School sports: Raffles Institution and Anderson Junior College win A Division basketball titles

A div boy's basketball final between Hwa Chong Institution and Anderson Junior College. PHOTO: ST FILE

Singapore - The Schools National A Division basketball championships concluded on Friday (May 26) with Raffles Institution (RI) and Anderson Junior College (AJC) winning the titles in the girls and boys categories respectively.

RI faced off against Dunman High School (DHS) in the girls' final while AJC played against Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) at Jurong East Sports Hall.

In the girls' final, RI led 12-4 after the first quarter, with captain Choo Jie Ying leading the charge with her aggression in the paint. Offensive rebounds and second chance points were the story of the half, with RI taking a 30-17 lead into half time.

After the restart, DHS came storming back, cutting the lead down to single digit midway through the third quarter. However, RI responded by netting 18 points without reply, extending the lead to 54-30. Eventually, the Rafflesians won 64-38.

In a tight boy's final, neither AJC nor HCI were able to gain any significant advantage with the first quarter ended with Anderson leading 22-21.

The second quarter saw HCI start off brightly, taking the lead and forcing a timeout from AJC. The pattern continued with HCI taking a 43-35 lead into half time.

AJC managed to level the score at 43-43 midway through the third quarter, forcing HCI to take a timeout and formulate a new game plan. Late in the third quarter, Vernen Lim of HCI netted back to back three pointers, paving the way to a 61-50 HCI lead.

However, AJC started the fourth quarter with two three pointers of their own to tie the game at 67-67 with less than three minutes remaining. With momentum on their side, Anderson surged ahead to win 75-67 for their first first A Division basketball title since 1989.

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