RI 80-25 AIS

The game was played at the indoor courts of AIS on Tuesday, February 26, with the game starting at 5.00pm.

The team started relatively well, as compared to the previous game. We pressed 5 for the 1st half, playing good defence and forcing plently of turnovers from the other team. We converted most of the turnovers into easy fast breaks and lay-ups, which made up a lot of our points. However, we also threw away quite a few baskets through miss-passes, miss-catches and missed lay-ups.
In the 2nd half, we changed to a half court defence. Then, coach started the play, of which the wing was to either take the 3 or play the post. However, the outside players were unable to play this, scoring only 10 pts in the 3rd quarter. In the final quarter, we had many more fast break opportunites and won the game 80-25.

The MVPs are:

Raffles Institution:
Muhammad bin Mohd Mustaffa
Ding Jian Han

Australian International School:
Thomas Andersen

RI 47-36 St Andrews

We faced the rugby-oriented Saints in the third match of the South Zone 2nd round.

We were outrebounded in the 1st quarter, missing underbaskets, and went down 6-8.

We came back in the second, with Teo Hong's outside shots making an incredible impact, tying the score at 17 apiece.

We started playing better defense in the third and built a 6 point lead, and extended it in the 4th, getting our rebounding game back on track, winning 47-36

RI 28-55 Gan Eng Seng Secondary

We lost to a better team.

RI 38-35 Peirce Secondary

We started off our 2nd round with a 3 point margin victory against Peirce.

We played solid defense and believed that we would win, especially at the end, when the score was tied at 35 apiece. They committed a number of turnovers and we gained possesion with 7 seconds left on the clock. Sng Yi grabbed an offensive rebound with 2.3 seconds left and put it in, being fouled in the process. He hit the free throw and we won the game!

Ri 67-42 Dunman High

The game was played at the courts of Raffles Institution on Monday, 18 Feb. The game started at 5.30pm.

We played very badly at the start of the game, citing reasons such as being nervous and lethargic. We made silly mistakes on both ends of the courts, allowing the other team to score easy points. Also, the lack of communication allowed their centre, Brandon, to score 9 points in the first quarter. We did not rotate fast enough, nor did we play good help side defence. However, he could have scored more had he not travelled so much during the quarter (and subsequently the game).

Slowly, we regained our focus and our play got much more intense than before, limiting Dunman to 2 points in the 2nd quarter, while scoring 28 points, to get a 38-14 lead. We piled on the pressure throughout the game forcing turnovers and scoring from fast breaks. However, in the 2nd half, we fouled recklessly, commiting 6 and 5 team fouls in the 3rd and 4th quarter respectively. Also, our dearest superstar forward, and captain, Jordaan, fouled out for the 2nd consecutive game.

In the end, we won 67-42, although the gap could have been bigger. After the game, we have decided to have mental prep b4 every game 2 get ourselves mentally prepared for every match. This could help us play much better in the future.

The MVP candidates are:

RI:
-Ding Jian Han
-Brendan Sim Chong Ying

Dunman High:
-Brandon Lim

B Div South Zone 2nd Round

Groupings

X1 - Peirce SS
X2 - Gan Eng Seng
X3 - Raffles Institution
X4 - Saint Andrews School
X5 - Serangoon Gardens SS

Y1 - Bukit Merah SS
Y2 - Queenstown SS
Y3 - Catholic High School
Y4 - Fairfield Methodist School
Y5 - Queensway SS


Fixtures (all games at CCAB)

21 Feb 1415hrs - Peirce vs RI
22 Feb 1300hrs - RI vs Gan Eng Seng
25 Feb 1415hrs - RI vs St Andrews
27 Feb 1415hrs - Serangoon Gardens vs RI

B Div South Zone 1st Round Results

Round 1

3rd Match:RI48-49 Henderson
4th Match: RI52-51 Catholic High School

The Henderson game was scrappy. We played poor defense and missed crucial underbaskets and free throws, narrowly losing out at the end.

But we made amends with the Cat High game!

We made our underbaskets confidently and played with great defensive intensity.

First Quarter: 12-7
Second Quarter: 8-14
Third Quarter: 15-10
Fourth Quarter: 17-20

We believed.

It happened.

RI 52-SAS 61

The game was played at the indoor courts of the Singapore American School on Friday, 1 February. The game started at 5.30pm.

The team started out very badly, not communicating on defence. Althought we were almost a head shorter than most of them, we were still accepted to box out and do our best to keep them off the boards. However, albeit boxing out diligently, the star center from SAS: Alex Schindele, still managed to grab the ball from above us and finishing from close range.

Although they had a height advantage, it was us who dug the hole for ourselves by missing a series of easy lay ups and under baskets. Also, we forced alot of shots, and in the end trailing 17-7 after the first quarter. Also, Lawerence was injured early in the first quarter and forced to sit out of the game, whereas Jordaan got himself into foul trouble. During the quarter break, coach talked about playing good defence, and we did in the second quarter, pressing well, forcing turnovers and fighting back for a slim 25-24 lead at the end of the first half.

The rest of the game was very close, with us having a slim 4 points lead entering the last quarter. However, Jordaan was elbowed in the eye and went onto the bench. SAS took advantage of this, scoring many unanswered points to get a four point lead. When Jordaan finally got back in, he commited his fourth foul of the match. Despite that, Jordaan put on an inspiring performance, stealing the ball and finishing many times. However, SAS were eventually too strong for us, and we lost 61-52.

From this game, we learnt the importance of boxing out and finishing from close range, as these proved to be the undoing of the team.

The MVP candidates are:

RI:
Jordaan Goh
Justin Chua

SAS:
Trent Fish
Alex Schindele