Carlsberg Open 2008 - Game Results

UM & Ex-UM Game #1 Results

Both UM and Ex-UM played their 1st games on 5 Jan 2008 (Saturday).

UM played first (6pm) vs. LIan Yew (B), winning 76-37. UM played well especially considering this is the 1st competition game after more than 6 months and the limited practice time we have had so far. A very well balanced game - all 12 players played at least 10 minutes each and all 12 players scored at least 2 points. Two 1st year players (a PG and a SG) selected for this competition also both played well. UM led all the way and the game turned into a blow out from the 2nd quarter onwards.

Our strengths clearly remain (1) our defense (2) our 2nd unit and (3) our size. Our pressure, half-court man-to-man continue to give us our greatest success - making it tough for the opponent on every possession and creating turnovers and poor shots (Opp FG 22%). Also, it is not that our 1st unit is not strong but the "strength/value" is our team's ability to field (on 5-in-5-out basis) a 2nd unit that does not result in any drop-off in defensive pressure or offensive effectiveness. This allows us to play "fresh" all the time with continuous constant defensive and offensive pressure. And our size enable us to continue to have huge advantages on the boards (67-47 rebound advantage).

However, our lack of practice time together was also clearly evident as we committed 25 "unforced" turnovers (opponent did not play any press, trap or pressure defense) and us shooting only 19% from 3-point line (opponent only played zone defense) and 61% from the Free Throw line. Also, team focus especially on defense and offensive execution tended to waver/deteriorate after 8 minutes or so (especially 2nd unit). Our players need to maintain focus for much longer than a mere 8 minute stretch.

By comparison, with formal and long term practices, UM's performance is expected to be and should exceed that of Ex-UM. Yet, Ex-UM only had 24 turnovers and also made 61% of its FTs. UM's stats on these 2 points definitely needs to be much better (target : <15>80% FT)

Furthermore, Lian Yew (B) is considered an average/weak team. UM must continue to improve and prepare themselves to meet the challenge that stronger teams (like CSK) will present.

Ex-UM played later (9pm) vs Lian Yew (A), winning 43-37. Although Ex-UM led almost the entire game, we struggled the whole game especially on offense (27% 2Pt, 7% 3Pt!) and the game stayed close throughout. Ball and player movement was poor resulting in most shots being either heavily contested or rushed due to expiring shot clock.

The weekly practices in December last year paid off well as we were able to go to our set offense in the 4th quarter when the opponent switched to a match-up zone and later man-to-man defense. The set offense allowed us to continue to execute our offense.

Fortunately, Lian Yew's offensive performance was equally poor (28% 2Pt, 6% 3Pt). In the end, the difference that enable Ex-UM to pull out the win was staying aggressive on rebounds (58-41 advantage) and getting to the free throw line (mostly after getting offensive rebounds) more often (Ex-UM shot 10 more FTs than Lian Yew, making 6 more than Lian Yew ~ essentially accounting for the win margin). For a team without regular practice, Ex-UM made a reasonably high percentage of the FTs too (61%)

3 UM 1st year players not selected to play on UM team for this competition, were invited to play for Ex-UM to gain experience and exposure. These players clearly needs the exposure and will benefit from it. The UM 1st year players clearly showed their inexperience and must learn quickly to expect and anticipate the high level of tough/hard contact in competition games (unlike usual social games).

Full game stats for both games may be downloaded here