Twins Jovia and Jovie Teo power Nanyang Girls’ to fourth straight B Div basketball title; Dunman High claim boys’ crown
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Dunman High School captain Oh Yu Tong going for a lay-up against Nanyang Girls' High School's Jovia Teo (No. 13) during Nanyang's 50-44 win in the National School Games B Division girls' basketball final on April 28.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
- Nanyang Girls' High School won their fourth consecutive NSG B Division title with a 50-44 win over Dunman High School, as twins Jovia (19 points) and Jovie Teo (14 points) combined for 33 points.
- Dunman's boys secured their first NSG B Division title, overcoming Jurong Secondary School 66-46 with strong defence and key contributions from Kain Shao and Elia Poletti.
- Dunman's girls lost due to poor free-throw shooting, whereas their boys' win was credited to strong defence and overcoming past challenges.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – The hundreds of supporters at the Pasir Ris Sports Hall saw double as twins Jovia and Jovie Teo helped Nanyang Girls’ High School secure their fourth consecutive National School Games (NSG) B Division girls’ basketball title by edging out Dunman High School 50-44.
The pocket dynamos, who combined for 33 points, impressed with their ball-handling skills and red-hot shooting early on, scoring 26 of Nanyang’s 32 points in the first half, including all 15 points in the first quarter.
Off the court, their telepathy was also clear as they bantered and finished each other’s sentences.
When asked about how it felt to fight alongside one another on court, the 16-year-olds teared up.
Jovia, who finished with three treys and a game-high 19 points, said: “Our playing styles are quite different. She takes more shots and I pass more.”
Added the 1.55m point guard, who is older by one minute: “But our chemistry is very good, especially in fast breaks where we can find each other very easily.”
Jovie, a 1.56m forward who had two three-pointers and was ribbed by her sister about being “taller only in the morning”, said: “It feels good to be doing this together. I feel very blessed because not everybody has the chance to do this with a twin. Without each other, I don’t think either of us can be here today.”
Nanyang Girls’ High School’s Jovia Teo (centre, in blue) fighting for the ball with Dunman High School captain Tan Hwee Cheng during the National School Games B Division girls’ basketball final on April 28.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
The synergy was clear as the defending champions turned a 0-4 deficit into a 15-11 first-quarter lead that ballooned to 32-17 just before half-time.
Nanyang, under coach and former national player Chen Hui Hui, were still up 40-28 after the third quarter, but as Jovia nursed an injured right hand and Jovie got into foul trouble, Dunman threatened to make a monumental fightback.
With Vera-Anne Tan and Ong Zhi Ai – who finished the game with 11 points each – in hot form, they closed to within a point at 40-41, but Nanyang regrouped to limit Dunman to just one point in the last four minutes and close out the win by six points.
Dunman coach Tan Siong Leng bemoaned his team’s poor free-throw shooting which saw them make just six out of 26 attempts.
Said the 46-year-old: “Nanyang Girls’ are a very good opponent who were going for a four-peat. Our girls played fabulously today, they played their hearts out and executed the game plan. It’s just that they missed too many free throws.”
While their girls fell short, Dunman’s boys’ side – also coached by Tan – overcame a slow start to lift their first B Division title and consign Jurong Secondary School to a third straight final defeat with a blowout 66-46 win.
Jovan Chan of Jurong Secondary School driving to the basket through the Dunman High School defence during the National School Games B Division boys’ basketball final on April 28.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Andres Chua, who finished with three treys and 20 points, led Jurong to a flying start as they led 26-24 at the break. But once Dunman got their defence right, and Jurong’s co-captain Jovan Chan picked up a knock, the result was no longer in doubt.
Dunman’s co-captain Kain Shao, 16, had a team-high 20 points while point guard Elia Poletti contributed 11 points with several crucial interceptions and assists.
Kain, who was part of the national C Division championship-winning team in 2023 before early exits in the next two years, said: “I’m very proud of the team. We overcame tons of challenges to be here. There was a lot of obstacles in the final, but we played hard, played smart and played together.
“After the last two years, people doubted us, but we had only one goal in mind – which was to bring back the gold medal and we really showed up today.”
Elia, who has an Italian father and Singaporean mother, scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half.
The 14-year-old said: “At the start, I was slightly sloppy, but I settled into the game towards the end. We have a very deep bench, so we could continue rotating players. We played hard defence and trusted in what we were doing, and it paid off.”
Tan agreed, and added: “The key all season-long is definitely our defence, from which it translates to our early offence. Without our defence stopping their go-to guys, we would not be here.”
In the earlier third-place play-offs, Yishun Secondary School beat Presbyterian High School 45-41 in the girls’ competition, while Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) pipped Dunman Secondary School to the boys’ bronze with a 75-72 win.
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