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This season’s POL-ITE Basketball
championships certainly held many surprises. Faced with the uphill task of
battling more experienced and older teams from other polytechnics, our home team
undertook the challenge courageously and proved their mettle on Wednesday
evening, 11 Oct 2006. They secured their first home win by overcoming
opponents from NYP. Victory could not have been sweeter for our men’s team,
especially since NYP is currently placed on top of the Championship table.
Team Republic roared loud and proud from the
gallery as our men played their hearts out. In a true display of the spirit of
Team Republic, supporters from various IGs cheered for our players, stamping
their feet and clattering bottles to the tune of defense chants and encouraging
cheers. And what a spectacular game they were treated to!
Right from the first quarter, neither team
would give the other much room to falter or slacken. Each error in play and each
mistake was exploited by the other team as a scoring opportunity. For a whole
ten minutes, it was a slug-fest of lay-ups, jump-shots and three-pointers – the
end of the first quarter saw RP down by a slim margin of only 2 points. This
high tempo action went on for the next two quarters, and the score line close to
the end of the third quarter stood at 54 (NYP) to 49 (RP). While some spectators
commented that NYP was better organized in their play and would certainly win
this match, our men never once stopped assaulting NYP with their aggressive and
opportunistic team play. Their hard work paid off when they equalized in the
fourth quarter and surged ahead slightly with the clock running down.
With only 3 minutes of the game left, RP
maintained the upper hand with a score of 73 to 71. Within seconds, NYP pulled
back with an equalizer. The atmosphere was simply electrifying as both teams
desperately tried to claim a decisive victory. Due to a foul committed by an NYP
defender, Khng En Ning (16) was awarded two
crucial free throws. To the echo of thunderous applause, En Ning sank the
decisive free throw to secure RP’s victory in this match. The final score stood
at 74 to 73, in RP's favour, at full time. A truly glorious moment, well done,
Republic Poly Basketball Men's Team!
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