Australian International School 48 – 46 RI

(I apologize for the delay in the posts as I was in boarding there's no internet then and this report was written on Tuesday.)

I believe, today’s game will be remembered in years to come. It’s a painful story but breathtakingly thrilling, and it was just like how we saw it in those NBA games, coaches calling timeout drawing a last-second play, the tense atmosphere and intensity screaming in our blood, with the clock winding down to the last second as the player fires a shot that sends the whole crowd erupting into victory. Everything happened exactly the way I just described the way it was.

Unfortunately, we weren’t the ones with the home court advantage.

We were sloppy right from the start, not making the right plays because we weren’t in the right state of mind. Ben salvaged us with two baskets but he was quickly removed from the game after receiving a nasty blow on his eye that took him out for the rest of the game. We were not ready at all and there was zero fast break ATTEMPTS, which was seen in bad defense throughout and not quickening our speed of the game. We ended the quarter up by one, 10-9.

Things took a spin for the worse in the second quarter, as since our starters were unable to produce, we had to dig into our reserves. However, perhaps maybe all of us were not focused during warm up, maybe it was due to the fact that it was the second game in two games and we were mentally tired, or maybe there was some inexplicable reason, none of us were said to be doing well. We had more airballs than made baskets, forcing passes to players with bad spacing, etc. Defensively we were not shuffling our feet enough and letting them having open looks from beyond the arc, not pressuring the ball handlers and what really really killed us was how we were getting murdered on the boards, many times where our opponents came in and collected the rebound simply and effortlessly, and second chance points simple follow suit. Our players were not passing enough, not reacting to situations and only following what coach told them to do and not thinking for themselves, which resulted in many mistakes that should be avoided, but instead doubled, or even tripled in the second quarter.

After a long half time break with our coaches, reprimanding us and seeing the double digit deficit on our scoreboard, this was where we woke up. Our floor general started dishing out great dimes to Alex and Yves, who carried the team load. Going into our 3-22, we went out and clawed our way back up slowly to only 3-5 points, trading baskets frequently with our opponents. We returned a layup of theirs with our own and the pace was finally carrying up plus our players had “woke up”, finally playing their best and at their peak. However, on defense we were still torn apart by number 30 and his excellent ability to attack the basket and finish at the rim. There were also just so many instances of us not communicating on simple pick and roll plays and that really messed up our hard work on the other end. A few of the bench players were either ill-conditioned and not focused, giving up easy rebounds and the not moving quick enough to keep up with our intensive traps, missing out on at least 6 steals.

Slowly and inexplicably, we entered the final quarter down by 4. With number 30 on the bench, we made a final onslaught on the bench players of AISS. We gritted our teeth, went in and fought so much that we exceeded our oxygen debt by dangerous levels, yet it was always those loose balls that came off the rim that always messed us up. After around 30 to 40 seconds of solid defense (there was no shot clock), our opponents crashed the boards and got yet another chance to lay siege to our tiring out defense. We put the nails in our coffins by jumping with their 6 footers and lacking the heart to just go in and use a bit more effort to secure those boards. Slowly, we got back up and we fouled their point guard with 18 seconds left to play. Their ballhandler missed his two chances at the charity stripe and with a deflection by AISS it was left with less than 5 seconds with the game to go.

It was all or nothing. With 4.92 seconds left on the clock and down by two, coach drew a play that all of us were familiar with. It had everything we needed to execute, all 4 players on the court having an offensive option that could easily be available for an open shot to send the game to overtime. Excitement was getting high, and all of us anticipated with bated breath for the finale of this game.

Yet, this was when everything went wrong.

We have always emphasized on discipline, but our bad habits of constantly taking a few more seconds to get into the court, just that two seconds of ill-discipline of drinking water and entering the court a tad late. Two seconds ago, our center was wide open with the defenders still figuring out their positions, confused and unsure. Yet, those two crucial seconds caused the defenders to take away our defensive option. We still had three more options, but it was because of a simple yet almost stupid reason which caused the entire play to fail.

Our players were unsure of what to do.

With our center option gone, panic set in and Bao Kun inbounded to Alex poorly with his defender swarming all over him. Out of position and without time left, he had to force a three leaning into the defender. All of us got up as we saw the ball sail out of bounds, and that was when the realization that we have lost our first game in the tournament set in as we congratulated our opponents.

During the entire game, we had little options to turn to on the bench and even the starters were performing poorly. Everyone has to understand that you may be called upon anytime during the game. Whether you start or you take a backseat, you should be prepared to deliver and RECTIFY the mistakes someone else is making out there. We lost the game today not because of anyone’s individual fault or our shots not falling, but our evident lack of focus, effort and heart was outrageous and astonishing. This may just one small game in preseason, but what if in the future, in a big game when nobody is ready? We will falter because it is actually our bench production that is critical and crucial to success of the game. Any team’s starting 5 could be matched comparatively but without solid backups, or at least mentally ready players always available to be called upon, we will always be struggling and find outselves at the losing end. On the other hand, rebounding is an effort stat, and with today’s lack of concentration and desire to chase after every lose ball, it is needless to say where we have failed. If we haven’t been playing catch up from the start, we wouldn’t have to fight so hard to make it a close game.

This would probably be our most exciting match since our narrow win over Catholic High a year back in South Zone and the deciding game in the second round of South Zone in 2007. Games like this are hard to find and whether we win or lose, it’s a great experience to take away, because I believe with today’s game, many of us will wake up and understand the rationale behind simple actions in training, and our motivation and drive would increase exponentially. Take a good break, and let’s be prepared to improve our training intensity tenfold on Thursday, playing the game we all love.

MVPs:

(RI)

Alexander Loh

(AISS)

No. 30

RI 50 – 22 SJI (International)

The match was played at CCAB indoor courts, 3.30pm. After weeks of horrifying, petrifying and terrifying weeks of suffering during the end of year exams, we wanted to pick up back to our normal form so that we were able to perform to our normal standards. Before the game, our coach also introduced a new play and plans that he wanted to see, and it is with great pleasure, that we were able to execute decently.

In the first quarter, we started off with our usual zone defense, also trying to push the pace of the game by running the breaks and aiming to get the momentum to swing in our favour. Initially, things were not going our way as it’s been a long time since we’ve played a game and we could be said to be “rusty”, not performing at the start of the game and making quite a few mistakes. Fortunately, we adjusted to the pace and intensity we wanted to achieve and we were rewarded with easy finishes, including a great and-one by Alex to end the quarter.

Second quarter, we were lower on scoring, but managed to get a good production by our post players who managed to get a few points, before we went into a 3-22. There were god attempts on getting the ball out of the post to the forward cutting in but to our dismay, we were marred by poor finishing and with a couple of missed putbacks here and there, we could not push the score line to double digits and we ended the first half 12-21 in our favour.

The second half, we continued with our zone press attack, and we run the play we practiced before the game so successfully our guard knocked down the three beautifully wide open. Our point guard also did us proud by adding in two points at the charity stripe and another three later on, followed by a punishing fast paced game, including a spectacular weak-side block by the Rain man over their 6’1” center. However, we were unorganized and sloppy in our half-court attack, often leading to wild shots and turnovers that if not for our hustle and luck, it would have cost us dearly. Fourth quarter we continued in a great run to the end, though our opponents have already adjusted and found counter tactics to our defense and were picking us apart. If it’s not for last minute contested shots, plus that our opponents were already worn out and not finishing strong, it would have been devastating for us, and we ended the game 50-22.

Today’s opponents were not say the most skillful we have played, but they were tall and strong and all of us hopefully have learnt a thing or two about going up against bigger guys in the future. Also, we want to play a fast octane style of basketball, which not only would mean intense conditioning, and also a deep bench who are able to finish with confidence and with poise. We could definitely work on our offense in the open court and we need to keep the spacing between our players better, because during a fast break the offense usually outnumbers the defense, and therefore creating confusion, striking doubt and the threat of easy baskets can only come when the defense does not know how to defense let’s say two players at the same time. Good job to Alex for his improving speed and Chun Cheong for his great finishing in traffic despite many uncalled fouls, and let’s reflect on our mistakes and improve for tomorrow’s game against the Aussies.

MVPs:

(RI)

AlexThe match was played at CCAB indoor courts, 3.30pm. After weeks of horrifying, petrifying and terrifying weeks of suffering during the end of year exams, we wanted to pick up back to our normal form so that we were able to perform to our normal standards. Before the game, our coach also introduced a new play and plans that he wanted to see, and it is with great pleasure, that we were able to execute decently.

In the first quarter, we started off with our usual zone defense, also trying to push the pace of the game by running the breaks and aiming to get the momentum to swing in our favour. Initially, things were not going our way as it’s been a long time since we’ve played a game and we could be said to be “rusty”, not performing at the start of the game and making quite a few mistakes. Fortunately, we adjusted to the pace and intensity we wanted to achieve and we were rewarded with easy finishes, including a great and-one by Alex to end the quarter.

Second quarter, we were lower on scoring, but managed to get a good production by our post players who managed to get a few points, before we went into a 3-22. There were god attempts on getting the ball out of the post to the forward cutting in but to our dismay, we were marred by poor finishing and with a couple of missed putbacks here and there, we could not push the score line to double digits and we ended the first half 12-21 in our favour.

The second half, we continued with our zone press attack, and we run the play we practiced before the game so successfully our guard knocked down the three beautifully wide open. Our point guard also did us proud by adding in two points at the charity stripe and another three later on, followed by a punishing fast paced game, including a spectacular weak-side block by the Rain man over their 6’1” center. However, we were unorganized and sloppy in our half-court attack, often leading to wild shots and turnovers that if not for our hustle and luck, it would have cost us dearly. Fourth quarter we continued in a great run to the end, though our opponents have already adjusted and found counter tactics to our defense and were picking us apart. If it’s not for last minute contested shots, plus that our opponents were already worn out and not finishing strong, it would have been devastating for us, and we ended the game 50-22.

Today’s opponents were not say the most skillful we have played, but they were tall and strong and all of us hopefully have learnt a thing or two about going up against bigger guys in the future. Also, we want to play a fast octane style of basketball, which not only would mean intense conditioning, and also a deep bench who are able to finish with confidence and with poise. We could definitely work on our offense in the open court and we need to keep the spacing between our players better, because during a fast break the offense usually outnumbers the defense, and therefore creating confusion, striking doubt and the threat of easy baskets can only come when the defense does not know how to defense let’s say two players at the same time. Good job to Alex for his improving speed and Chun Cheong for his great finishing in traffic despite many uncalled fouls, and let’s reflect on our mistakes and improve for tomorrow’s game against the Aussies.

MVPs:

(RI)

Alex

Chun Cheong

(SJI (International) )

Hinardi

Chun Cheong

(SJI (International) )

Hinardi

RI 60-30 Presbyterian High School

As this was the last match before our upcoming EOYS, we wanted to play well and give it our all. We were also not playing against their main B division team, but coach told us to still play our hardest.

Things didn't go as planned.

Right from the start, we struggled a little, especially with one of our forwards missing consecutive rebounds and making mistakes. We weren't hitting our shots and one of our players was 0 for 4 beyond the arc, with only a few baskets by our posts that salvaged the situation. The second quarter we rotated a bit more and changed to a 1-11 and came up with more ball pressure, trying to force turnovers from their inexperienced players. Sadly, one of our wings was too pre-occupied guarding his own man and did not take the ball when it rolled past him. Also, one of our post players kept losing his man and did not apply pressure denying his man, which could say wasted the efforts of our perimeter players. There were numerous times when we were running the break we did not finish properly and we did not take full advantage of our chances at the charity stripe. We ended 7-20.

Second half we came out with a 3-22 and that stretched the scoreline a lot. We came up with a lot of good traps and steals that led to easy fast break points and we were disruptive. However, there were times where we couldn't trap properly and they broke through our traps and had easily layups on the other end. Also, most of us were not playing with the right mindset and coach had to keep most of the players on the court and with no ensuing substitutions, the players were worn out and it became more evident as the game progressed to the end, where we ended 30-60.

Today's game is the last game till our examinations are over. Probably because of term 4 DMP modules and exams most of us were distracted and could not focus consistently throughout the game. We also have to work on our fast break 2-1 opportunities which we did after the game. Also, we shouldn't get overconfident that we played well today because today's team was not PHS b division team, and that team would be much tougher. Take a good break, maintain your fitness, and hit the books and notes till October 18th.

MVPs:
RI

Chun cheong

Bryan

PHS:

Brendi

RI 87 Greenview 48

In this game, we missed too many layups on the break and did not take care of the ball well. Also, our defensive rebounding has to improve as we let them have quite a few offensive rebounds. However, on a more positive note, we managed to get a lot of offensive rebounds ourselves. From this, we scored many second chance points. Our zone press worked quite well but there is still room for improvement. We let them have a couple of open layups during our press.

Every player must learn to run the fast break. We cannot just stand and watch one of our teammates go on a one on three fastbreak by himself. The trailers must be present at all times during a fast break. Finally, we cannot afford to miss that many layups during a match. The missed layups cost us at least 20 points in the game. Fortunately the game wasn't a close one, but this will definitely affect us when we play against better teams.

MVPs
Greenview: John Ng, Mark Ng

Ri: Alex Loh, Bryan Chng

RI 52 CHS 45

We started the game off with a three courtesy of Mark. WE played a zone defense but we let them get quite a few offensive rebounds. On offense, we wanted to get the ball to the high post in order to break down their zone defense.
Our finishing was quite poor as we missed numerous chances on the break.
As the game wore on, players started to get breathless and we slowed down the pace. Cat high managed to get a few threes and they came within 4 at one point.
We have to improve on our game on monday. We let our opponents get too many rebounds and we have to learn to box out well. Our halfcourt offense has to be sharper and we have to move the ball around the court quicker.

CHS MVP: Vincent, Yang Ming

RI MVP: Bao Kun, Mark

ACSIS U16: RI 70-23 Overseas Family School

Coming in from a decent performance on Monday, we were determined to do better and further improve on our attack and work on our defense. Despite the scoreline today, it is no reflection of our improvements and our execution.

We exploded right from the start, with our centers just dominating the inside well and defensively, our point guard did a very good defensive job of pressurizing the OFS perimeter players, who were weak in ball handling, coming up with a bunch of beautiful steals that led to easy baskets on the other end, with our wings pushing the pace. However, execution wise we were not perfect, we only had our chances because of the lack of post defenders on our centers.

For the next three quarters, we ran our break well and we went into a 3-22. Despite forcing many turnovers, we realised that it was not because of good defense, but because that our opponents was a raw team and had poor ball handling skills, not because of our excellent defense and whatsoever. There were even times, where we got into a perfect trap position but the other defenders just ball-watched and did not move, wasting the efforts of the team. On offense, we slowed down our pace and though we still manage to get baskets here and there, we were not working well as a unit, only doing the very basics of passing without running any of our set plays. We had fine outside shots from Bao Kun and two threes from Yao Zhong that widened the lead and our posts had our momentum going on. We ended the game 23-70.

Today's game scoreline really does not show our performance. Though we had a few things going here left and right, we are still not working together AS A TEAM, and today we relied a lot on individual skills against weaker defenders to create the blowout scoreline. That is unacceptable. Playing against opponents without their star shooter and them weak in fundamentals, we have to fine tune and perfect our game, and we can only do that if all of us aim high for perfection, only then will our team efforts fall into place. Have a good rest, and brace yourselves for a match with our friends at the other side of Bishan tomorrow.

MVPs:

(RI)

Yves

Bao Kun

(OFS)

Nick

ISIBL U16 RI 44-31 United World College

Today starts of the day of our U16 ISIBL tournament!

After coming in and warming up, we readied for a physical game and coach went through our plays before emphasizing the importance of defense again, and putting in the sec 2s to start the tournament.

Our offense sparked off right from the very start, where Mark knocked down a three in our very first play. We played aggressively from defense and gave UWC a hard time. On the offensive end, we were flowing from beyond the arc. With the combined efforts of Mark, Chun Cheong and Bao Kun, we had 5 threes already in the very first quarter! We pulled ahead quickly and furiously and ended 8-18, with Bao Kun sealing his free throw after a nasty foul. However, our full-court trap failed as we let one of their players have an attempt to go for the layup with 3 seconds left on the clock.

In the second and third quarter , we rotated more of the team into play. However, not only did we let them grab the rebounds over our heads, there were some long rebounds that we could have taken and we allowed the UWC players to hustle and throw it back into the court to continue running their plays. On defense however, Yao Zhong and Bao Kun did us proud by constantly harassing the UWC point guards, coming up with about 3 steals and always deflecting the ball and upsetting the UWC play. Unfortunately, we slowed down on the offensive end and rushed more and more into our attack, spamming incessantly and unnecessarily.

The last quarter, we calmed down and executed more and more. There were times where we could have done better but it was still okay.

Today for the first game of the tournament, most of us sec 3s were out of competitive basketball for too long and we did not take enough shots and/or set ourselves up properly. As seniors of the team we have to contribute more on that. On defense, today we learnt that 2 seconds of lethargy can ruin a whole near 24 seconds worth of defensive efforts, so BOX OUT, hustle for those loose balls, and we can move on to offense because rebounds win championships.

(RI):

Bao Kun

Yao Zhong

(UWC):

no. 18