Away vs Barbados U21: 103-92 (W)
Our boys bounced back in a slim win against Barbados U21. Albert Joseph got fouled out, but still led the team in scoring with 19 points, shooting 50% from field and hitting 3 of 4 from downtown. We won largely due to our lockdown defense, but things could have gotten better if we were better in the boards. Ng Lee Han (12 rebounds) game back into the starting lineup, but that didn't stop Barbados U21 from grabbing 23 offensive rebounds, beating us 40-59 on the boards. That said, despite them having 104 shot attempts, they only managed to hit 38 of them (36.5%). There were also times when we disrupted their offensive plans and they were forced to jack up desperate 3s from outside, so they had a pretty abysmal 3 point percentage (1 of 15 or 6.7%). Cai Ze Leng made a return to the team in this game, but he fired blanks, although he was impressive on defense with 3 blocks.
Home vs Luxembourg U21: 123-86 (W)
Probably the last win of the season. Things went into garbage time by the 4th quarter, and 7 of the 9 dressed players scored double digits. Anthony Samuel was our top scorer with 20 points. Looks like he established himself as one of our best scorers in the later part of this season. Ng Lee Han and Yim Wang Hiu both picked up double doubles, with the latter scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while the former finished the game with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Our boys were particularly impressive from outside, hitting 11 of 16 three pointers (69%). That said, like I previously mentioned, I was afraid that Luxembourg U21 would go Crunch Time on us, so I didn't dare to take risks. Plus, there is little hope to beat our next two opponents, so a little bit more enthusiasm might not be worth the risk of losing this game.
Our next game will be against Argentina U21 away. I don't expect much from our boys, but hopefully they can stuff the stat sheet.
All being said, I expect the season results to be 4-4. It shouldn't be enough for us to make the knockout rounds, so it will be scrimmages after that. Currently we have 4 players who have been ever present for us: Poh Sze Jian, Anthony Samuel, Albert Joseph, and Ler Loong Jin. Hopefully they keep up their impressive appearance streak!