NBL Round 20 (Regular Season): Hornets lose to Adroit

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round 20 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Hornets (18-1). They were defeated by second ranked Adroit (18-1) 76-62 on Tuesday night. It ended at the same time the 18-game winning streak of Hornets. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Adroit have an impressive 12-game winning streak. Defending champion keeps a position of league leader, which they share with defeated Hornets. Hornets will play next round against SG Bball trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Adroit will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Chong Ghee at home.
Another interesting game was a derby match between two teams from Singapore: Tong Whye (#6) and Siglap (#8). Tong Whye (10-9) smashed visiting Siglap (7-12) by 20 points 84-64. Tong Whye maintains sixth position with 10-9 record. Siglap at the other side keeps the eighth place with 12 games lost. Tong Whye will play against bottom-ranked Police (#12) in the next round where they are favorite. Siglap's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Singapore Tagawa.
Another interesting game was again a derby between two local teams from Singapore: Adroit (#2) and Siglap (#8). Siglap was smashed at home by 54 points 58-112 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. The best player for the winners was Leon Kwek who had a double-double by scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists and 6 steals (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field). Jeryl Gan produced 18 points for the hosts. Adroit (18-1) have an impressive 12-game winning streak. Defending champion (18-1) keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Hornets. Loser Siglap keeps the eighth place with 12 games lost. Adroit will meet at home Chong Ghee (#4) in the next round. Siglap's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Singapore Tagawa.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 20: Tong Whye won against SBA on the opponent's court 68-64. SG Bball unfortunately lost to Xin Hua in a home game 77-79. Tungsan recorded a loss to Chong Ghee on the road 66-74. Xin Hua crushed Police on its own court 84-51. Nanyang was smashed by Tagawa in Singapore 66-47. SBA lost to SG Bball at home 60-71. Chong Ghee outscored Nanyang on the opponent's court 65-45.



SBA - Tong Whye 64-68

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 7th ranked SBA's (8-11) home loss to sixth ranked Tong Whye (10-9) 64-68 on Monday. Tong Whye outrebounded SBA 53-42 including 17 on the offensive glass. The best player for the winners was the former international center Yeong-Wooi Khaw (200-1990) who had a double-double by scoring 14 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists. The former international forward Lavin Raj V (201-2000) chipped in a double-double by scoring 16 points and 15 rebounds. Haran Prem produced 23 points and 9 rebounds and international guard Zhi-Cai Tng (183-1998) added 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Tong Whye maintains sixth position with 10-9 record. Loser SBA keeps the seventh place with 11 games lost. Tong Whye will meet bottom-ranked Police (#12) in the next round where they are favorite. SBA will play against Nanyang (#11) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
SBA: H.Prem 23+9reb+1ast, Z.Tng 20+8reb+4ast, C.Xuan 10+5reb, L.Ho-Ren 4+1ast, W.Long Wong 3+2reb+1ast, W.Shern Ooi 2+10reb
Tong Whye: L.Raj V 16+15reb+3ast, Y.Khaw 14+17reb+6ast, M.Kok 14+6reb, Y.Zhen 6+5reb+1ast, Z.Lee-Heng 6+1reb+1ast, E.Tan-Zhi 5+3reb

SG Bball - Xin Hua 77-79

Rather predictable result when fifth ranked Xin Hua (11-8) edged on the road 9th ranked SG Bball (6-13) 79-77 on Monday. The best player for the winners was Cheng Shan Tan who scored 31 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. The former international forward Zao Liang Chia (188-1996) chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. Xin Hua's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The former international power forward Shengyu Lim (192-1990) produced a double-double by scoring 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists and point guard Bin Putra (180-2002) added 22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists respectively for the hosts. Xin Hua maintains fifth position with 11-8 record. SG Bball lost third consecutive game. They keep the ninth place with 13 games lost. Xin Hua will meet Tungsan (#10) in the next round where they are favorite. SG Bball will play against the league's second-placed Hornets and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
SG Bball: B.Putra 22+5reb+6ast, S.Lim 22+12reb+4ast, J.Hai 18+7reb+6ast, J.Lee 6+3reb+1ast, R.Kaiyuan 6+4reb, S.Ng 3+4reb
Xin Hua: C.Shan Tan 31+8reb+7ast, Z.Liang Chia 16+7reb+1ast, Y.Wong-Teng 14+4reb+4ast, Z.Yun Seet 8+5reb+1ast, Z.Lim 5+2reb+1ast, J.Ng 4+11reb+2ast

Adroit - Hornets 76-62

There was a change at the NBL leadership position after last games. Round 20 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Hornets (18-1). They were defeated by second ranked Adroit (18-1) 76-62 on Tuesday night. It ended at the same time the 18-game winning streak of Hornets. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Adroit have an impressive 12-game winning streak. Defending champion keeps a position of league leader, which they share with defeated Hornets. Hornets will play next round against SG Bball trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Adroit will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Chong Ghee at home.

Chong Ghee - Tungsan 74-66

Not a big story in a game when 10th ranked Tungsan (4-15) was defeated on the road by fourth ranked Chong Ghee (13-6) 74-66 on Tuesday. Chong Ghee have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Tagawa. Newly promoted Tungsan keeps the tenth position with 15 games lost. Chong Ghee will meet league's leader Adroit in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Tungsan will play against Xin Hua (#5) and hope to secure a win.

Xin Hua - Police 84-51

Everything went according to plan in Singapore where fifth ranked Xin Hua (11-8) outscored bottom-ranked Police (3-16) 84-51 on Wednesday. Xin Hua maintains fifth position with 11-8 record. Police lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team stay at the bottom place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Nanyang. Xin Hua will meet Tungsan (#10) in the next round where they are favorite. Police will play against Tong Whye and hope to secure a win.

Tong Whye - Siglap 84-64

Another interesting game was a derby match between two teams from Singapore: Tong Whye (#6) and Siglap (#8). Tong Whye (10-9) smashed visiting Siglap (7-12) by 20 points 84-64. Tong Whye maintains sixth position with 10-9 record. Siglap at the other side keeps the eighth place with 12 games lost. Tong Whye will play against bottom-ranked Police (#12) in the next round where they are favorite. Siglap's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Singapore Tagawa.

Tagawa - Nanyang 66-47

There was no surprise in Singapore where 11th ranked Nanyang (3-16) was outplayed by third ranked Tagawa (13-6) 66-47 on Thursday. Tagawa forced 24 Nanyang turnovers. The best player for the winners was Harihaaran Parathy who scored 19 points and 8 rebounds. Reece Low chipped in 8 points and 9 rebounds. Tagawa's coach used an eleven-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Yao Tan-Bo produced 14 points and 5 rebounds and Ying Lee added 8 points and 8 rebounds respectively for the guests. Tagawa maintains third position with 13-6 record having five points less than leader Adroit, which they share with Chong Ghee. Nanyang lost tenth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Police. Tagawa's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Singapore to the arena Siglap.
Top scorers:
Nanyang: Y.Tan-Bo 14+5reb, S.Ang 11+8reb, Y.Lee 8+8reb+3ast, H.Bin-Mohd 4+3reb, P.Zong Goh 4+3reb+1ast, W.Cai 3+4reb
Tagawa: H.Parathy 19+8reb+1ast, V.Ong 11+4reb, Y.Teo 10+7reb, R.Low 8+9reb+3ast, C.Hoe Chow 5+1reb+1ast, S.Ng 4+7reb+1ast

SBA - SG Bball 60-71

There was a small surprise when ninth ranked SG Bball (6-13) won against on the road 7th ranked SBA (8-11) 71-60 on Thursday. The best player for the winners was point guard Bin Putra (180-2002) who scored 25 points and 9 rebounds. Jun-Hao Lee chipped in 22 points and 7 rebounds. Jia Rong Koh produced 12 points and 9 rebounds and Chun-wang Xuan added 12 points and 9 rebounds respectively for the hosts. SBA's coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. SG Bball maintains ninth position with 6-13 record. Loser SBA keeps the seventh place with 11 games lost. SG Bball will meet at home league's second-placed Hornets in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. SBA will play against Nanyang (#11) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
SBA: C.Xuan 12+9reb, J.Rong Koh 12+9reb+1ast, Z.Tng 12+4reb+2ast, H.Prem 7+7reb+2ast, S.Tuan Teo 6+4reb, J.Seo Han 6+4reb+2ast
SG Bball: B.Putra 25+9reb+3ast, J.Lee 22+7reb+3ast, S.Ng 10+6reb, R.Kaiyuan 4+5reb, S.Lim 4+9reb+1ast, S.Toh-Xuan 3+10reb

Nanyang - Chong Ghee 45-65

Very expected game when 11th ranked Nanyang (3-16) was crushed at home by fourth ranked Chong Ghee (13-6) 65-45 on Friday. Chong Ghee held Nanyang to an opponent 23.7 percent shooting from the field compared to 41.5 percent accuracy of the winners. The best player for the winners was international guard Justen Chiam (177-2002) who scored 19 points and 7 rebounds. Alpha McKevin chipped in 13 points and 7 rebounds. Jun Lim produced 10 points and Alvin Ong added 6 points and 7 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Nanyang's coach rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Chong Ghee have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Tagawa. Nanyang lost tenth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh position with 16 games lost. They share it with Police. Chong Ghee will meet league's leader Adroit in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Nanyang will play against SBA (#7) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Nanyang: J.Lim 10+4reb+2ast, K.So 9+4reb, Y.Tan-Bo 7+5reb+1ast, A.Ong 6+7reb+1ast, J.Ong 4+5reb, H.Bin-Mohd 4+5reb
Chong Ghee: J.Chiam 19+7reb+1ast, A.McKevin 13+7reb, C.Pepito 12+4reb+3ast, Y.Wang 7+6reb+1ast, Y.Huang 4+2reb, F.Ngow-Jia 4+7reb+2ast

Siglap - Adroit 58-112

Another interesting game was again a derby between two local teams from Singapore: Adroit (#2) and Siglap (#8). Siglap was smashed at home by 54 points 58-112 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. Adroit dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Siglap's 40. Adroit forced 25 Siglap turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 37 assists comparing to just 15 passes made by Siglap's players. The best player for the winners was the former international Leon Kwek (190-1996) who had a double-double by scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists and 6 steals (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field). The former international guard Larry-Hua Liew (191-1993) chipped in 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Five Adroit players scored in double figures. Jeryl Gan produced 18 points and Kai Ning Ong added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for the hosts. Adroit (18-1) have an impressive 12-game winning streak. Defending champion (18-1) keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Hornets. Loser Siglap keeps the eighth place with 12 games lost. Adroit will meet at home Chong Ghee (#4) in the next round. Siglap's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Singapore Tagawa.
Top scorers:
Siglap: J.Gan 18+2reb+2ast, S.Zhe Lew 12+5reb, K.Ning Ong 11+6reb+4ast, E.Kaul 7+3reb+3ast, R.Amado 6+3reb+3ast, C.Koh 4+8reb+3ast
Adroit: L.Kwek 23+6reb+11ast, H.Ng 23+5reb+3ast, L.Liew 20+9reb+6ast, Z.Wong 12+1reb+4ast, Q.Toh 11+1reb+3ast, Q.Wu 10+3reb