UM Game #4 Results
UM's 4th and final game in Round #1 was against CSK where we lost 78-84. Game stats done and can be downloaded here.
CSK was a fundamentally sound team, very good individual skills especially dribble penetration skills, reasonable outside shooting and with very tall centers. They played under control throughout and did not make unforced errors and hit many, crucial/big shots throughout the game to keep us at bay.
Asst captain Chang sat out this game as he suffered a sprain ankle from the previous game. Also, our top scorer, veteran Chin Chuan was sub-par as he was ill. Whilst Chuan still top scored (16 pts), he also had a team high 7 turnovers and was in foul trouble in the first half. Poh Guan stepped up admirably and ended up playing either PG or PF depending on what we needed on the court. Poh Guan ended with 2nd highest score at 15pts (but also 2nd highest turnovers at 5!).
With Chang out of the lineup, rookie Kok Way was given the opportunity to play with the 1st unit. The unfamiliarity of the lineup plus Chuan's sub-par health affected our 1st unit's effectiveness so that this game, the 2nd unit definitely out-played and out-performed the 1st unit. Consequently, the coaching staff allowed much more playing time to the 2nd unit than usual and had the 2nd unit finishing the game at the end (more on the last few second's drama later).
Rebounding (specifically boxing-out) has also been the coaching staff's concern over the last few games. We had been having rebounding advantage simply because of our superior size and not because of a dedication to boxing out fundamentals. This shortcoming finally showed itself and hurt us in this game as CSK having a few tall players as well, for the first game, we lost the rebounding battle (46-48) and gave up 21 offensive rebounds and 22 second chance points.
Seeing CSK's preference to dribble penetrate and our inability to stop CSK's disciplined half-court offense or stop CSK from getting 2nd chance points, the coaching staff made the decision to have the team play 3 quarter court zone press whenever the opportunity arose. During the 2nd quarter (both 1st and 2nd unit) and 1st half of the 3rd quarter (1st unit), our press execution (total of 12 attempts) was extremely poor. Insufficient pressure on the ball handler and poor coverage on long passes. As a result, whilst we managed to cause 2 turnovers (1 out of bounds and 1 steal) and 3 rushed-shots, we also gave up 6 wide open shots, allowing CSK to score 12 points against our press defense. Worst, of the 2 turnovers we caused, we failed to score ourselves.
However, CSK clearly showed themselves to be a team that is susceptible to the press as their instincts against the press is to dribble (allowing us to trap) and they tended to make rushed shots (some, not all) of the time. The press failed us not because CSK was too good but because our own execution was poor. More work and practice is clearly needed in this area.
Only by the 2nd half of the 3rd quarter onwards did our press defense execution (starting with the 2nd unit) improve. For the 2nd half of the 3rd quarter and the final quarter (10 attempts) we managed 3 steals, caused 3 (missed) rush shots and only gave up 1 lay up and 1 foul (where CSK only hit 1 of 2 free throws). Unfortunately, off the 3 steals, we only scored once and didn't manage to score off 2 of the 3 steals.
Had our press execution been better and our conversion rate (scores after steals) been higher, this game was definitely a win-able game.
Instead, with only 38 seconds left, we were still down 8 points (71-79) with the 2nd unit on the floor. However, our 2nd unit's performance during that last 38 seconds was VERY good. I used up all my time outs during that 38 second stretch and drew special plays on each and the 2nd unit was able to execute them to near perfection, hitting a 3 (Amirul) as per design and drawing a foul on another 3 pointer (Poh Guan) on the other. Unfortunately Poh Guan only made 2 of 3 free throws. Even on the possession after I ran out of time outs, the 2nd unit still executed their half court offense and still managed to score (score by Saik Poh off a beautiful, no-look pass from Amirul). The only reason CSK managed to hang on and win was due to their clutch free throw shooting (8/10) down the stretch.
Another good game and good experience for UM. A great opportunity for the 2nd unit to be exposed to end-game, pressure situation and they've shown the coaching staff that they definitely can handle the pressure. This gives the coaching staff a lot of options in games going forward.
Despite the loss, we definitely earned a lot of respect from both our opponent and the spectators, in the way we played throughout the game and especially in the way we finished the game. Well done again, UM.
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