A sharp pass from Hafiz Ibn-Basim pierced through our defense to find a wide open Mohammad Maruzi who drove in and hit an easy layup. 33 seconds left on the clock. The lead is down to 1. Even if we dragged the clock to the final second, they would still have 9 seconds to respond. Are 9 seconds enough for a game winning play? For Soh Feng How, the answer is yes. He was clutch as he hit a long range dagger with 24 seconds left on the clock. Then the rest of the game was a foul galore as U.A.E. U21 tried their best to comeback via Hack-A-Shaq. They could have made it - Mo Shun Ze and Zhao Hongli only hit 4 of their 8 free throws, but they couldn't beat our defense.
Today was our boy's first taste of competitive U21 games after the last match ended with a forfeit. Our front court performed excellently today, especially Song Feng How. The star forward must have been pissed that his 25 points in the last match didn't get counted into his tally as he erupted for 42 points on 63% shooting today. He hit 8 of his 16 three pointers as he torched opposing number Zakariyya Mahmoud. He was effective on defense as well, with 2 blocks and 1 steal. Gu Kwang Sze had a pretty good game as well, almost picking up a triple double with 18 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds. He shot 50% from field while hitting all his attempts from both downtown and the charity stripe, while contributing to the defense with 3 steals. Together, he and Yang Keng Tze tried their best to keep the Emirati Goliath Mohammad Maruzi in check. It wasn't too successful as they combined for 9 fouls while allowing him to score 32 points on 68% shooting. Despite that, Yang Keng Tze still posted some decent numbers tonight, picking up a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also had 4 steals and 1 block. In the end, team effort triumphed over individual brilliance, as all our starters hit double figures to power past U.A.E. U21.
Our next game will be against China U21, which will be an uphill task. Let's hope we can keep the score low.