USM was again coached by Dr. Teng and had the same core players returning from the previous year. The main players were their PG (No. 11) and their SG (No. 9) - both of whom (normally) shoots the ball extremely well from the 3 point line.
As per last year, our goals were to make the 3 point line "disappear" for them by playing our aggressive half court man defense, stepping out on all on ball screens and boxing out to ensure that we only allow 1 shot to them each possession.
Additionally, this year, we were even more confident in our "5-in-5-out" rotation and were confident that USM did not have to personnel nor fitness / stamina to stay with us for a 40 minute game.
USM played hard and obviously wanted very badly to get their revenge for last year's loss. Even in the 1st half, we largely achieved our goals of making the 3 point line disappear (USM was 1-9 from 3 point line) and we gave up only 5 offensive rebounds whilst pulling down 19 defensive rebounds. However, USM played extremely well in the 1st half, shooting a blistering 57% from 2 point in the 1st quarter and getting 8 fast break points to lead by 2 after one quarter (18-16).
Though we managed to tighten up our defense further in the 2nd half (USM shot only 21% in the 2nd half), we committed fouls that sent them to the free throw line time and again where they were 6-10. Consequently, at the half, we were only up by 2 (32-30).
However, none of us were worried as USM's 30 points were hard fought points and they had to play really hard to get those 30 points. Whereas UM's 32 points were mostly points we got from execution of our half-court offenses. USM's main players had also played the entire half whereas both our 1st and 2nd units had rotated in and out as per usual and were both very fresh.
In the 3rd we continued to maintain our defensive pressure (USM shot only 25% in the 3rd quarter) and USM continued to get more and more exhausted (USM players were bending over or even squatting down exhausted at every opportunity / game stoppage). However, we failed to capitalise when USM fouled us and we were a dismal 0-6 from the free throw line. Consequently, the score was still relatively close after 3 quarters (49-43), though we were clearly in control of the game.
We told our players that we just had to maintain our focus on our goals and USM would not be able to stay with us in the 4th. We started our 2nd unit in that 4th quarter and sure enough, USM could no longer stay with us. We pulled out to a double digit lead whilst USM was getting more and more tired playing against our 2nd unit. At the customary 5 minute mark, we substituted our 2nd unit out and brought our (fresh) 1st unit in to finish off the game. When USM saw our 1st unit being sub-in, they collectively dropped their shoulders and look defeated. We knew the game was ours and we blew the game open. In that 4th quarter, we had 12 fast break points, 20 points in the paint, shot 53% from 2 point and 50% from 3 point whilst holding USM to 19% shooting, zero fast break points and only 4 points in the paint - all signs of a tired opponent.
For the game we also had an overwhelming advantage on the boards (66-34) and held USM to 4-26 (15.4%) shooting from the 3 point line.
FINAL SCORE : UM wins 74-55.
Chuan had continued his strong play from the previous game and had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double, whilst shooting a blistering 78% from 2 point and 50% from 3 point!!. Chen Wee also bounced back from his previous "average" game, with a double-double of his own (13 points 18 rebounds). Phang also gave us 14 important points, many he scored by creating his own offense at critical times. As last year, Phang also shut down USM's PG and stole the ball from him several times.
Both Chee Ching and Fai also contributed 8 points each. However, although Chee Ching also shot a high percentage (67%), Fai shot 100% (4/4), mostly from the side and off the board, further solidifying his "board-king" title.
Poh Guan (PG) continued to be our Assist Leader (7) but also our turnover leader (6). However, Poh Guan remained our "X-factor" as he plays on both the 1st and 2nd unit and was a critical factor in the success of our 2nd unit, enabling us to rotate 5-in-5-out.
Whilst the score was close through most of the 1st 3 quarters, there was never any doubt that, in this game, UM was the better team and UM won the game in dominant manner. Well done, UM!
Next update : Semi Finals vs UUM
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