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Haha, maybe soon!

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?

Our boys were finally pulled down to earth in a 81-104 loss to Indonesia U21 today. Going into the game without injured Guang Yeow Shun, our boys fought hard in the first half, trailing by just 2 points at half time. But then, we cracked in the third quarter. Turnovers and missed shots marred our player's performance as the Indonesians pulled away to a comfortable lead.

Liew Yau De was the spark for our team today, despite shooting below 50%, he still managed to hit 10 of his 22 attempts to end the game with 22 points. He almost had a double double as well, as he managed to grab 9 rebounds. Abdul Chaudri also put up an all-round performance with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals and a block. However he was stripped of the ball 6 times throughout the game. Another standout performer tonight was Zhang Long Yew, who ruled the boards tonight, grabbing a game high 17 rebounds. He almost managed a double double, but failed to convert his second free throw attempt, leaving him at 9 points. He also managed to block 2 shots.

Our loss tonight means that we have a do or die match against UAE U21 next Monday. Let's hope Guang Yeow Shun recovers in time to make the game.

We're one foot in!

Our boys picked up a massive 106-48 win tonight over U.A.E. U21 to give us a 3-1 game record. Our boys were in control the whole game, holding them to just 8 points in the first quarter, and led by 27 at halftime. We distributed the ball well and limited our turnovers to put up the biggest win of the season.

Charlie Teo once again put up a remarkable all round performance with a remarkable stat line of 21 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. He was the only player in our team to end the game with a double double, and shot at a very efficient rate, scoring 53% from the field and 67% from outside. Zhang Long Yew managed to match his effort in the post with 15 rebounds, however the seven footer was miserable on the offensive end, hitting only 1 of his 6 attempts. Team captain Abdul Chaudri also had an off shooting night, but his vision and hustle play saw him put up a decent stat line of 8 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Our next two games will be an uphill battle, against Philippines U21 and Taiwan U21. However, since we managed to get 3 wins, we are safely poised for the next round as our nearest challenger, Japan U21, are 1 win behind and only 1 game left to play. That game will be against Indonesia U21, who will face a do or die situation even if they win their next match against Vietnam U21, which will give them 3 wins. Should Indonesia U21 win against Japan U21, we will qualify in 4th place. However, if the Japanese win their last game, it would put all 3 teams at 3-3. However, as Indonesia U21 forfeited against Philippines U21, they should be ranked lowest out of the three (do note the asterisk), hence we would still qualify in 3rd or 4th, depending on point difference.

Our boys got wiped out by Taiwan U21 today, even though we tried to our best to limit the score by making use of GDP and running a slow offense to drag out the timer. It was an unfortunate week as in form duo Abhishek Singh and Tong Puay Jia had to sit out due to injuries.

Guang Yeow Shun led the team on offense and defense, scoring 14 on 60% shooting from 5 attempts, and picking up 2 blocks and 1 steal. Kang Yi Beng also hustled well to gain possession for the team, with 6 rebounds and 2 steals. However, he lost the ball 4 times. Another player to shine on defense was Abdul Chaudri, picking up 3 offensive rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. He managed 9 points and 2 assists on offense, but only hit 1 of 8 shots from downtown.

Our final game will be against Philippines U21, let's hope our boys put up a good show.

Our boys fell to Philippines U21 62-103 today in what could be called a boxing match more than a basketball game. The Filipinos showed their under Manny Pacquiao by sending Guang Yeow Shun back into the locker room for the second time in the week, while committing 22 fouls. Our boys were also agitated as well, fouling them 17 times. This saw both teams shooting a combined 51 free throws in the game.

Charlie Teo was the most outstanding player on the floor, scoring a game high 18 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. He wasn't really that efficient from the floor, hitting only 30% of 2 pointers. Tong Puay Jia also had an off shooting night, but he was integral to the offense, finding his teammates occasionally to finish with 15 points and 3 assists. In an ISO heavy game, only Abdul Chaudri managed to dish out as many assists as he did. Meanwhile Zhang Long Yew put up a decent display on defense, blocking 2 shots and stripping his attacker of the ball once. However he got dominated on the board by opposing number Delfin Orais, being out-rebounded by 3-10.

With the final match of this stage out of the way, we qualified in 4th place, and will be in the same group as Philippines U21, China U21, New Zealand U21, Thailand U21 and Iran U21.

We got off to a flying start today with a 98-102 victory over Iran U21. With some of our outside shooters not having the best game shape, rather than running our usual outside offense, we were forced to an inside oriented fist-fight against Iran U21, taking the game straight to them and their $37,000 per week star Center Ramin Hajipour. The verdict? A hard fought game which saw us eke out a 4 point win in the final quarter.

Our boys had a fantastic night on offense, scoring at a highly efficient 50/40/90 clip. However, we still had trouble setting up against the Iranian defense as our boys struggled with possession, turning over the ball 15 times. Thankfully we had the upper hand on the boards, which allowed us to retain possession on offense while limiting their second chances. Our defense was also tidier, not giving off too many fouls. In return, while their aggressive smashmouth defense caused us to lose the ball quite often, it worked against them as they gifted us a massive 20 attempts from the charity stripe, of which our boys converted all but one.

Charlie Teo was once again the best player in our team. With the rest of our team clicking on offense, he was allowed to focus on scoring, and he certainly did not disappoint, hitting 13 of his 20 shots to finish the game with a game high 32 points. He was so hard to guard that opposite number Sina Gilabadi got fouled out late in the game. Zhang Long Yew also had a good game, hitting double digits in a competitive U21 game for the first time. He finished the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and was active on defense with 3 blocks and 1 steal. Meanwhile Abdul Chaudri continued to display his pin sharp passes and amazing vision by dishing out 9 assists.

That said, despite the heroics of the starting unit, it was the depth on our bench which won us the game. With Iran U21 only dressing 8 players, our second units came out at the right time to push their players further while letting our starters catch their breath. Taking advantage of their fresh legs, our second unit hit the ground running, and most of them finished the game with a +/- of 7. It's even more amazing that almost all of them will still be in the team next season, with only Liew Yau De being the only 21 year old on the bench.

With a fantastic opening victory in the second stage, our boys will face another stern test next week, China U21. Let's hope the stars are aligned for us next week so we can get something out of it.

After last week, with China U21's highest paid player out and injured, and another top player facing game shape issues, I legit thought we could have pulled off an upset. Fast forward to yesterday, our hopes were dashed as he came back.

Well maybe we never stood a chance after all.

Our boys were held back on offense most of the game. Despite having 4 players score double digits, Zhang Long Yew was the only one out of six players with 5 or more attempts to score more than half of their shots, and he was above 50%. He was also the only starter to do so. His efficiency spread to the charity stripe as well as he hit all 4 of his free throw attempts, being the only player to not miss a free throw, and was a menace on defense, rejecting 7 shots. However, he was constantly bullied on the boards, and managed to only pull down 4 rebounds.

Abdul Chaudri was our best offensive player in terms of stats, as he finished the game with a team high 14 points and 3 assists. However, he evidently is more comfortable playing at point and orchestrating the offense, as his shooting splits of 20-10-60 saw him have the worse efficiency of the team. However, it wasn't all dark clouds on offense. LDS duo Chow Choon Dong and Chng Siong Chin shot pretty well from distance, while Tong Puay Jia hit all his field goals, despite missing 2 of 6 free throws.

Our boys played pretty decent defense, despite the huge shortcomings on offense. Although we allowed China to hit 47% of their 3s, thanks to substitute Zhang Minhua hitting all of his attempts from the arc, and that we conceded 30 or more points in the third or fourth quarter, however our boys were pretty tidy on defense. Yes, there were no outstanding defensive performance outside of Zhang Long Yew's 7 blocks, however our players did not commit too many fouls, only allow our opponents to shoot 11 free throws. Meanwhile, our boys had 21 free throw attempts, but sadly, most of them were squandered.

We shall face a more equal opponent next, in the form of Thailand U21. Let's hope everything goes well this time.

Closer - that's the role our team captain Abdul Chaudri grew into, and the role he embraced very well today.

Down by 2 with 58 seconds left, New Zealand U21 shooting guard Cornelius Rabot missed a jumper to extend the lead, and Zhang Long Yew mustered all his strength to regain possession for a time out. The plan was simple - feed Chaudri the ball and have him drive to the basket. No good. He missed the layup and saw Stacy Boulton hit one over Charlie from outside. But he made sure he didn't make the same mistake. He hit his next drive, then kicked out to Abhishek Singh who nailed it from downtown to tie the game. And finally, put us ahead with 2 seconds to go with another driving layup.

WE DID IT!

The game was so intense that I have just calmed down from watching it. The whole game was frustrating from the start. Having our best post player injured in the first minute, and one of our top shooters join him in the medicine bay slightly later on, it seemed like the Kiwis were destined to win this game. Abdul Chaudri had an inspiring run early in the 2nd, but that still couldn't stop our opponents from racing to a 14 point lead as our boys failed to score anything in the last 2 minutes. The same happened in the 3rd, where despite shaving off a huge chunk of the lead, poor performance in the final 2 minutes of the quarter saw them keep us at arm's length. Thankfully, despite having 2 unsubable players, we came up tops.

Abdul Chaudri was our best player of the game, hitting a game high 33 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. He was also active on defense, with 2 steals and a block. Chow Choon Dong was equally impressive, scoring 31 points and pulling down 5 rebounds. He took over the playmaking duties today, dishing out a game high 5 assists. However his 4 turnovers mean he still has quite a bit to work on before he can be considered a primary ball handler.

Abhishek Singh also had an impressive game, finishing with a double-double from a stat line of 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. He was really efficient on offense, hitting 57% from the field and 50% from 3. Meanwhile Zhang Long Yew endured a gruelling 47 minute match to put up some impressive defensive numbers with 14 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. However, he was non existent on offense, missing all 7 of his field goals, and only making 1 out of 2 free throws.

Our next game will be against Taiwan U21. Since Iran U21 beat China U21 today, the next game will legitimately be our best shot to make it into the semifinals since season 36. Let's give it our all!

Our boys' fairytale run ended on a low note last night as we fell 73-98 to Taiwan U21. Charlie Teo and Guamg Yeow Shun posted similar stat lines to carry our boys, but their efforts weren't enough. Charlie ended the game with a double double from 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the team in both categories, while Guang Yeow Shun was just behind, posting 14 points and 13 rebounds. He also blocked 4 shots. It was a wonderful performance to cap off the final game for both players, both who have contributed a lot to our team.

Meanwhile, all eyes were on Abdul Chaudri, after his amazing game winning performance against New Zealand U21. Unfortunately, that included our opponents, who reduced him to just 1 of 8 from field. However, he still managed to contribute despite having shooting woes, as he dished out 4 assists and was active on defense, notching up 3 steals and 1 block. Sharing his load of running the offense was Tong Puay Jia, who dished out a team high 5 assists. However, he had a bad shooting day as well, only hitting 1 of his 10 field goal attempts.

The loss means we finish the group in 4th place, tied in game record with China U21 and Iran U21, but behind on point difference.

Starting next week, I will be trying out new blood in preparation for next season. Stay tuned to find out who makes the cut.

at least C. Choon Dong didnt perform badly on this game.. haha