U-14 Nationals RI 68-44 Dunman High

Before the game, we took a minute to remember how we lost to Dunman High by 2 points in the ISIBL semi-final. We remembered how badly that we had played then, how everything went wrong for the team, how we pressed every single self-destruct button that there ever was for the team. And we knew it wasn't going to happen again. We knew what they were capable of, and we knew that we had to do whatever was within our means to stop them.

The match started well for us, ending 10-2 in the 1st quarter. Throughout that quarter, the Dunman squad was unable to find a single open shot, but we fouled foolishly and unnecessarily, giving up that 2 points. The low scores came as Jordaan was man-marked by the Dunman #10. The team did not react fast enough, not coming out to screen for Jordaan. However, Jordaan did the best he could, cutting at any opportunity and still scoring some crucial baskets for the team.

In the 2nd quarter, it was our turn to put on the press. We interchanged between the 5 and 3. However, right off the start, there were too many communications error in our pressing, allowing for some easy baskets for the other team. We soon got ourselves into a rough patch, where our offense was not going at all. We made silly turnovers and found ourselves in deep trouble as the opponents fought back to cut our lead to 4 points at the end of the 2nd quarter.

Things weren't looking good for us when the other team scored straight points to tie the match at 18-18. Under pressure, the team dug deep and gave it our all, not giving up at all. We slowly pulled away in the match, playing aggressively in our press, fighting for every ball. We managed to get many fast-break opportunities and easy lay-ups. However, the match was marred by the fact that we fouled recklessly and foolishly, with Justin on 4, Jordaan on 4, Lawrence on 3 and Bryan on 3. Which meant that our starting 5 accumulated an astonishing 14 fouls, with only Brendan without fouls.

On a side note, Bryan got his first start of the tournament and he played well, fighting for rebounds and playing aggressively. Another good performance to note was that of Brendan, who scored a game-high 24 points, 2 points more than Jordaan. Our next match will be against Presbyterian High on Thurs at 2pm at BAS/SBC.

Dream.Team.Fight,Win.

One game closer

Coach

The best thing we got right: A bulldog spirit.

This is just game #2. We've got to keep focused. A lot of ground to make up on the Big-2. When we meet them 1 few games from now, we can promise that we'll be a very different team from today. :)

You've dreamt, you've gelled as a team, some of you are fighting. Let's get everyone on board, and I know winning will come.