First final, first A Div basketball title for ACJC

It was triumph and redemption for the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) basketball players on Monday as they beat Hwa Chong Institution 72-55 to claim the A Division boys' title, their first championship

- Su Thet Hnin San

This was also ACJC's maiden trip to the final. They had lost to the same opponents 46-38 in the preliminary stage, a result that left them even more motivated to give a better account of themselves.

At the OCBC Arena, ACJC started brightly, building up a 20-11 advantage after the first quarter.

Captain and forward Faisal Samsullah, 17, said: "I told my team we had nothing to lose going into the final, we just had to do our best.

"I told them we already made it all the way to the final, why not win it? They were inspired by this, and we all really wanted to win."

In preparation, he and his teammates increased their training load, meeting five days a week instead of their usual three.