In the first 9 offensive possessions, we were 0-7 on FGM/A, with 1 TO (3 sec violation) and 1-2 FTM/A (by Ching)! On those same first 9 defensive possessions, we gave up a total of 9 offensive rebounds. Before we knew it, we were down 8-1! Fortunately, Poh Guan followed with 3 straight possessions where he created and set up / assisted on shots for me (a made 3 pointer) and Ching (2 2-point shots) to avoid being blown out early! On the defensive end however, we continued to be slow to the ball and continually gave up offensive rebound after offensive rebound. At the end of 1 quarter, we found ourselves trailing 16-25.
During the break I got on our players for our lethargic play. In retrospect, perhaps it was a little unfair to our players as they were playing the 3rd game in 3 days (back-to-back-to-back)!! Still , we needed to wake up if we were to have any chance.
We rededicated ourselves to defense and boxing out on rebounds and had a great 2nd quarter. In the closing seconds of the 2nd quarter, we had caught up and taken a small 5 point lead. With 20+ seconds left to the half, I subbed Jiunn Ming in and instructed our players to see if we can get him a shot. Poh Guan again set it up nicely and Jinn Ming responded by knocking down a big 3!! Suddenly, Garden Home found themselves down by 8 instead of only just 5 at the half time.
From there, we continued our focus on defense whilst we played free and easy on offense. By the middle of the 3rd quarter, we had pulled out to a commanding 20 point lead. The starters started getting tired and started rotating our bench players in. Our bench players were not ready and had a lot of defensive break downs and mistakes. Garden Home goes on a 10-0 run in a matter of minutes (!!) to draw to 56-66. I had no choice but to reinsert our starters. Fortunately, on the final possession, Sem hits another end-of-quarter big 3 for us and got us a little breathing space heading into the 4th quarter (56-69).
We started to fourth with our main players again and with re-dedication to defense and "hot" shooting from 3 point, we restored our commanding 20+ lead (largest lead was 27). As a team, we hit a total of 11 3-pointers on 35% shooting ... that is pretty impressive! Final score : 90-66.
Well done Ex-UM.
Ching has a triple-double this time, with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 drawn fouls! He also shot an amazing 14/15 on FT's (93%). Jensen and Phang were the other 2 double figure scorers with 19 and 18 respectively, and Jensen with an impressive 53% FG% and Phang with an amazing 88% FG%!! Poh Guan too played well getting critical assists and critical junctures of the game. All three Ching, Poh Guan and Phang had to play through foul trouble throughout the game, with all three finishing with 4 fouls each.
Overall, another great game.
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| Ex-UM v Garden Home Boxscore (90-66) |
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