RI 61 Yishun 78

We had to win this match by 10 points in order to qualify for the semis. We started off slowly, allowing them to take wide open threes, as well as transition points. We were down by 8 at the end of the first.
We played better in the next two quarters, hitting threes and scoring points off turnovers, and were within 4 points. But the opponents scored a couple of clutch threes to seal their win. We gave up too many second chance points and were outrebounded.

So, this is the end of our season. It has been a great run, with many ups and downs throughout the season. We have all worked hard to get this far and we are very proud of getting into the top 8. It doesnt matter whether we win or lose, these experiences taught us many lessons. I truly believe we've had an awesome time together as a team. We faced challenges together and fought together as one. We never gave up and continually pushed ourselves to the limit.

To the Sec4s, thanks for guiding and helping the team and giving your all during every match. Looking forward to the time when we play together again in the A Div.

To the Sec3s, make sure you learn from these lessons during the season and make use of them next season. We've gotta work hard to reach our goals next year.

In the meantime, study hard and all the best for your mid year exams (:
DTFW.

RI 50 Dunman 58

We got off to a slow start, allowing them to get fastbreak layups and open threes. we fought back and and tied the game at the end of the first. At the end of the half it was only a three point game.
Unfortunately, our third quarter was played badly. Our press was broken by their speedy guards and they continued to get easy buckets. On offense we had too many silly turnovers and missed layups.

RI 39 North Vista 78

We could not stop their three pointers and could not get offensive rebounds. We were outmatched on both ends of the floor even though we were within 3 points in the first quarter. They played good defense and we could not get our shots off easily. Our offense was messy and our defense was weak, allowing them to drive past us easily and get layups. We will do our best on Monday against Dunman Sec and fight all the way to secure a place in the semis. This is our time. DTFW

RI 62 Christchurch 51

We started off really well, converting our fastbreak points from our press. However, we somehow lost focus and energy towards the end of the quarter and the opponents came back to tie it at the end of the first.
In the second, we weren't concentrating on the game, and allowed the opponents to easily break our press and score in transition. They were sharp from the perimeter as well, scoring threes and jumpers. Our offense was messy and we had too many turnovers.
In the second half, we finally woke up. We started to press with more intensity and scored on many layups. Players started to hit their threes too. We ended the third 47-36.
In the last quarter, we managed to break their press a couple of times and pulled away at the end with fastbreak points and defensive rebounds.
The first half was horrible and we should learn to play with high intensity right from the start, not only in the fourth quarter. Whenever we have the lead, we should calm down and cannot rush our shots and use the shot clock to our advantage. Overall a good performance, especially in the second half, but we had way too many silly turnovers. We should take care of possession in the next match and communicate with each other.
Our next second round match is against North Vista. We will be up to the challenge and will fight till the last second. DTFW. Next up, the second round.

Scorers:
Law: 16 points
Alex: 22 points
Jordaan: 10 points
Justin: 8 points
Momo: 2 points
Yves: 4 points

From Coach:
Congrats to this team for the being the first team to qualify for B Div National Quarter-Finals for as far back as I can remember (at least since 2004).
We played well in spurts and below expectations at other times. When we are able to put together a consistent performance throughout the game, it will be our single biggest achievement this season.
Press on! I'm waiting to see it!

RI 74 Jurong 71 (OT)

Our main goals for the game were to take out the triple threat and play high pressure defense.
We raced off to an early lead, causing turnovers many times due to our press. Jurong's number 11 scored 8 points in the quarter alone, all layups. We did not get back on defense sometimes, and this led to easy baskets on the other end. The quarter ended 18-11.
In the second, we played better defense, limiting them to only 7 points in the quarter. We converted most of our fastbreak points and managed to control the boards in the first half.
The second half went all wrong. We let them score a ton of threes by not communicating on defense and allowed them to come back into the game. Their post players had plenty of offensive rebounds and second chance points. Our offensive plays were rushed and we had many turnovers due to their press.
The fourth quarter ended 61-61.
In overtime, both of the teams traded baskets. We got most of our points through fastbreaks as well. However we did not communicate on defense, allowing them to score easy points. We had too many fouls and two of our players fouled out. Jurong managed to convert their free throws. In the end, we managed to pull out a win. We should have finished them off in the second half but instead let them come back. We must learn our lessons from this game and cannot make the same mistakes vs Christchurch. DTFW.

Scorers:
Lawrence 16 points
Alex 17 points
Jordaan 21 points
Justin 8 points
Mahmood 6 points
Bryan 4 points
Yves 2 points

RI 44 Anglican High 52

We wanted to keep the game close throughout and keep up with the pace of the game for 48 minutes. In the first quarter, we did exactly that, causing a couple of turnovers and converting our fastbreak points.
In the second, we let our guard down and let in easy layups on the defensive end. The half ended 26 17.
At the start of the second half, we continued pressing and also played a zone defense. We forced them to take outside shots but we didnt get enough defensive rebounds, allowing them to have second chance points.
In the last quarter, our defensive intensity increased and we hit a couple of threes. We were within one but could not get any closer, as the Anglican High players hit a three of their own and then a few layups due to our costly turnovers.
We will be facing Jurong next and will give it our all.

Scorers:
Joel 2 points
Lawrence 5 points
Alex 8 points
Jordaan 10 points
Justin 8 points
Daniel 3 points
Ding 2 points
Mahmmod 4 points
Yves 2 points

RI 65 Yuying 68

Our goal at the start of the match was to limit their three pointers and crash the boards against their big men. We did just that in the first quarter, forcing them to take contested shots. We lead 21-12.

However, things went wrong in the second. They started hitting many threes and finding the open guy. We did not communicate and this led to easy layups.

In the third, things were tight and the teams went back and forth. In the last quarter, we gave it our all, pressuring them and forcing them to turn the ball over. The game went down to the wire, and unfortunately they made a three point play in the last few seconds and got the win.

We worked really hard this game and came up short again. It was a painful, but we have to learn from these losses and make sure not to make the same mistakes in the nationals.

Let's all train hard these few weeks and give it our all in the nationals, even though we may be underdogs, we will fight to the very end.

RI 66 Queensway 72

Our focus this match was to stop their star player and play help side defense. In the first quarter we controlled the game and started with our press. The first ended 14-11.

However in the second and third quarters, their star player took over, scoring on many running shots and layups. Sometimes miscommunication was the reason why he managed to score so many points.

In the fourth, we were down by 15 points. We fought hard in the last quarter, hitting three pointers and layups. We forced the opponents to take tough shots and managed to rebound. But in the end, they made some crucial baskets down the stretch and we had a couple of costly mistakes, and we just fell short.

We had our chances this game, but rarely did we take advantage of these situations. We were very close to the win and fought extremely hard.

The third fourth placing will be against Yuying

RI 56 Peirce 67

We didn't start the match well, allowing them to score easy fastbreak points. They broke through our press a lot of times.

In the second half we played with better intensity on both ends of the court. We ran our plays and had easy points. But the opponents kept up the intensity throughout the game as well. We got within 4 points but unfortunately Peirce hit a few threes to put the game away. We fought till the last second and almost came back, but fell short.

Our rebounding was weak today, letting them get countless offensive rebounds as well as good looks from the three point line. We have to start games with much better intensity and spirit.

Peirce beat Catholic High, so we will be facing Queensway in the semis.

RI 100 KRS 38

Report from Redsports

We weren't focused at the start of the game. Surprised by their high intensity, we made a couple of silly turnovers. Our press wasn't working as well, with opponents driving and passing through the gaps, especially the middle. We were still able to get fastbreak points and ended the quarter 17-10.
The second quarter was as bad. We fouled them too many times and we were slacking on defense, allowing them to have open jumpers and second chance points.
In the second half, we turned up the intensity with our full court press and had many easy points. Sim scored 9 in the quarter, including one three. We were much more focused on defense and communicated with each other.
The opponents were worn out by the time the fourth quarter started. We took advantage and continued with our press, leading to 44 points in the quarter alone. Justin scored 14 points in the fourth.
For the past few games, we weren't ready for the game and started off very slowly. We need to learn to start with high intensity and concentration, especially in the next game against a strong team. We cannot foul too much either and just pressure the ballhandlers. We were surprised by the opponents' intensity at the beginning and that affected us mentally. So, in the next game, we must clamp down on defense right from the start and be calm if the opposing team pressures us. We cannot lose our cool and must communicate with each other on both ends of the floor.
Let's come back strong after the long weekend break and bring our A game versus Peirce.

RI 80 GES 36

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3D4QkC4LPY

We raced off to an early lead at the start of the game because of our press. However their main player managed to break our press a couple of times by dribbling down the sidelines. The first quarter ended 20-7.
In the second quarter, we were not able to trap them and allowed players to dribble down the middle and sidelines for easy layups. When they played a half court game they managed to hit a few threes as well. The halftime score was 33-19.

We wanted to focus on defense in the second half and we did just that. We pressed the opponents and prevented them from driving down the middle. As a result we converted many fastbreak points.We hit a few threes in the quarter as well.

In the fourth we fell back to a halfcourt press. We weren't able to trap well as the opposing players moved the ball very quickly and hit a few jumpshots. Our offense ran quite smoothly, hitting jumpshots and scoring on drives.

We have to work on our trapping the next game and communication on offense and defense. Sometimes players were confused and as a result led to the opponents scoring easy buckets.

RI 61 Catholic High 52

Match Report from Redsports

Report by Alex Loh
We knew we had to make a statement in today's game. We did. Before the match, we mentally prepared ourselves and focused on what we were going to do during the match.

At the start, we used our zone press and Catholic High turned the ball over a few times. When they managed to break the press and played against our man to man defense they were able to get a few layups. The quarter ended 15-8.

The second quarter was close with teams trading baskets, mostly layups and fastbreak points. Sometimes we weren't able to get back on defense fast enough and let them score a few easy points. Sim ended the quarter with a three.

During the third quarter we fell back to a man to man and played a halfcourt game. The pace of the game slowed down and the third quarter score was 12-17, with Sim scoring 6 points in the quarter.

The fourth period was quite crazy. We made a few mistakes and turnovers and allowed them to get back into the game. They started a full court press and we were nervous when they pressured us. Coach called a timeout to calm us down and Jordaan was clutch down the stretch, scoring 8 straight points in the final few minutes.

Today, we rebounded very well against a big team, with Lawrence getting a lot of rebounds. We maintained our concentration throughout the game and did not allow them to come back. We played hard nosed defense and that was why we won. This win is a confident booster for all of us and we will be ready for our next game.

B Div South Zone 2nd Round

B Div South Zone Tournament has kicked into high gear!

Group X
Catholic High (4-0, win-loss record)
Peirce (4-0)
Raffles Institution (5-0)
Gan Eng Seng (3-2)
Kent Ridge (3-2)

Group Y
Queensway (5-0)
Yuying (5-0)
Guangyang (3-1)
Fairfield Methodist (3-1)
Balestier Hill (3-2)

Fixtures for RI

• 5 Feb 1300hrs - Catholic High vs RI
• 8 Feb 1300hrs - RI vs Gan Eng Seng
• 10 Feb 1300hrs - RI vs Kent Ridge
• 17 Feb 1300hrs - Peirce vs RI

All games @ CCAB

RI 63 Balestier Hill 28

Short report by REDSports with nice pictures:

RI thrash Balestier Hill 63-28 to progress into B Div South Zone basketball second round

Report by Alex
We were surprised by the high intensity play by our opponents at the start of the game. They managed to break our press countless times and got easy layups. We definitely weren't prepared for this game. We finally managed to get a couple of steals and layups, and Justin ended the quarter with a three.

The second quarter was just as bad. We let them drive and get jumpshots over us. They still could break our press a couple of times and bad turnovers by us caused them to score easy buckets. Their center number 4 was a monster on the boards, getting countless rebounds. The half ended 30 17.

In the third, we shut them down with our full court man to man press and had many fastbreak points. Rarely did they have any attempted shots and they did not score in the third quarter.

Our opponents managed to get back in the fourth, by drawing fouls and hitting shots from the perimeter from number 6. Number 4 also had many second chance points. There were some calls that did not go our way and really affected our game. Players got angry and we had many rushed shots. The game ended 63-28.

Today, we learned that we have to ignore the referee and play our usual game. We have to play harder than our opponents and with more intensity. We werent able to do that today. Our post players, especially our centers have to work really hard over the course of the season. We gave away too many rebounds. The guards have to be more confident in their shooting abilities and not be afraid to take outside shots. Overall, not a pretty game but a good test for us and this game will definitely prepare us for tougher games to come.

RI 106 Peicai 24

We started off with our usual zone press and raced off to an early 30-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was more or less the same as Daniel scored a flurry of points.

In the third, we did a halfcourt zone press, forcing to take outside shots and work hard on the offensive end. They were worn out by the end of the third and started playing lazily. In the last quarter we changed our defense to a 3-2 and pressured the ball on the perimeter, forcing turnovers. We maintained our focus throughout this game and did not let the opponents get any easy chances. We must also learn to shoot more threes during a game as some are not confident in taking them. Other than that, a good game today and next up will be Balestier Hill Sec.

RI 79 BSS 23

We started the game with our usual zone press, getting a lot of steals and fastbreak points. This was one of the better teams overall and managed to break our press a couple of times. But they couldn't get any easy shots off against our half court man to man defense. The first quarter ended 25-2.
In the second, we continued pressing them and getting easy layups on the offensive end. They managed to score a few shots in their half court offense after we weren't able to get some defensive rebounds.

At the start of the second half we did a halfcourt zone press against them, managing to trap the players and getting steals. We took advantage of the weak ball handlers and got easy layups on the other end.
Again, in the fourth, we slowed down and started to play a half court game. We havent been able to hit threes the past few games and continued missing from long range, hitting only 3 threes in the game. We also let the opponents get a couple of offensive rebounds and were punished by second chance points. The final quarter score was 10-8.

We have to learn to control the boards and not allow teams to get second chance points. Also, we should improve on our half court shooting in the next game, especially three pointers. A good performance this game and let's get ready for our next game on Monday.

RI 91 ACS Barker 19

Before the second game of the season, we wanted to focus throughout the full 40 minutes during the match and concentrate on defense. As the game started, we forced a lot of turnovers and got many steals, leading to many fastbreak points by Jordaan and Justin. The opponents found it very difficult to break our press and didn't get any easy shots. We prevented any underbaskets and forced them to take contested outside shots. The first quarter ended 24-1, with ACS scoring from only one free throw. In the second quarter we did the exact same thing as we did in the first, forcing them to dribble along the sidelines and throw the ball away. Kudos to Sim who had 10 straight points in the quarter.
In the third, we continued pressing them. Jordaan scored 18 points the the quarter alone. Justin pressured the point guard and managed to trap the wing players a couple of times. Our press in the 3rd quarter worked well. The fourth quarter was not well played at all. Some players were being too safe in the zone press and fell back on defense instead of pressuring the ballhandler. Number 11 and 7 of ACS were on fire, scoring all 14 points for their team in the final quarter. Our zone was not as effective anymore as players started to get tired lazy. On offense, we lost focus and had many silly turnovers. Our half court offense was not running and we shot many contested threes and forced shots. The pace of the game was slowing down and we weren't getting any fastbreak points. The post players also had a couple of turnovers. The score in the 4th was 15-14.
We learnt from this game that we must fully focus throughout all 40 minutes of the game especially when we play against tougher opponents. The fourth quarter of this game proved that we still can't concentrate for the full game. Our underbaskets must improve as well as we missed a couple of easy ones in the paint. The half court offense also has to improve. Many players were confused as to which play to execute, leading to forced shots. Most importantly however, we CANNOT SLACK on defense. Every player on the court is important to the team defense. As our legs get tired we must not get sloppy on defense and offense.
It was a good game overall but we cannot be complacent as there will be tougher opponents to come.

Raffles vs Serangoon Gardens SS

Short report from Redsports

Report by Coach

RI beat Serangoon Gardens by 71-29.

It was a good and balanced game for RI as players performed consistently for the entire game, applying a full-court pressure to overcome the opponents. Serangoon Gardens performed admirably, specially notable was their extremely high field goal percentage. With the few shots they managed, they converted at an astonishing rate. If not for the high-pressure defense, the game may have turned out a much closer affair.

Despite missing 2 players down with injury and sickness, the RI 10-men brigade took turns to trap their opponents. Credit to SGSS, they never really collapsed under pressure. Beyond the occasional series of turnovers by their younger players, they actually improved in handling the press as the game progressed. Of course RI also took the chance to improve on our zone press as well.

• Justin Chua top scored with 23 points on 4 front court steals
• Lawrence poured in 13 points with put backs from rebounds and layups, 3 steals
• Jordaan scored 10 and looked good for continual improvement, 1 steal, 3 assists, 1 offensive rebound
• Brendan scored 8 points including 2x treys, 3 steals
• Bryan had 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists and 4 points - a good all-round contribution
• Greg had 7 rebounds and 3points
• Joel - 5 points, including 1x trey
• Daniel -2 points, 1 rebound
• Benedict - 4 points, 2 rebounds
• Yves - 2 points, 3 rebounds

Beyond the statistics, it was a good team effort!

Report by Alexander Loh

Today was the first match of our B Division season. We started the match with our 2-2-1 press and did so throughout the game. Soon, as our defensive intensity increased, the opposing team started committing many turnovers, which led to many fastbreak points for us. However, they managed to break our press a couple of times and had a few easy layups. We ended the first quarter up 17-6. In the second quarter we let up a little on transition defense by allowing players to just drive past us and not putting any ball pressure on them or sliding with them. Our half court offense was a little static, leading to many bad shots. The half ended 28-15. In the third quarter we started to pressure the ball even more, which caused them to throw the ball away . We ended up scoring a lot of points off turnovers thanks to the whole team defense. Everyone contributed to the defensive intensity and Justin finished with a lot of fast break points. In the fourth quarter we set up a 1-2-2 zone defense after the 2-2-1 press. We got confused at first as some players thought that it was a man to man defense, thus leading to easy buckets for the opposing team. We soon communicated with each other and clamped down on defense, forcing them to take outside shots and not allowing them to get points in the paint. Sim and Lawrence hit three pointers in the last quarter as well. The final score was 71-29. Overall, it was a satisfactory start to the season, but many things can be improved, such as court awareness and communication on offense as well as defense. Let’s all learn from our mistakes today and prepare for the next game.

2010 B Div: South Zone Tournament

The 2010 South Zone B Division Tournament has started. RI is a seeded team and here are the fixtures:

12 Jan 1315hrs - RI vs Serangoon Gardens Secondary School
18 Jan 1315hrs - RI vs ACS (Barker)
20 Jan 1545hrs - RI vs Bartley Secondary School
25 Jan 1200hrs - RI vs Peicai Secondary
27 Jan 1430hrs - RI vs Balestier Hills Secondary

All games @ CCAB

Raffles FTW!