RI 46 - 48 Dunman Sec

This was the final chance for us to qualify for the semi-finals. To achieve that, we had to win by more than 10 points. Even though some might have thought that it was a seemingly impossible task, we were confident of achieving it.

Despite having our starting power forward out for the game due to an injured shoulder, our bench stepped up their game and contributed significantly. Our objective for the game was to get the defensive rebounds while preventing the opponents from getting the offensive rebounds, and to run as many fast breaks as possible. Although we were down by 9 points at the end of the first quarter, our spirits were not dampened. We continued to fight, and executed a full court press on them, which proved rather successful.

However, the turning point came at the start of the fourth quarter. At around the 7 minutes mark of that quarter, we hit two consecutive 3 pointers, cutting the lead to 4. This was followed by a well contested mid range jumper which still managed to fall and a foul and 1 under-basket shot. Then, the score was tied 46-46. The opponents had a chance to take the lead but we played excellent half court defense, forcing their forward to take a tough mid range jumper which did not fall. After getting the rebound, our point guard attempted a fast break and got fouled in the process, hence getting to shoot 2 free throws to take the lead, and perhaps the game too.

However, during the time out, the team agreed in unison that we were not contented to just get the win. We wanted to win by ten and move on to the semi finals. In order to do that, we had to force an overtime. Therefore, with 7.8 seconds left on the clock, he intentionally missed the two free throws. Unfortunately, we did not secure the rebound, and allowed a fast break by the opponents. Left without any other choices, we fouled him and prayed that he would miss both the free throws. To our utmost dismay, he made both. Left with 2.4 seconds, there was little that we could do other than to try our luck on a full court shot. It did not fall, and we loss the game 48 to 46.

Despite the lost, our fighting spirit remain high. Given the chance to take the game, we chose not to because we were not satisfied with a win. Perhaps some might consider this as a silly move on our part. However to me, this was the best decision the team has made for the season.

Scoring by quarter:

1st Quarter--RI 7 DS 16

2nd Quarter--RI 11 DS 12

3rd Quarter--RI 10 DS 13

4th Quarter--RI 18 DS 7

RI 'B' Division 2011

SOUTH ZONE CHAMPIONS! NATIONALS TOP 8!

RI 46 - 39 Yishun Secondary

After a disappointing loss yesterday, we were determine to play much better this game. Instead of playing a zone defense, we went back to our usual man to man defense, and it proved rather effective. We managed to secure most of the defensive rebounds and our offense was quite smooth in the first half. This was despite having our starting centre, bryan, out from an ankle injured he suffered yesterday

At the start of the third quarter, a very unfortunate accident occurred; our starting power forward, Chun Cheong, dislocated his shoulder joint while fighting for the offensive rebound. It seem serious enough that paramedics had to be called in. Here's wishing Chun Cheong a speedy recovery.

Back to the game, with the loss of our power forward, we also loss our momentum. On the other hand, the opponents were slowly getting their confidence in their offense. Our 15 points lead at 1 point in the second quarter was cut down to 1 at the end of the third. Nevertheless, we kept our morale high, and managed to get the win.

We still have a day to prepare for Dunman Sec. Hopefully we will be able to defeat them and move on to the semi final, reaching our goal for the season.

Impossible is Nothing.

1st Quarter--RI 18 YS 9

2nd Quarter--RI 7 YS 7

3rd Quarter--RI 9 YS 17

4th Quarter--RI 12 YS 6

RI 41 - 56 Jurong Sec

The first loss of our season... :(

We attempted a different defense and offense against Jurong Sec; going to the 3-2 zone and adding a baseline cut for the wings. The purpose of the 3-2 zone was to prevent their drives by providing lots of help defense. However, there was a few problems when we executed this defense. Firstly, with our starting centre, Bryan, spraining his ankle in the second quarter, our bigs were no longer that big. We allowed their centre, #15, to have his way in the paint; getting countless number of offensive rebounds. Secondly, Jurong manage to knock down a couple of 3 pointers, to our dismay.

Perhaps it was because Jurong was more prepared than us, or perhaps it was because we were just not energetic enough. Nevertheless, our defense was "the worst in the season" (as quoted from Coach Lim), and we did not score a single point in the third quarter.

Hopefully we will still be able to proceed to the semi finals despite this lose. That we can't control. What we can control is to win the next game tomorrow against Yishun Sec by more than 15 points.

1st Quarter--RI 15 JS 18

2nd Quarter--RI 13 JS 13

3rd Quarter--RI 0 JS 9

4th Quarter--RI 13 JS 16

RI 40 - 30 North Vista

This was crucial match of the first round. Even though we won the first two games, this did not guarantee us a place in the second round.

Before the start of the game, we could clearly see the size difference between us. We were clearly the underdog. However, this did not distract us from the task ahead; to full court press them for all four quarters. Like the previous game against New Town, the opponents were exhausted by the third quarter and were clearly less active on the boards and had less fast breaks. However, we too were exhausted and caused our offense to dry up. In fact, we only scored 7 points in the third quarter.

However, we held on to the lead, and by the last 2 minutes of regulation, we were up by 4 points. Sensing a defeat, the opponents changed their strategy and started fouling us intentionally. However, we converted on the 2 free throws, going 6 for 8 at the line. Furthermore, we managed to grab the crucial offensive and defensive rebounds in the last few minutes, sealing the victory for RI.

With this win, we will progress to the Top 8 of the Nationals. Our next game will be on 18 March.

1st Quarter--RI 14 NV 11

2nd Quarter--RI 5 NV 8

3rd Quarter--RI 7 NV 7

4th Quarter--RI 14 NV 4

Redsport's match report for this game here.

RI 46 - 45 New Town Secondary

This was the second game of the Nationals, and we played well. The objective for us this game was to tire our opponents, so as to get easy points in the second half. However, in the first half, we were allowing the opponents to get many offensive rebounds and fast breaks (This due to our poor help defense). On the other hand, we were not getting many fast breaks or offensive rebounds.

Things changed in the second half. Our opponents started to become exhausted, and did not play as good a defense as the first half. We managed to grab a couple of offensive rebounds and fast break, and also stopped their star player from scoring as much. Nevertheless, we were exhausted ourselves, and took quite a few low percentage shots.

The next game against North Vista is a do or die match; either we win them and proceed to the second round, or lose by more than 1 points and be eliminated from the competition. Hence, we have to play even harder than we did today, and get closer to our goal of the top 4.

1st Quarter--RI 11 New Town 12

2nd Quarter--RI 6 New Town 11

3rd Quarter--RI 15 New Town 12

4th Quarter--RI 14 New Town 10

RI 52 - 34 Tampines Secondary

(Scoresheet unavailable)

This was the first game of the Nationals. Fortunately, this was the easiest game of the first round.

We outscored the opponent in the first and second quarter with a numerous 3 pointers and managed to collect quite a number of offensive rebounds too. In the third quarter, the opponents tried to make a comeback mainly through the post. He had many running hook shots that he converted. Furthermore, we also had poor help defense, and allowed their wings to cut to the basket from half court. In the fourth quarter, we were exhausted as we had been playing a full court man to man defense for the past 3 quarters, and attempted many low percentage shots. However, the opponents were also tired, as seen from their reduced number of fast breaks. In the end, we managed to outlast the opponent and get the win.

Even though we won this game, we must definitely go back and prepare even harder because we know that the next 2 matches against North Vista and New Town is not going to be easy.

B Div South Zone Finals

One word: Champions!

Enough said.

Check out Redsport game story for today's match here

RI 73 - 64 Pei Cai Secondary

This was the semi-final match of the South Zone Basketball Competition.

As we had played against the Pei Cai Sec 3 starters a couple of times last year, we were prepared for them. Coming into the game, we were focused on getting the win. Throughout the game, we were slowly stretching our lead. By the end of the third quarter, we were up by 18 points.

In the fourth quarter, the opponents used a full court press against us. We were quite rushed on certain offence, and turn the ball over. The opponent also started knocking down their shot, with 4 of their 6 3-pointers coming in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, with our 9 3-pointers in the game, we managed to get the win.

A point to note is that throughout the game, we were always in the penalty, having committed a total of 20 fouls. This is worrying because we allowed the opponents to go to the free throw line on countless occasion, giving them a chance to come back into the game.

Our next game will be on Wednesday against Gan Eng Seng. A team we are quite familiar with, having played about 3 friendly matches with them in the December holidays.

Let’s get the win next Wednesday and become the B’ Div South Zone Champions!

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 17 Pei Cai 12

2nd Quarter -- RI 20 Pei Cai 12

3rd Quarter -- RI 18 Pei Cai 13

4th Quarter -- RI 18 Pei Cai 27

Comment from Coach

It was a good game. You guys responded well to a resilient Peicai team. When they refused to give up, you responded calmly by making use of every opportunity and hitting clutch shots. Every fight-back was matched with a counter-blow.

A strong mentality will be the key to winning your first B Div South Zone title in many years. Let's go for it!

RI 51 - 31 Catholic High

This was the last game in the second round of the SZ basketball final.

We started off well, getting a couple of offensive rebounds. In the
second quarter, Cat High replace all their starters with their bench.
Even though we outscored then 19 to 2, it could have been more as we
did not look for our posts as often as we should.

In the third quarter, the opponent used a full court press against us.
We managed to break through it but still had a few unnecessary
turnovers.

After a decent 3 quarters, our 4th quarter was a disgrace.like our
previous game,we were overconfident of the imminent win and did not
play our best basketball. We lost the quarter 13 to 10.

We must definitely play good basketball all four quarters because that
is what it takes to win in the nationals. Our next game will be next
Monday against Pei Cai Secondary at CCAB.


Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 10 Cat High 8

2nd Quarter -- RI 19 Cat High 2

3rd Quarter -- RI 12 Cat High 8

4th Quarter -- RI 10 Cat High 13

RI 56-40 Queensway Sec

This was our third game in the second round of SZ B’ Div Bball competition.

We started the game off very strongly, taking a 17-point lead at the end of the first quarter. We did not allow the opponents to run their offense even once by forcing them to dribble with their left hand, their weaker hand.

In the second quarter onwards, the opponents used a full court press on us. Even though we had prepared for this, we still turned the ball over many times. This was probably because after our first quarter blowout on the opponent, we had the winning-mentality and could not focus on the game.

A learning point from this game is that in the nationals, if we want to win a game, we have to focus on playing good basketball for all four quarters.

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 19 Queensway Sec 2

2nd Quarter -- RI 16 Queensway Sec 14

3rd Quarter -- RI 14 Queensway Sec 12

4th Quarter -- RI 7 Queensway Sec 12

RI 50 - 32 Kent Ridge Sec

This was the second game is the second round of SZ B’ Div Bball Competition.

At the start of the game, we were not ready for the opponent’s 1-3-1 zone defense. We did not pass the ball well pressured, and allowed their double team to force turnovers from us. On the defensive end, we played a full court man-to-man defense. However, we allowed the opponents to easily cross the half court line.

We had a slow start to the game. Even when we got familiarize to the opponents defense, we were missing easy lay ups, and also allowed their Centre to go to the free throw line frequently.

Even though this was not one of our best games, we still managed to get the win. We will be facing Queensway Secondary School, a much tougher opponent, on Wednesday. To win, we definitely got to step up our game.

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 19 Kent Ridge 5

2nd Quarter -- RI 6 Kent Ridge 10

3rd Quarter -- RI 12 Kent Ridge 7

4th Quarter -- RI 13 Kent Ridge 10

B' Div SZ Second Round Fixtures

Date	Time	Venue	Court	Jersey	Opponent
09-02-11	1300hr	CCAB	A	White	NJC
14-02-11	1300hr	CCAB	A	Green	Kent Ridge Sec
16-02-11	1300hr	CCAB	B	White	Queensway Sec
18-02-11	1300hr	CCAB	B	Green	Catholic High

RI 93 - 30 NJC

This was the first game in second round of the B’ div South Zone Basketball Competition.

The objective of today’s game was to be solid defense throughout the whole game and prevent offensive rebounds from the opponents. Throughout the game, we managed to put constant pressure on the opponents and forced many turnovers from them. However, we still allowed them to get a couple of offensive rebounds. Nevertheless, it was a good win.

Next week will be a grueling week with 3 of our 4 games being played then. We definitely have to be focus on the task ahead and play our best basketball. Let’s be the first B’ div basketball team of RI to be South Zone Champions!

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 20 NJC 4

2nd Quarter -- RI 25 NJC 9

3rd Quarter -- RI 22 NJC 4

4th Quarter -- RI 26 NJC 13

RI 76 - 26 ACS (International)

This was the final game for Round 1 of the South Zone Basketball Competition.

With good defense in the first quarter, we managed to force a number of turnovers from the opponent and also limited them to 2 points.

With a strong opening quarter, the next three quarter was rather smooth sailing for us. We started using our full court press on the opponents in the third quarter. Some errors appeared while we were pressuring the opponents. For example, after our 2 players trapped the opponents, the other 3 did not shut out the dribble’s passing lane, allowing easy passes to be made.

Furthermore, like the other 2 games, we were in foul trouble in all 4 quarters. This was due to unnecessary fouls that we committed. Hopefully in the second round, where the teams are going to be much stronger, we will not give away unnecessary fouls that might even cause us to lose the game.

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 20 ACS (Int) 2

2nd Quarter -- RI 20 ACS (Int) 7

3rd Quarter -- RI 14 ACS (Int) 9

4th Quarter -- RI 22 ACS (Int) 8

RI 89 - 27 First Toa Payoh Sec

This game was much better than the previous one as we maintained the intensity throughout the game. However, there are still a few points to take note:

In the fourth quarter, the opponents started to knock down their jump shots. Perhaps, we should have up our defense intensity so as to put more pressure on the opponents while they are taking their shot. Getting the defense technically correct is insufficient.

Furthermore, we missed a couple of lay ups throughout the game. If we had made them all, our score would have been 109 and not 89. Lay ups and under-basket shots are high percentage shots and thus we should not miss them.

Lastly, we were in the penalty in all 4 quarters. We were making unnecessary fouls throughout the game. For example, when the opponent was going for a contested jump shot, our player touch the opponent’s shooting arm and got a foul. We should definitely be more careful and not make unnecessary fouls in the future.

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 22 First Toa Payoh Sec 4

2nd Quarter -- RI 21 First Toa Payoh Sec 7

3rd Quarter -- RI 29 First Toa Payoh Sec 6

4th Quarter -- RI 17 First Toa Payoh Sec 10

RI 52 - 22 Outram Sec

Our second game in the B Div’ South Zone Basketball Competition!

We started the game greater getting many fast breaks and easy baskets. Perhaps, it was because we were so confident of the win that we did not put in our all in the next few quarters. We committed many turnovers and did not make the easy shots such as our under baskets.

Zig Ziglar once said,” Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is.” Even though we won this game by 30 points, it was not a good win because we did not gain much from this game. Hopefully, we will play better the next game.

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 17 Outram Sec 4

2nd Quarter -- RI 7 Outram Sec 6

3rd Quarter -- RI 21 Outram Sec 7

4th Quarter -- RI 7 Outram Sec 5

RI 56 - 39 Fairfield Methodist

This was the first game of our B Division Basketball South Zone Competition.

The first half was well played. On defense, we allowed a number of fast-break points. We also allowed a few offensive rebounds because we did not box out all their players. On offense, we were not settled, and took a few rushed shots, even though there was no shot clock. We were down 20 to 24 at the end of the half.

In the third quarter, we switched from a man-to-man defense to a full court press. This proved very effective as we managed to force many turnovers from them. By the end of the third quarter, we were leading by 8 points.

We maintain the level of play in the fourth quarter, and we managed to get our first win in this tournament.

We would like to thank Si Yuan, Mr Quek, Mr Azmy, Mr Sarkkunan and everyone else who came down to support us today.

Scoring by quarters:

1st Quarter -- RI 13 Fairfield Methodist 14

2nd Quarter -- RI 7 Fairfield Methodist 10

3rd Quarter -- RI 21 Fairfield Methodist 9

4th Quarter -- RI 6 Fairfield Methodist 15

B Division SZ Fixtures

13 Jan(Thurs) 12pm Court B
Fairfield vs RI

17th Jan Monday 1.15pm Court A
RI vs Outram Sec

21st Jan Fri 230pm Court B
First Toa Payoh vs RI

25th Jan Tues 3.45pm Court A
RI vs ACS(Intl)

D.T.F.W lets goooooo