Ex-UM v Mengsweb.com Feb 20, 2012 - a tough, TOUGH loss for us.
Even though 2 of our main offensive players (Ching and Chuan) were late and only available from 2nd quarter onwards, the 6 of us who were on time (myself, Phang, Ming Lip, Leong, Sem and Hung) were able to hold our own, finishing the 1st quarter trailing only 18-20.
We then went on to win both the 2nd and 3rd quarters and had a commanding 12 point lead in the 4th quarter, seemingly in control. Unfortunately, Mengsweb turned up their defensive intensity, pressing us full court and double / triple teaming every defensive rebounder causing numerous turnovers and they hit several critical 3 pointers to storm right back. With 58 seconds left, we found ourselves trailing 64-68 and without possession.
We managed to get a stop and score to close to 66-68 but there was only 38 seconds left. We defended, fouled and Mengsweb went to the FT line and missed both but they got the deadball offensive rebound (out of bounds)!! We defended again and again, deflecting the inbounds attempt 3 times consecutively. Finally they inbounded but under pressure from us, turned the ball over to Ming Lip with 5+ seconds left. Ming Lip passed to Sem who had a 2-on-1 together with Ching, but Ching did not maintain a good passing lane and although Sem had a relatively uncontested lay up (defender was concerned with stopping the pass to Ching), Sem missed the lay up!! The rebound got hit out to near mid-court and with 1 sec left, my desperation, half court heave missed badly. FINAL SCORE : a tough 66-68 loss.
I'd like to say "good try" to our players but I feel it wasn't (a good enough "try / effort"). I believe we can be better. I believe we ARE better than we played yesterday and we need better commitment to (continue) practices and to arrive early for games.
On the other hand, this is our first competitive game for 2012. Although a pity we started our season with a tough loss, it certainly was MUCH better a performance than our usual "1st competitive game of the season" where we Ex-UM have (before this) traditionally and almost always played extremely badly!! I believe the better (than our usual game 1) performance is a credit to our players having recently been attending weekly game practices. For that, I would say "Well done Ex-UM". Now to focus on getting our standard of play even higher and back to our "peak / top form"!!
Players and supporters who were there - let us know what you think. Could we have done anything DIFFERENTLY (not "better") that might have helped us win the game? I mean, things like, shoot better, rebound better or take better care of the ball (don't turnover) are obvious, but was there anything we could have done DIFFERENTLY?
Personally, desire of winning is essential if we are talking about how to improve the winning rate. Most of the players would have an attitude of enjoy the game rather than win the game which I believe that this is how it should work for "EX"-UM team. However, to make a DIFFERENT, arriving early in order to get the "feel" of the court and get "heat" up especially for those slow-heat-up player is important. For all these years as a loyal EX-UM (UM as well)supporters, I find that our(if I considered as part of the team)team is a very "gentle" team. Anytime you play in the paint, you gotta be strong and tough. Bodies,elbows,arms,hands and sometimes even legs in lane are to be expected.Last game, we had plenty of lose balls causing turnovers, giving a second chance to opponent, resulting the come-from-behind win for them. If we had been more "aggressive", set a screen for ball handler, or "help" the double team, or even the ball handler himself confidently play a strong dribble, passing the half court line, we would have made the difference. Having said that, I still enjoy very much how EX-UM play: which is always happy, fun and exciting at many times. People might think they are not serious enough, but this is what EX-UM are. They know each other well, they love the game, they play their way. Young members should continue their "aggressiveness", as it will slowly fade as the time you are in the team getting longer.Read and react is cool and it will be the future development of basketball and of course in EX-UM team as well. UM...UM...UUUUUUUUUM!!!!!!!
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