 against Hall 10, securing their spot in the IHG Basketball Finals.

Hall 10 started out strong in the first quarter, with Alvin Chun (Hall 10 #23) making 3/3 field goals to put his team ahead at 6-2. However, this was quickly answered by Cheng Wei (Hall 12 #9) who would answer with back to back drives through the Hall 10 defence. Cheng Wei (Hall 12 #9) would also bring Hall 12 the lead at 10-9 as he managed to convert on the transition fastbreak offence before a Hall 10 timeout.

The lead went back and forth between the two teams, as Cheng Wei (Hall 12 #9) and Henry Chew (Hall 12 #24) made their 3-point shots and captain Joseph Huang (Hall 10 #0) made his long-range jumper and added in a 2/2 free throws from the line as he was fouled on his way to the basket after a steal. The quarter ended with Hall 12 having the slight edge 20-17.

Hall 12 would attempt to extend their lead as Shawn Yip (Hall 12 #8) made his offensive putback. However, it was quickly answered by Jia Hao (Hall 10 #4) with his handles to assist to Sergul Toh (Hall 10 #15) who would sink a long-range jumper. Another fast break offence would bring them to a one-point deficit 21-22.

Both teams took turns at the basket keeping the score-line tight, and Hall 10 managed to gain the lead 29-28 off Alvin Chun’s (Hall 10 #23) and one play and Jia Hao (Hall 10 #4)’s drive through the Hall 12 defence.

Hall 12 was not going to let Hall 10 take over as they managed to pull ahead. Despite the full court man to man defence by Hall 10, they were able to comfortably set up their plays. Cheng Wei (Hall 12 #9) converted a 3 point shot followed by a close-range jumper, giving Hall 12 a 35-29 lead before Joseph Huang(Hall 10 #0) converted 3 points bringing the score to 35-32.

Hall 12 would close out the quarter with Rymond (Hall 12 #5) hitting both shots at the line and Soon Seng (Hall 12 #7) finding the offensive putback in traffic to put themselves ahead at 39-32.#

Yih Pin (Hall 12 #13) would start the third quarter with consecutive close-range jumpers to give Hall 12 the double-digit lead 43-32. After Joseph Huang’s (Hall 10 #0) drive to the basket, they were unable to organize their subsequent offences and Hall 12 will go on a 9-0 run with each team member contributing baskets with jumpers, blowing the lead apart to 52-34

Jia Hao (Hall 10 #4) would end the 9-0 run by hitting one of his two shots at the free throw line and finding his way through the Hall 12 defence. However, Hall 12 did not slow down as Cheng Wei (Hall 12 #9) got the offensive rebound after his missed attempt at the free throw line coming from a foul-in, and got the ball to Soon Seng (Hall 12 #7) who would find his way under the basket to maintain the lead 56-37 before a timeout called by Hall 10.

Hall 10 managed to regain a slight offensive tempo after regrouping and found points through Hashen Singh (Hall 10 #6), Lance Koh (Hall 10 #21) and Jeryl Ong (Hall 10 #13) who made a 3 pointer. Hall 12 still had the comfortable lead 59-44 as they looked to wrap up the game.

It was a slow start in the early minutes of the fourth quarter as both teams struggled to make their baskets, until Joseph Huang (Hall 10 #0) sunk a 3 point shot. Hall 12 then called for a timeout to regroup, but their offence did not pick up the pace allowing Hall 10 to capitalize to continue an 8-0 run through Alvin Chun (Hall 10 #23) who was dominating in the paint racking up fouls and offensive putbacks.

Hall 10 managed to bring their deficit down to single digit 52-59, before captain Tay Wee (Hall 12 #6) found his way under the basket. They would answer with shots of their own and bring the score to 56-61. With about 2 minutes left on the clock, Hall 12 slowed down the offensive pace to run out the clock and Hall 10 would deny that by committing intentional fouls to bring Hall 12 to the line.

Even with the denial of clock running, Hall 10 did not manage to find their offensive rhythm as neither drives nor shots met the basket. On the other end, Hall 12 managed to maintain their composure at the line and score the majority of their free throws, and coupled with a 3 pointer from Rymond (Hall 12 #5) they managed to widen the lead and seal the victory at 71-57.

On the win, captain Tay Wee (Hall 12 #6) commented, “I think the whole team gave 100%. We lost to Hall 10 last year by 1 point despite an earlier 10 points lead, so this year we came back with a stronger mentality and composure to get the win.”

Captain Joseph Huang (Hall 10 #0) shared, “We fought hard, gave our all and encouraged each other despite being behind. We didn’t expect to lose and were looking at a 60-40 odds to win, however Hall 12 played good today and had the higher percentages.”

With the win, Hall 12 will advance to the finals against Hall 2, the defending champions. They will face off on Thursday 21 February, 730pm.

Scoring by Quarter
Hall 10 vs Hall 12

1st Quarter: 17-20
2nd Quarter: 15-19
3rd Quarter: 12-20
4th Quarter: 13-12

Top Scorers
Hall 10

Alvin Chun Wang Xuan (#23) – 18 points

Hall 12
Chua Cheng Wei (#9) – 16 points

Hall 10 Roster
Huang Hao Jie Joseph (#0), Sim Jia Hao (#4), Hashen Singh Dhillion (#6), Hoo Ming Shun (#9), Ronald Yip Lang Jing (#11), Jeryl Ong Wei Ren (#13), Toh Xun Hao Sergul (#15), Ho Jin Liang Adriel (#18), Koh Zhao Yul Lance (#21), Alvin Chun Wang Xuan (#23), Cheong Wen Cai (#27), Chua Joo Han (#45)

Hall 12 Roster
Toh Zhao Xuan (#3), Rymond (#5), Tay Wee (#6), Ng Soon Seng (#7), Shawn Yip Jia Hao (#8), Chua Cheng Wei (#9), Yew Yu (#10), Amos Choy (#11), Chong Yih Xuan (#12), Chong Yih Pin (#13), Chuang Kuo Wei (#21), Chew Rong Qiang Henry (#24)

More photos next page