Written by: Lee Jun Peng, Nicholas
Edited by: Angelina Grace Pandiman
Photos by: Eusoff Works
Coming off a two-game winning streak, Eusoff (M) could not be any hotter going into today’s Preliminaries against RH, as they seek to secure their third consecutive victory to lead atop the group table. Let’s find out how well they fared in today’s game!
Line 1: Penghao, Darren, Weng Yew, Khan (16-12, win)
Line 1 featured some of the strongest wing players from Eusoff, led by seniors Penghao and Khan, as well as rising stars Darren and Weng Yew. RH got ahead early, hitting an uncontested 3 point attempt followed by a foul call which ended up in a free throw make. Khan coming off the bench responded immediately with a mid range attempt which ended up nothing but the bottom of the net to help cut the lead. Khan once again fired another heat check 3 off the corner followed by another tough contested mid range jumper to propel Eusoff forward, and a beautiful up and under layup caps off his own 5-0 run for Eusoff to take the 7-6 lead going into halftime. While RH attempted to make a comeback, Darren, wearing the number 35 jersey, sinks in the cold 3 pointer, reminiscent of Kevin Durant’s clutch performance in the playoffs against Milwaukee. Weng Yew too came up with his own 3 pointer, essentially putting the game away for a 16-12 victory for the first set.
despite having 2 men on Darren, they still fail to get the ball..
Line 2: Kenjun, Beh, Ian, Jared (18-6, win)
The second line was stacked with star power, consisting of team Captain Kenjun, alongside Beh, Ian and Jared. Kenjun found Beh down the low post early, forcing RH to foul and for Beh to open the game up with a made free throw. Despite RH’s tough defence and insane man to man defence, Kenjun hit a tough bank shot followed by a 3 pointer for Eusoff to edge out early in the half. Eusoff manages to get a couple of stops off strong efforts on defence, forcing RH to whiff not one, not two, not three…. Many air balls, but you get the drift. RH seemed to change strategy midway through the game, opting to double Beh whenever he attempted to work his man down low. Beh’s Hulk strength allowed him to get a couple of free throw attempts (including an and-one), while his superman vision found wide open shooters at the corner for the easy 3 point attempts. Eusoff’s momentum was simply too much, as the boys completely knocked out the opposing team to take the second set with a 18-6 win.
the sports D so cool
Line 3: Kenson, Tien, Jovi, Haohsuan (15-8, win)
The final line included a mix of veterans and young talents, Jovi, Tien, Kenson and Haohsuan. Tien cracked open the game with a midrange bank shot, and a fantastic fake by Jovi allowed him to not only hit the layup but get the foul, demoralising RH like mad as the RH defender who was called for the foul walked away from the play in exasperation. Our boys kept pressing RH, making them stumble out of position and forcing a 24-second violation. Despite RH attempting to pull off a James Harden, leaning into Eusoff defenders to draw cheap fouls, our boys remained disciplined and kept their hands up to pressure RH’s offence. Despite a strong effort, RH’s comeback attempt early in the second half ended up fruitless after Tien dropped consecutive shots to extend the lead. Hao Hsuan and Jovi chipped in a couple more baskets for Eusoff to secure the 15 to 8 win.
RH tries to steal the ball but Tien says NO >:)
With that, Eusoff secured an overall 3-0 victory over RH to come up on top of the table. Congratulations to the boys for qualifying for the semifinals! Stay tuned for their next match which would either be on Wednesday or Thursday next week. Wishing them all the best for their playoff contention and this championship run!
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