NBL Round 21 (Regular Season): Xin Hua defeat Hornets in the closest game of the week

There are only two more rounds left in the Regular Season in NBL. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 21 in the NBL took place in Singapore. This derby game ended with only two-point defeat on the road of second-best Hornets (18-2) to fifth ranked Xin Hua (12-8) 78-76 on Sunday evening. Martin Lim stepped up and scored 19 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and the former international forward Zao Liang Chia (188-1996) chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Malaysian center Russell Low-Wen (200-1993) with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 13 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Xin Hua have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fifth place with 12-8 record. Hornets at the other side keep the second position with two games lost. Xin Hua are looking forward to face Tungsan (#10) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Hornets will play against SG Bball (#9) and are hoping to win this game.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Singapore: Adroit (#1) and Tagawa (#3). Tagawa was defeated at home 70-82 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Tagawa. The former international point guard Zhong-Han Wong (183-1997) nailed 24 points and 8 rebounds for the winning side and Leon Kwek accounted for 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Teo Yung Jin came up with 17 points and 9 rebounds for Tagawa in the defeat. Tagawa's coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Adroit (19-1) have an impressive series of thirteen victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place. Tagawa at the other side dropped to the fourth position with seven games lost. Adroit will play against Chong Ghee (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Tagawa's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Singapore to the arena Siglap.
Bottom-ranked Police managed to get a fourth victory, breaking the series of three consecutive losses on Sunday night. This time newly promoted Police edged ninth-ranked SG Bball 65-62. The best player for the winners was Bayot Ferrera who scored 25 points and 8 rebounds. Police's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was Shengyu Lim who recorded a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds. Police (4-16) moved-up to tenth place, which they share with Tungsan. Loser SG Bball keeps the ninth position with 14 games lost. Police will meet at home higher ranked Tong Whye (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. SG Bball will play against the league's second-placed Hornets where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 21: Siglap destroyed Nanyang on the opponent's court 78-57. SBA managed to outperform Tungsan in a home game 74-73. Chong Ghee managed to beat Tong Whye on the road 58-45.



SG Bball - Police 62-65

Bottom-ranked Police managed to get a fourth victory, breaking the series of three consecutive losses on Sunday night. This time newly promoted Police edged ninth-ranked SG Bball 65-62. The best player for the winners was Bayot Ferrera who scored 25 points and 8 rebounds. Wei How Chua chipped in 7 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Police's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international power forward Shengyu Lim (192-1990) who recorded a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds and Ron-The Kaiyuan added 6 points and 12 rebounds respectively. Four SG Bball players scored in double figures. Police (4-16) moved-up to tenth place, which they share with Tungsan. Loser SG Bball keeps the ninth position with 14 games lost. Police will meet at home higher ranked Tong Whye (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. SG Bball will play against the league's second-placed Hornets where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
SG Bball: S.Lim 13+10reb+2ast, R.Low 12+6reb+2ast, S.Khor 11+3reb+3ast, S.Toh-Xuan 10+10reb, B.Putra 10+6reb+3ast, R.Kaiyuan 6+12reb+3ast
Police: B.Ferrera 25+8reb+1ast, S.Chong Siew 12+2reb+1ast, W.How Chua 7+7reb+4ast, B.Lim 6+3reb, S.Jun 6+4reb+5ast, E.Gopal 4+11reb+1ast

Nanyang - Siglap 57-78

Rather expected game when 11th ranked Nanyang (3-17) was crushed at home by eighth ranked Siglap (8-12) 78-57 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was Zahid Mohamed who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 13 rebounds. The former international guard Gavin Tay (188-1999) chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. Five Siglap players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was Schenider Ang who recorded a double-double by scoring 16 points and 11 rebounds and Ying Lee added 10 points and 5 rebounds respectively. Siglap maintains eighth place with 8-12 record. Nanyang lost their eleventh game in a row. They dropped to the bottom position with 17 games lost. Siglap's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Singapore Tagawa.
Top scorers:
Nanyang: S.Ang 16+11reb+2ast, Y.Lee 10+5reb+3ast, J.Lim 8+3reb, W.Cai 8+1reb+2ast, A.Ong 6+8reb, H.Bin-Mohd 4+9reb+2ast
Siglap: Z.Mohamed 16+13reb+3ast, G.Tay 16+7reb+3ast, J.Tan 15+3reb, X.Ng Jun 10+2reb+2ast, J.Gan 10+5reb+2ast, R.Amado 6+2reb+4ast

SBA - Tungsan 74-73

Rather predictable result when seventh ranked SBA (9-11) edged at home 10th ranked Tungsan (4-16) 74-73 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was Haran Prem who had a double-double by scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. International guard Zhi-Cai Tng (183-1998) chipped in 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Prasant Selvakumar who recorded 16 points and 6 rebounds and Michael Christopher added 9 points and 8 rebounds respectively. Tungsan's coach tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. SBA maintains seventh place with 9-11 record. Tungsan lost their third game in a row. Newly promoted team keeps the tenth position with 16 games lost. They share it with Police. SBA will meet bottom-ranked Nanyang (#12) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Tungsan will play against Xin Hua and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Tungsan: P.Selvakumar 16+6reb+1ast, Z.Sim 15+4reb+1ast, M.Christopher 9+8reb+3ast, K.Catiter 9+6reb+1ast, X.Owen Liow 9+6reb+2ast, X.Sim 7+2reb
SBA: H.Prem 23+10reb+5ast, Z.Tng 14+9reb+6ast, W.Shern Ooi 13+9reb+2ast, S.Tuan Teo 6+3reb+1ast, J.Rong Koh 5+5reb, D.Tan 5

Xin Hua - Hornets 78-76

The most exciting game of round 21 in the NBL took place in Singapore. This derby game ended with only two-point defeat on the road of second-best Hornets (18-2) to fifth ranked Xin Hua (12-8) 78-76 on Sunday evening. Martin Lim stepped up and scored 19 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and the former international forward Zao Liang Chia (188-1996) chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Malaysian center Russell Low-Wen (200-1993) with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 13 rebounds and Royston Goh-Yong produced a double-double by scoring 10 points and 13 rebounds. Four Hornets players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Xin Hua have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fifth place with 12-8 record. Hornets at the other side keep the second position with two games lost. Xin Hua are looking forward to face Tungsan (#10) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Hornets will play against SG Bball (#9) and are hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Hornets: R.Low-Wen 28+13reb+3ast, S.Mohamad 16+3reb+1ast, R.Goh-Yong 10+13reb, C.Tan 10+3reb+3ast, K.Aligwoekwe 4+5reb, B.Kor-Chong 3+3reb+3ast
Xin Hua: M.Lim 19+6reb+3ast, Z.Liang Chia 15+8reb+1ast, C.Shan Tan 14+5reb+1ast, Z.Lim 7+4reb, C.Poh Yap 5+5reb+4ast, J.Ng 4+4reb

Tong Whye - Chong Ghee 45-58

Not a big story in a game in Singapore where 6th ranked Tong Whye (10-10) was defeated by fourth ranked Chong Ghee (14-6) 58-45 on Sunday. Strangely Tong Whye outrebounded Chong Ghee 46-33 including 33 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was international guard Justen Chiam (177-2002) who scored 14 points and 9 rebounds. Christian Pepito chipped in 16 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international center Yeong-Wooi Khaw (200-1990) who recorded 7 points and 14 rebounds and Lee Josh added 13 points and 7 rebounds respectively. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Chong Ghee. They moved-up to third place. Loser Tong Whye keeps the sixth position with ten 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. Tong Whye will play against Police (#11) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Tong Whye: L.Josh 13+7reb, C.Wei Xiang 11+4reb, Y.Khaw 7+14reb+1ast, Z.Lee-Heng 6+9reb+1ast, J.Tan-Kai 5+9reb+1ast, S.Deen 3+2reb
Chong Ghee: C.Pepito 16+4reb+3ast, J.Chiam 14+9reb+3ast, Y.Huang 13+4reb+1ast, A.McKevin 8+6reb, J.Leow 5+1reb+2ast, Y.Wang 2+4reb

Tagawa - Adroit 70-82

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Singapore: Adroit (#1) and Tagawa (#3). Tagawa was defeated at home 70-82 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Tagawa. The former international point guard Zhong-Han Wong (183-1997) nailed 24 points and 8 rebounds for the winning side and the former international Leon Kwek (190-1996) accounted for 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Adroit players scored in double figures. Teo Yung Jin came up with 17 points and 9 rebounds and Harihaaran Parathy added 15 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Tagawa in the defeat. Tagawa's coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Adroit (19-1) have an impressive series of thirteen victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place. Tagawa at the other side dropped to the fourth position with seven games lost. Adroit will play against Chong Ghee (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Tagawa's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Singapore to the arena Siglap.
Top scorers:
Tagawa: T.Yung Jin 17+9reb+1ast, H.Parathy 15+7reb+3ast, C.Hoe Chow 11+6reb, S.Ng 9+5reb, A.Zee-Kin 8, Y.Teo 4+9reb+2ast
Adroit: Z.Wong 24+8reb+1ast, L.Kwek 16+5reb+4ast, D.Goh 14+8reb+1ast, Q.Wu 13+4reb+1ast, Q.Toh 9+5reb+3ast, L.Liew 3+3reb+2ast