This is our last friendly match before our season which starts on 26th March. We played this team once during the December holidays. It was a close match, but we emerged victorious. This time, we wanted to see how much we have improved since then.
We knew that Pres High had a very good forward. Coach knew that too, and he made one us guard him whenever he was in court. This was to prevent him from even getting hold of the ball.
In the first quarter, we succeeded in stopping him. He did not manage to score a single point, and even had a travelling violation called against him. On the offensive end, we had numerous fast breaks which we converted. However, we did not have a fix set play. Coach did not want us to stick to a set play. He felt that we needed to have changes and react to the opponent’s defense. Our play was generally easy to run. The low post asked for the ball at the short corner while the high post would screen for the point guard or cut to the basket. Nonetheless, we executed the play rather well. However, our post missed quite a few easy shots as they were ‘too rushed’ (as quoted by coach).
In the second quarter, the opponents devised a play to free their star forward. The post nearest to him would go up and do a back door screen, while he would cut all the way to the other side court. On varies occasion, our post did not warn our forward of the screen. As our forward’s back was facing the opponent’s post, he was not aware of the screen. When the star forward cut, our forward was caught off guard and had no time to react. Furthermore, due to lack of miscommunication, we did not know whether to switch or not. Even when the opponent forward had already reached the other side of the court, we were still confused. On varies occasion, both our players would follow the forward leaving the opponent’s post unguarded.
On offense, we still had a few fast breaks and our play was still the same. However, the opponent’s defense changed from a man to man to a zone defense. When our post got hold of the ball at the short corner, their post would stand about 1 meter away. Furthermore, their forward would drop back and provide help. This defense was effective in preventing our post from driving to the basket. We took a few shots and together with our fast breaks, we led by 1 point.
In the third quarter, we were rather slow on defense and the opponents could get a few fast breaks of their own. Furthermore, our two guards who was the fastest back on defense did not communicate well enough. For example, when they saw two opponents already back and waiting to get a fast break, they were confused of who to take because they were not the original man that they were suppose to defend. Some time, both our guards would defend one of the opponents, leaving the other unguarded and ready for an easy two. Still, we managed to get a few rejects and quite a few steals. The steals mostly came from our point guard. However, there was times when he was also ‘too rushed’. When he stole the ball, he dribbled to the 3 point arc and took a shot. Unfortunately, he missed, and our post was not ready to get the rebound.
With about 2 minutes left to the end of the third quarter, it started raining. We decided not to continue playing and the final score was a tie, 39-39. Nonetheless, we definitely showed a significant improvement compared to our previous game with Pres High. Our offense was a lot more organized than before. Now all we can do is get ready for the upcoming South Zone Basketball Competition!
