National Schools A Division Championships- Guys QF Game 3 vs Anderson Junior College
- Report written by Huang Daran and edited by Mr
- May 9, 2016
- 2 min read
The final game of our Quarterfinals group stage was a top-of-the-group clash between us and Anderson Junior College, both legitimate contenders for this year’s championship title. A familiar opponent whom we have faced over the past few years in Semifinals or 3rd/4th Placing matches.
Two unbeaten records. Only one top spot to face the lower seed from the other group in the impending Semifinals. The stakes were high, perhaps to an even greater extent than the unpredictability of a game that could go both ways considering how we barely edged out AJC by the slimmest of margins in our last friendly meetup just a month ago.
Right from the off, AJC attacked aggressively and seized all opportune moments to score as we started shakily, quickly jumping to a 7-2 lead. Fortunately, our players steadily regained their composure and rhythm throughout the course of the opening quarter, getting ourselves back into the game and answering back with points off fast breaks and free throws. The 1st quarter then concluded 10-9 in their favour, further building up tension amidst the spectator stands.
The 2nd quarter was when we slowly began to pull away from our opponent. Coach was adroit in tweaking our offense to capitalize on our height advantage over the opponent players especially their point guard, resulting in turmoil for the opponents on the defensive end as they struggled to respond to such an adjustment. Our offense mercilessly took this chance to change the game, maximising the mismatch in their man to man defense, ending the first half 23-19 with a slender 4pt lead.
After the intermission, AJC proved their status as a fierce title contender by refusing to yield despite the fact that we were at our peak in the game having gained momentum from the first half. They adamantly matched us point for point in the 3rd quarter, but one thing remained irrefutable; with a 34-27 lead but only 10 minutes more to play, we had a firm upper hand over our unwavering opponents.
Perhaps this was what culminated in an eventual collapse on our opponents’ part, as they finally crumbled in the 4th quarter, running out of steam whilst we sent wave after wave of attacks and full-court press defensive sets after their worn out players. In this game, our tenacity outlasted theirs, and so did our unbeaten streak afterwards. A 53-33 victory against a fellow contender who had been by no means pushovers was definitely a spirit-lifting one that would definitely stay in our minds as we turned our heads around to monitor the situation at the adjacent court, where our would-be Semi-finalists PJC and NYJC were having a titanic clash of their own.
Points by Quarter:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
RI 9 14 11 19
AJC 10 9 8 6
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