National Schools A Division Championships Prelims- Guys Game 4 vs ACJC
- Report written by Huang Daran and edited by Mr
- Apr 25, 2016
- 2 min read
As our preliminary round comes to a close, pitting against Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) presented us with a new challenge - playing without 2 of our key players Justin and Vignesh due to their national team commitments abroad. Having gained momentum from our previous games and buoyed by our perfect 4-0 win-loss record thus far, we were ready to close off the opening round in style with yet another triumph. Or so we thought.
2 minutes into the game, we found ourselves in an unfamiliar predicament. After spending the most part of the season thus far playing with comfortable leads, we found ourselves down 2-4 after some calamitous defensive errors against our opponents, urging Coach to call a quick timeout, one he has not yet called the entire season. On the offensive end, our reliance on our aces clearly manifested itself in a toothless attack plagued by mild passes and passive plays.
Nevertheless, just as how champions play, our role players on the court successively regained their rhythm and began to impose their will in the game. Baskets subsequently followed, whilst ACJC kept it competitive on the other end. Though the quarter ended in our favour 16-10, the game was far from over as ACJC kept themselves in the game in the 2nd Quarter, going as close as narrowing their deficit to only 3 (16-19) in an attempt to tilt the game back in their favour.
Once again, our mettle and zeal were at full display in a pinch; in the toughest of times, we flipped our switch and clicked as a team when we were required to. A constant rotation of players brought fresh legs and eager minds to prove we were just as good even without a full squad in this game. Unfortunately for our opponents, this is also when we are at our most dangerous, as we blew the game apart with a domineering 19-4 run in the 3rd quarter, closing with a score of 51-21 at the end of the 3rd Quarter.
And the rest was as we now know - a 76-25 win in a much closer game than the scoreline would otherwise seem to suggest, as we were made to overcome our sluggish start in the opening period. Ultimately, this game gave all of us confidence as it was testament to our abilities and proved that we would be able to step up our game when most needed, in instances such as playing without a complete squad. This is definitely vital to our preparations for the impending Quarter-finals, where everyone has his respective role to play and will have to deliver in order to attain further victories which will have to be earned, not handed out to us.
Points by Quarter:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
RI 16 16 19 25
ACJC 10 7 4 4
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