Our boys picked up a second win today against Japan U21 in a smooth yet exciting match. Our boys set the pace with a 5 point lead in the first quarter, and kept Japan U21 at bay throughout the first three quarters. Despite that, the box score still doesn't tell us the whole story of the game.
It was a frustrating 3 quarters, with the referees somehow being very biased with their calls, putting our boys in foul trouble every quarter, while Japan combined for only 6 fouls throughout the same period of time. However, our boys pushed on and kept the lead. Funnily enough, the referees might probably have been changed for the final quarter (or the weak willed referees decided to help us instead) and only called 2 fouls on our boys while the Japanese committed 7 fouls. Really odd refereeing, but what can I say? That said, with Japan U21 shaving the lead to 5 thanks to a great run early in the third, those calls helped us fend off the last minute onslaught.
Despite hitting a career high 41 points in his last outing, Chow Choon Dong put out a shocking display hitting only 1 three pointer throughout the game. He shot an abysmal 10% from field to finish the game with 5 points. However, his shortcomings in scoring can be overlooked as he tried to make himself useful by dishing out 3 assists. He was also crucial in defense, coming up with 2 steals, and holding his opposite number Norio Hirase to 31.6% from field and 20% from downtown. Hirase, the second highest paid player in Japan U21, had cold spells thanks to the lockdown defense played by Chow, finishing the game with a plus minus of -9. Alongside him in the back court was Abdul Chaudri, who used his experience and superior quality to hold down rising Japanese youngster Shinya Takishida to 1 point, as the 19 year old guard went 0 of 6 from the field, with 3 attempts from the arc. He was also effective on offense, scoring 21 points with an efficient clip of 41.2% from field, while dishing out 4 assists.
One thing which totally caught me off guard was Charlie Teo. Under normal circumstances, I would certainly have not played him tonight, as despite having respectable game shape, he has the worst game shape in the team. However he started due to tactical reasons, and certainly did not disappoint. He proved himself as an effective 3 way scorer, hitting 10 of his 16 shots from the field to finish the game with a game high 24 points. His scoring was crucial and allowed our boys to keep the lead throughout the game.
Our twin towers, Zhang Long Yew and Guang Yeow Shun, finally returned back to the starting lineup today, and they gave us the advantage on the boards. Guang Yeow Shun finished the game with a double-double, scoring 14 points on 46.2% from the field, while grabbing 13 boards. His hustle play also saw him grab back possession for us 4 times on offense. Meanwhile Zhang Long Yew dominated the defensive board, finishing the game with a game high 16 rebounds. The duo were also impressive on defense, with 2 blocks and 1 steal to their name. Backup point guard Lee Eng Jian also managed to pick up exactly the same stat line on defense as well.
In overall, our boys played well, especially in terms of taking advantage of our trips to the charity stripe. We hit an amazing 92.3% of our free throws, with the only miss coming from Charlie Teo late in the game.
Our next test will be against Indonesia U21, who forfeited against Philippines U21 today. How will they face off against us next week?