Raffles Institution vs Jurong Secondary (59-56) 2OT
Points by Quarter:
1st-------2nd-------3rd-------4th-------OT-------2OT
RI-----10----------9---------8--------11-------13----------8
JSS----7-----------6--------16--------9--------13----------5
We came into this game knowing that it was a must win for us as we did not want to have it all on the line against Anglican High School, which have proven themselves to be a troublesome matchup for many schools. However, Jurong Secondary was not to be belittled as they have championship potential and has constantly gotten 2nd in the West Zone, until this year where they dropped to 3rd due to an unfortunate upset by Bukit Panjang Govt High as they lost 88-87 in the semifinals. Thus we knew that we had to come out strong in the game and make sure we get this win.
The game started off rather slow once again as both sides struggled to pour in points. However, there was definitely an improvement in comparison to the game against Yishun as we actually hit 10 pts in this quarter while holding Jurong to only 7. We did this by getting to the rim for easier looks and managed to convert 2 three pointers which were huge in giving us the edge in scoring.
The second quarter was more of the same as we continued to stretch our lead all the way to 10 at one point. We fought hard for the rebounds and continued to score consistently as we did in the first quarter, hence allowing us to pace ourselves well. However, in the last 2 mins, we let our guard down a little as we allowed them to cut the lead to 6 points by halftime.
The third quarter was an onslaught. We constantly got outmuscled by their big sized center #15 who worked extremely hard in getting offensive rebounds and put backs for his team. When he didnt get the putback, he would get fouled and was stellar from the line, scoring 6 free throws in the quarter including one from an "And-one". This gave us much problems inside. We still tried our best to keep up with them by attacking the basket ourselves and capitalising on fastbreak opportunities. However, this huge run of theirs single handedly conducted by #15 saw them through a turnaround as they led by 2 after the third quarter.
As soon as the fourth started, another onslaught began, but this time by a different post player, #14. Not lacking in size to #15, he got many offensive rebounds and was almost perfect from under the basket. He scored all 9 points for Jurong Secondary in the fourth quarter. What made matters worse was that we had Tristen, Daran and Shao Jie each with 4 fouls. Jovi fouled out late in the fourth quarter and our woes were compounded. However, we did not give up and as we were down by 3 points 38-35 in the waning moments of the fourth quarter with around 40 seconds left, our PG Daran nailed a clutch and crucial three pointer to tie the game at 38. After both sides failed at an opportunity each to score and take the lead, we were headed to OT knotted at 38.
In the first OT, Jurong came out blazing as they immediately responded with a three pointer from their forward #12. Not long after he scored another three pointer and along with steady inside play, Jurong took a 7 point lead, with the possession of the ball in their hands and 40 seconds left on the game clock. As if that were not enough, Daran fouled out of the game as well and we we extremely short handed. However, even though there was 40 seconds left on the clock, we did not give up and just tried to get as close as we could. After they dribbled down the court and wasted about 20 seconds, they jacked up a shot and missed it. Shao Jie got the rebound and streaked down the court for a layup, got fouled and converted on both free throws to cut the deficit to 5. On the ensuing inbounds pass from Jurong, we triple teamed the ball man and came up with the steal, making another lay up to cut the deficit to 3. We had no choice after that but to foul #12, with 5 seconds left on the clock. As he had just scored 2 three pointers in the period, this did not bode well for us. However, things took a turn as he missed not one, but both free throws. Shao Jie quickly grabbed the rebound and made an outlet to our forward Anli, who streaked down the court and made a cross court pass to our other forward for a three point attempt. The buzzer sounded and the ball went in. We were headed to a second OT.
The second OT began and we got out to a quick start, as Anli confidently took a one dribble pull up jump shot which hit the bottom of the net to give us a 2 point lead. Jurong quickly responded with a layup on the other end to tie it up yet again at 53 apiece. After that, our point guard Tristen drove in for two and put us up once again by 2. We got consecutive stops and finally extended our lead to 6 as Shao Jie made 2 crucial baskets in a row. We never looked back after taking this lead and held on to win the game 59-56.
This game was a huge experience for us as very few of us actually played in an OT game, much less a 2OT game. We got a much needed win and boosted our confidence and morale, as well as teamwork as we won this with everyone sitting outside enthusiastically cheering us on and encouraging one another. This game bonded us even more as a team. With this win, we would be guaranteed a spot in the 2nd round of the nationals. Up next would be the following Monday against Anglican High School as we fight for the top seed in the group.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
B Division Nationals Round 1 Game 1: Raffles Institution vs Yishun Secondary (41-29)
Raffles Institution vs Yishun Secondary (41-29)
Pts by Quarter:
1st-------2nd-------3rd-------4th
RI------4---------6---------14-------17
YS------8--------4----------6--------11
This game got off to a miserable start as we struggled to get any kind of offense going, bricking shots from the outside while barely missing inside looks that we got. We only managed to score a mere 4 points in the first 10 minutes of the game, and scoring another 6 points in the next 10 minutes. However, we played solid defense on our own side of the floor and made sure that the opponents had to work for every point that they scored on us. Our defense was tough and we managed to keep ourselves in the game despite our horrendous shooting, as we trailed 10-12 after the first half. This was all too familiar as we found ourselves in the same situation a month ago against Guang Yang Secondary in the South Zone second round.
Coming into the second half, we knew that we had to treat it like it was a new game and come out strong. We definitely did not want to wait until the last quarter to make a huge run like we did in the 4th quarter against Guang Yang. Hence, we came out strong as we managed to rack up steals and get fastbreaks to take the lead, as well as forcing Yishun into many bad passes over our long arms, resulting in the ball dropping out of bounds. Although our offense finally started to click, we did not let up on our defensive side either, giving up only 6 points in the 3rd quarter to Yishun.
It was more of the same in the second half until there was around 2 minutes left in the game with us up by 6. Their key player and starting center #15 got an offensive rebound after his teammate's miss and got an and-one out of it. After converting the free throw, we found ourselves only up by 3. Although we failed to convert on our offensive end of the floor, when we came back on defense, we got a block and the ball was fired ahead to captain Jovi who converted on the fast break to pull the game to a 5 point margin. They called a time out and set up a play, but it was foiled by our PG Tristen who intercepted the ball, streaked all the way down for the lay up plus the foul, stretching the lead to 8 after converting on the free throw. Shao Jie also got into the action as he stole the ball at the exact same spot and went to the other end for a fast break layup as well effectively sealing the game as we found ourselves up by 10 with a little more than ten seconds left.
Although this was the first game of the nationals and we may have been not used to game conditions after not playing for 2 weeks, we definitely cannot come out the same way in the upcoming 2 games against Jurong Secondary and Anglican High, both who are extremely tough opponents. We have to find our offensive groove early while continuing to stay disciplined on defense. Cutting down on turnovers is important too as turnovers by us give the opponents a easy fastbreak layup on the other end. The next game will be played at Clementi Sports Hall on Friday at 4pm. Our opponents will be the 3rd seed in the West Jurong Secondary.
Pts by Quarter:
1st-------2nd-------3rd-------4th
RI------4---------6---------14-------17
YS------8--------4----------6--------11
This game got off to a miserable start as we struggled to get any kind of offense going, bricking shots from the outside while barely missing inside looks that we got. We only managed to score a mere 4 points in the first 10 minutes of the game, and scoring another 6 points in the next 10 minutes. However, we played solid defense on our own side of the floor and made sure that the opponents had to work for every point that they scored on us. Our defense was tough and we managed to keep ourselves in the game despite our horrendous shooting, as we trailed 10-12 after the first half. This was all too familiar as we found ourselves in the same situation a month ago against Guang Yang Secondary in the South Zone second round.
Coming into the second half, we knew that we had to treat it like it was a new game and come out strong. We definitely did not want to wait until the last quarter to make a huge run like we did in the 4th quarter against Guang Yang. Hence, we came out strong as we managed to rack up steals and get fastbreaks to take the lead, as well as forcing Yishun into many bad passes over our long arms, resulting in the ball dropping out of bounds. Although our offense finally started to click, we did not let up on our defensive side either, giving up only 6 points in the 3rd quarter to Yishun.
It was more of the same in the second half until there was around 2 minutes left in the game with us up by 6. Their key player and starting center #15 got an offensive rebound after his teammate's miss and got an and-one out of it. After converting the free throw, we found ourselves only up by 3. Although we failed to convert on our offensive end of the floor, when we came back on defense, we got a block and the ball was fired ahead to captain Jovi who converted on the fast break to pull the game to a 5 point margin. They called a time out and set up a play, but it was foiled by our PG Tristen who intercepted the ball, streaked all the way down for the lay up plus the foul, stretching the lead to 8 after converting on the free throw. Shao Jie also got into the action as he stole the ball at the exact same spot and went to the other end for a fast break layup as well effectively sealing the game as we found ourselves up by 10 with a little more than ten seconds left.
Although this was the first game of the nationals and we may have been not used to game conditions after not playing for 2 weeks, we definitely cannot come out the same way in the upcoming 2 games against Jurong Secondary and Anglican High, both who are extremely tough opponents. We have to find our offensive groove early while continuing to stay disciplined on defense. Cutting down on turnovers is important too as turnovers by us give the opponents a easy fastbreak layup on the other end. The next game will be played at Clementi Sports Hall on Friday at 4pm. Our opponents will be the 3rd seed in the West Jurong Secondary.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
B Division South Zone Finals: Raffles Institution vs ACS (Barker Road) (68-58)
Raffles Institution vs ACS (Barker Road) (68-58)
Points by Quarter:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
RI--------9-------19-----26------14
ACS-----19------16------9------14
We faced ACS (BR) once again for the second time this season after losing the previous meeting by 3 points 48-51. We knew that if we were to take that extra step and claim the trophy, we had to plan well and pay attention to detail. Which was exactly what we did as we did a lot of research on our opponents, knew their tendencies, and planned our offense and defense.
The game started off as we traded baskets, eventually coming to a 6-6 tie. However, after that we started to get complacent with the ball and started turning the ball over regularly, while at the same time ACS was connecting on many of their shots and got to the basket for easy layups. They even got 3 three pointers in the first quarter alone,allowing them to pull away for their largest lead of the game and by the end of the first quarter, it was 9-19, . with us trailing by double digits.
However, we understood that the game was 40 mins long and that we still had a chance, we started to fight back slowly but surely and started to draw many fouls on their key players, forcing them to sit out. This allowed us to go on a little bit of a run as we got many free throw attempts and started to close the gap to 4 at one point, 25-29. However, once again ACS managed to pull away a little and at the end of the half, they were still up by 7.
In the 3rd quarter, the tables were turned as we started to force many turnovers from ACS and got tons of fast break points, while still getting fouled consistently. We attacked the basket the whole time and did not settle for outside shots, which was what gave us an advantage. After scoring 2 or 3 baskets in a row, the whole school supporting us started to get into it and roared everytime we hit a shot, giving us a huge morale boost while pulling down that of our opponents. Shao Jie was able to get to the basket at will while Jovi had a huge "And-one" which got the crowd to their feet. Tristen and Daran did a great job of finding the open man and controlling the pace. Probably the stand out of the game was our forward Shiva, who took on the assignment of guarding #11, their key player and starting point guard who was on fire the first half. Shiva stuck to him the whole of the second half and #11 was unable to score a point on him, allowing us to pull away. As we were able to force foul trouble from the other players, we got to the basket without resistance too. We eventually won the quarter 26-7.
In the 4th quarter, we came out with an extra sense of purpose knowing that we were up big and needed to maintain that lead. We just needed one more solid 10 minutes of playing to seal the deal. Hence, we came out with the same defensive intensity that we had in the 3rd quarter, while matching ACS point by point every single time they got close. At the 1:20 mark however, ACS scored 2 consecutive baskets and cut our lead down to 6. This was crunch time and we knew it. We responded with solid defense for the rest of the game as they didnt score after that point, while we went on to score another 2 baskets and eventually sealed the game.
This win marks the first time RI B Division basketball has clinched the South Zone championship since 2011 and the first time since 2012 that we got into the finals. The last 4 champions of the south zone since 2011 were RI, ACS, ACS and now RI again. We would like to thank all the supporters that came down to support us during the game as they were the ones that made a difference and pushed our morale sky high. As well as all our teachers in charge and coaches that came down today to cheer us on, giving us valuable advice every time they got the chance to do so. Our whole team really came in and filled up extremely well for each of us that went out and we supported each other throughout the whole game as we didnt miss a beat. Everyone played well and that was what made this win even more special.
This closes the South Zone Championships 2014. Up next, the Nationals....
Points by Quarter:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
RI--------9-------19-----26------14
ACS-----19------16------9------14
We faced ACS (BR) once again for the second time this season after losing the previous meeting by 3 points 48-51. We knew that if we were to take that extra step and claim the trophy, we had to plan well and pay attention to detail. Which was exactly what we did as we did a lot of research on our opponents, knew their tendencies, and planned our offense and defense.
The game started off as we traded baskets, eventually coming to a 6-6 tie. However, after that we started to get complacent with the ball and started turning the ball over regularly, while at the same time ACS was connecting on many of their shots and got to the basket for easy layups. They even got 3 three pointers in the first quarter alone,allowing them to pull away for their largest lead of the game and by the end of the first quarter, it was 9-19, . with us trailing by double digits.
However, we understood that the game was 40 mins long and that we still had a chance, we started to fight back slowly but surely and started to draw many fouls on their key players, forcing them to sit out. This allowed us to go on a little bit of a run as we got many free throw attempts and started to close the gap to 4 at one point, 25-29. However, once again ACS managed to pull away a little and at the end of the half, they were still up by 7.
In the 3rd quarter, the tables were turned as we started to force many turnovers from ACS and got tons of fast break points, while still getting fouled consistently. We attacked the basket the whole time and did not settle for outside shots, which was what gave us an advantage. After scoring 2 or 3 baskets in a row, the whole school supporting us started to get into it and roared everytime we hit a shot, giving us a huge morale boost while pulling down that of our opponents. Shao Jie was able to get to the basket at will while Jovi had a huge "And-one" which got the crowd to their feet. Tristen and Daran did a great job of finding the open man and controlling the pace. Probably the stand out of the game was our forward Shiva, who took on the assignment of guarding #11, their key player and starting point guard who was on fire the first half. Shiva stuck to him the whole of the second half and #11 was unable to score a point on him, allowing us to pull away. As we were able to force foul trouble from the other players, we got to the basket without resistance too. We eventually won the quarter 26-7.
In the 4th quarter, we came out with an extra sense of purpose knowing that we were up big and needed to maintain that lead. We just needed one more solid 10 minutes of playing to seal the deal. Hence, we came out with the same defensive intensity that we had in the 3rd quarter, while matching ACS point by point every single time they got close. At the 1:20 mark however, ACS scored 2 consecutive baskets and cut our lead down to 6. This was crunch time and we knew it. We responded with solid defense for the rest of the game as they didnt score after that point, while we went on to score another 2 baskets and eventually sealed the game.
This win marks the first time RI B Division basketball has clinched the South Zone championship since 2011 and the first time since 2012 that we got into the finals. The last 4 champions of the south zone since 2011 were RI, ACS, ACS and now RI again. We would like to thank all the supporters that came down to support us during the game as they were the ones that made a difference and pushed our morale sky high. As well as all our teachers in charge and coaches that came down today to cheer us on, giving us valuable advice every time they got the chance to do so. Our whole team really came in and filled up extremely well for each of us that went out and we supported each other throughout the whole game as we didnt miss a beat. Everyone played well and that was what made this win even more special.
This closes the South Zone Championships 2014. Up next, the Nationals....
Monday, March 3, 2014
B Division South Zone Semi-Finals: Raffles Institution vs Fairfield Methodist School (59-47)
Raffles Institution vs Fairfield Methodist School (59-47)
Points by Quarter:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
RI----------19------12-------18------10
FMS--------8-------6--------12------21
This was a rematch of the friendly game that we had played with Fairfield last year. The friendly game last year was played at our RJC courts and we were victorious 76-56. Although we won that one, we knew that we had to treat this game seriously and play hard, not taking anything for granted. Fairfield has improved tremendously and they were unbeaten thus far in the season. We knew we had to make sure we matched their fighting spirit and follow our game plan if we were to come out with the win where it actually matters the most.
The game started out as we bolted out to a 13-3 lead early. We did this mostly by pounding the ball inside and grabbing offensive rebounds for put backs, while making sure that we secured our own defensive rebounds on our side of the floor, not giving them any second chances at the basket. The 2nd quarter was more of the same as we defended Fairfield's drive and kick well and closed out on their shooters and made them commit bad passes and turnovers. We eventually were able to take a double digit lead going into the 2nd half 31-14.
We knew that we had to come out strong in the 3rd quarter and make sure we built a larger lead. We did just that as we did not take anything for granted and treated the second half like it was a new game, coming out scoring the moment the half started with the goal of extending our lead. There was a point in time where our lead ballooned to 28 points. At the end of the 3rd quarter, we still were up big by 23.
However in the 4th quarter, Fairfield started to mount a furious rally as every basket they scored received a loud cheer from their supporters and started to build up their momentum as well as confidence. Whats more is that we started to commit unforced turnovers from bad passes and losing the ball out of bounds, giving Fairfield even more reason to cheer. Most of the points scored during this run were off our own turnovers as we lost the ball above the 3 point line, allowing them to streak to our basket for the layup. To compound our woes, our 2 point guards Daran and Tristen both exited the game with 5 fouls. At the 3 minute mark, our lead dwindled to only 10. However, we stood our ground and continued to be patient with the ball, letting time tick off the clock as much as we could and drove to the basket for fouls. We complemented this with hard defense, closing out on shooters and pressuring them into misses or forced shots and secured the defensive rebound for consecutive possessions. Eventually, the lead that we had built throughout the 3 quarters saw us through the 4th quarter and we won the game 59-47.
This win earned us a spot in the South Zone finals where we would once again face ACS (Barker Road), who won their semifinals matchup with Queensway. The game would be played on Thursday at 2:30 pm. The venue would be Jurong East Sports Hall. We are looking forward to this game as we compete to reclaim the B Division South Zone Championship for the first time since 2011. ACS (Barker Road) took home the Gold medal in both 2012 and 2013. See you on Thursday!
Points by Quarter:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
RI----------19------12-------18------10
FMS--------8-------6--------12------21
This was a rematch of the friendly game that we had played with Fairfield last year. The friendly game last year was played at our RJC courts and we were victorious 76-56. Although we won that one, we knew that we had to treat this game seriously and play hard, not taking anything for granted. Fairfield has improved tremendously and they were unbeaten thus far in the season. We knew we had to make sure we matched their fighting spirit and follow our game plan if we were to come out with the win where it actually matters the most.
The game started out as we bolted out to a 13-3 lead early. We did this mostly by pounding the ball inside and grabbing offensive rebounds for put backs, while making sure that we secured our own defensive rebounds on our side of the floor, not giving them any second chances at the basket. The 2nd quarter was more of the same as we defended Fairfield's drive and kick well and closed out on their shooters and made them commit bad passes and turnovers. We eventually were able to take a double digit lead going into the 2nd half 31-14.
We knew that we had to come out strong in the 3rd quarter and make sure we built a larger lead. We did just that as we did not take anything for granted and treated the second half like it was a new game, coming out scoring the moment the half started with the goal of extending our lead. There was a point in time where our lead ballooned to 28 points. At the end of the 3rd quarter, we still were up big by 23.
However in the 4th quarter, Fairfield started to mount a furious rally as every basket they scored received a loud cheer from their supporters and started to build up their momentum as well as confidence. Whats more is that we started to commit unforced turnovers from bad passes and losing the ball out of bounds, giving Fairfield even more reason to cheer. Most of the points scored during this run were off our own turnovers as we lost the ball above the 3 point line, allowing them to streak to our basket for the layup. To compound our woes, our 2 point guards Daran and Tristen both exited the game with 5 fouls. At the 3 minute mark, our lead dwindled to only 10. However, we stood our ground and continued to be patient with the ball, letting time tick off the clock as much as we could and drove to the basket for fouls. We complemented this with hard defense, closing out on shooters and pressuring them into misses or forced shots and secured the defensive rebound for consecutive possessions. Eventually, the lead that we had built throughout the 3 quarters saw us through the 4th quarter and we won the game 59-47.
This win earned us a spot in the South Zone finals where we would once again face ACS (Barker Road), who won their semifinals matchup with Queensway. The game would be played on Thursday at 2:30 pm. The venue would be Jurong East Sports Hall. We are looking forward to this game as we compete to reclaim the B Division South Zone Championship for the first time since 2011. ACS (Barker Road) took home the Gold medal in both 2012 and 2013. See you on Thursday!
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