NBL Round 9 (Regular Season): Xin Hua is defeated by Adroit in a derby game

NBL is at the halfway of the Regular Season and there are still another 9 rounds left. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Singapore: Adroit (#2) and Xin Hua (#5). Xin Hua was defeated at home 67-78 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. The former international guard Larry-Hua Liew (191-1993) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 12 rebounds for the winners and the former international point guard Zhong-Han Wong (183-1997) chipped in 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Adroit's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The best for the losing side was Martin Lim with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Defending champion maintains second place with 7-1 record having just one point less than leader Hornets. Xin Hua at the other side dropped to the sixth position with four games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
The game between Top Four teams took place in . 3rd placed host Chong Ghee (6-2) lost to leader Hornets (7-0) 70-61. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Chong Ghee. The former international guard Kelvin Lim (191-1996) nailed a double-double by scoring 25 points and 19 rebounds for the winning side and Espinosa Haribon accounted for 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Hornets' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Alpha McKevin came up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds for Chong Ghee in the defeat. Undefeated Hornets have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain first place with 7-0 record. Chong Ghee at the other side keeps the third position with two games lost. Hornets will play against SG Bball (#8) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Chong Ghee will play against Tungsan (#11) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Tungsan has finally registered their first victory this season after six consecutive losses. The win is especially important as it came on the road game in , where they defeated Police (2-7) 64-57 on Monday. The best player for the winners was Kyran Catiter who scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Bayot Ferrera who recorded 13 points and 7 rebounds. Police's coach rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Tungsan (1-6) left bottom position moving up to eleventh place. Police at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keeps the tenth position with seven games lost. Tungsan will meet at home higher ranked Chong Ghee (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Police will play against Tong Whye (#4) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.

In the last game of round 9 SBA lost to Tagawa on the opponent's court 55-63.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 22 points and 13 rebounds by Harihaaran Parathy of Tagawa.



Police - Tungsan 57-64

Tungsan has finally registered their first victory this season after six consecutive losses. The win is especially important as it came on the road game in , where they defeated Police (2-7) 64-57 on Monday. Tungsan forced 24 Police turnovers. The best player for the winners was Kyran Catiter who scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. Michael Christopher chipped in 13 points and 8 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Bayot Ferrera who recorded 13 points and 7 rebounds and Taiwanese center Cheng Lin (202-2000) added 10 points and 7 rebounds respectively. Police's coach rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Tungsan (1-6) left bottom position moving up to eleventh place. Police at the other side, also newcomer in the league, keeps the tenth position with seven games lost. Tungsan will meet at home higher ranked Chong Ghee (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Police will play against Tong Whye (#4) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Tungsan: K.Catiter 13+7reb+1ast, M.Christopher 13+8reb, J.Kiat Toh 11+2reb+3ast, Y.Sim 8+4reb, D.Caijun 5+1reb+2ast, P.Selvakumar 5+3reb+5ast
Police: B.Ferrera 13+7reb, C.Lin 10+7reb+1ast, S.Jun 9+3reb+2ast, J.Xiong Koh 8+7reb, S.Chong Siew 6+5reb, E.Gopal 5+6reb+2ast

Chong Ghee - Hornets 61-70

The game between Top Four teams took place in . 3rd placed host Chong Ghee (6-2) lost to leader Hornets (7-0) 70-61. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Chong Ghee. They outrebounded Chong Ghee 52-33 including a 27-12 advantage in offensive rebounds. The former international guard Kelvin Lim (191-1996) nailed a double-double by scoring 25 points and 19 rebounds for the winning side and Espinosa Haribon accounted for 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Hornets' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Alpha McKevin came up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds and Shay Lin Jay added 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for Chong Ghee in the defeat. Hornets have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain first place with 7-0 record. Chong Ghee at the other side keeps the third position with two games lost. Hornets will play against SG Bball (#8) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Chong Ghee will play against Tungsan (#11) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Hornets: K.Lim 25+19reb+3ast, E.Haribon 17+6reb+4ast, R.Low-Wen 10+10reb+1ast, M.Folkoff 9+5reb+5ast, D.Oh 6+1reb+3ast, C.Tan 2+4reb+3ast
Chong Ghee: S.Lin Jay 21+5reb+4ast, A.McKevin 18+16reb, J.Chiam 10+1reb+3ast, C.Pepito 6+2reb, D.Ong 3+2reb+1ast, J.Leow 3+4reb

Xin Hua - Adroit 67-78

The most exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Singapore: Adroit (#2) and Xin Hua (#5). Xin Hua was defeated at home 67-78 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. The former international guard Larry-Hua Liew (191-1993) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 12 rebounds for the winners and the former international point guard Zhong-Han Wong (183-1997) chipped in 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Four Adroit players scored in double figures. Adroit's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The best for the losing side was Martin Lim with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Xuan Xian Kerk scored 11 points and 9 rebounds. Defending champion maintains second place with 7-1 record having just one point less than leader Hornets. Xin Hua at the other side dropped to the sixth position with four games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Adroit: L.Liew 20+12reb+3ast, Z.Wong 16+5reb+6ast, D.Goh 13+8reb+1ast, Q.Wu 12+5reb+4ast, Q.Toh 6+5reb+2ast, Z.Zhou 6+1reb
Xin Hua: M.Lim 18+5reb+5ast, J.Ng 13+5reb+1ast, X.Xian Kerk 11+9reb+1ast, Y.Wong-Teng 8+1reb, Z.Liang Chia 5+3reb+1ast, X.Yuan Han 5+9reb+1ast

Tagawa - SBA 63-55

There was a minor upset in Singapore where 5th ranked SBA (5-5) was defeated by seventh ranked Tagawa (5-3) 63-55 on Tuesday. The best player for the winners was Harihaaran Parathy who had a double-double by scoring 22 points and 13 rebounds. Minghui Pan chipped in 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Tagawa's coach used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. At the other side the best for losing team was Jun Seo Han who recorded 11 points and 9 rebounds and Haran Prem added 11 points and 7 rebounds respectively. Four SBA players scored in double figures. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Tagawa. They moved-up to fifth place. Loser SBA dropped to the seventh position with five games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Tagawa: H.Parathy 22+13reb+1ast, C.Hoe Chow 15+1reb+1ast, Y.Teo 10+5reb+1ast, M.Pan 9+6reb+4ast, A.Zee-Kin 2+4reb+2ast, D.Ng 2+2reb+1ast
SBA: J.Seo Han 11+9reb, H.Prem 11+7reb+2ast, J.Rong Koh 11+5reb+3ast, W.Shern Ooi 10+5reb+1ast, W.Liang Cheong 5+2reb, C.Xuan 3+3reb+1ast