The youngest age group in the National School League displayed its talent as several players shined to lead their U14 teams to victory, headlined by high scorer of the day Brandon James A. Chan.
The guard delivered 24 points for New Filipino Private School (NFPS) in their 54-21 win over New Indian Model School (NIMS) as they began their stay in the tournament in promising fashion.
Chan, who said his favourite basketball player is Kobe Bryant, showed flashes of the Los Angeles Lakers’ prowess, putting on an offensive show by nailing two 3-pointers and scoring all of his 24 in the first three quarters.
“Our performance was great, but there were too many turnovers,” Chan said. “We’ll practice harder.”
In the most dominating outing of the day, Emirates National School (ENS) dismantled Pakistan Islamia Higher School (PAK) with a rare 45-0 shutout.
ENS clamped down on defence, while forward Mathew scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds for the game’s top individual honours.
“It feels amazing. This is a very important moment for me,” Mathew said. “I would like to thank all my team-mates for their help and a special thanks to my coach, Jose Mathai. I hope we’ll be able to move forward.”
A much more competitive contest took place in the day’s first game as Delhi Private School (DPS), Sharjah held off Victoria International School of Sharjah (VISS) 33-21.
Mohsin Sabbooh of DPS exploded for a nine-point second quarter en route to his 11 total for the win and received help from Alvin Jacob, who added nine points, three rebounds and an assist.
