By Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports
Soh Zi Xuan (#10) of Unity Secondary shoots the ball against Fraser Chua (#12) of Peirce Secondary. The Unity swingman finished with 19 points in the victory. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Clementi Sports Hall, Friday, August 14, 2015 — West Zone runners-up Unity Secondary continued their fine form, as they comfortably beat Peirce Secondary 69–14 to record a third straight win in the preliminary round of the National C Division Basketball Championship.
Their victories included an earlier nine-point win over North Zone champions Catholic High, who are also through to the second round.
Despite going off to a quick 5–0 start, Unity experienced an early shock when Peirce, led by forward Branson Tan (#14), responded with their own 6–0 run to take a one-point lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Peirce’s lead, however, was short-lived.
Led by point guard Ethan Noronha (#7) and swingman Soh Zi Xuan (#10), Unity stormed back to the lead and never looked back. Noronha (#7) and Soh (#10) finished with 11 and 19 points respectively.
Defensively, Unity were helmed by Brian Julian (#8), who towered over the Peirce players. The centre tallied five blocks in the game, to go with his 11 boards.
In the closing quarter, Unity fielded their bench, who easily closed out the game with a 24–1 run against a worn-out Peirce.
“The team has gelled together,” said Noronha (#7).
“At first, we were not that strong, but over time, our chemistry got better and we could play better.”
On the challenges ahead in the second round, he added, “Actually, I’m not sure if we are ready, but we’re just going to train hard and play hard.”
Score by quarter
Peirce vs Unity
1st quarter: 6–5
2nd quarter: 4–12 (10–17)
3rd quarter: 3–28 (13–45)
4th quarter: 1–24 (14–69)
Top scorers
Peirce
Branson Tan (#14) – 5 points
Unity
Soh Zi Xuan (#10) – 19 points (3 x 3-pointers)
Xzandrei Ajero (#6) – 11 points (2 x 3-pointers)
Ethan Noronha (#7) – 11 points
Peirce Roster
Tan Aik Phan (#4), Jeremy Ho (#5), Daniel Soh (#6), Darren Chua (#7), Marcus Teo (#8), Xavier Toh (#9), Justin Soh (#10), Leo Cheong (#11), Fraser Chua (#12), Mark Wong (#13), Branson Tan (#14), Zion En James (#15)
Unity Roster
Muhd Syakir Bin Supaat (#4), Jonathan Tan (#5), Xzandrei Ajero (#6), Ethan Noronha (#7), Brian Julian (#8), Haran Prem (#9), Soh Zi Xuan (#10), Marco Mendoza (#11), Ng Zhi Wen (#12), Ryan Hoa (#13), Patrick Gabriel Morong Llanes (#14), Colin Cha (#15)
More photos next page
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