Pubz Comm Reporter: Danbee Shin

Danbee is also the Captain of the KEVII girls Soccer team.

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This year’s KEVII soccer girls were told by their new captain to keep one thing in mind as they faced the fateful day of January 26th, 2008.

“Be aggressive!”

Oh, and aggressive they were; so much in fact that they drove off not only the condescending attitudes of the other halls but also – perhaps more importantly – the skeptical frowns of their own apprehensive supporters. Securing a well-deserved fifth place that they had aimed for, the girls witnessed, with pride, their opponents making half an attempt at concealing their surprise under raised eyebrows and a loyal bubble of red rippling in ecstatic surprise.

Kimberly set the ball rolling against the Sheares team under the 9.30 morning sun. Even after they scored the first goal, there was no sign of the Sheares girls’ abusive language about which I had been warned. That was a smart decision on their part, seeing as Jiahui, with a beautiful free kick through the wall, scored what the seniors tell me was the first goal by a KEVII female soccer player in four years. It was evident that a 1-all draw was definitely more than had been expected of the girls in red practically bouncing off the field.

With skyrocketing morale, our girls managed a 1-0 loss against Eusoff Hall, at least half of whose entire team consisted of IVP players, once again leaping way over the bar set for them. After a relaxed lunch break, filled nine dollars worth of bananas and enthusiastic chatter, their confidence continued to grow by the minute, and rightfully so! Unfortunately, they experienced a passing moment of bitter disappointment as the Temasek team slipped away with a 1-0 win against us, the rain-soaked ball barely making it through Gloria’s dive.

“I love your team’s spirit,” a Eusoffian said when she came to congratulate me for our girls’ outstanding performance. This is the very spirit that drove our girls to continue fighting under the tropical sun, even when they were down by 3-0 against team Kent Ridge, whom we had identified as our single biggest challenge. It was during this game that our less-experienced girls raised to the occasion, embodying pure determination and sportsmanship. The Pikwei-Laura-Esther trio even made the crowd hold its collective breath for a few moments when they came ever so close to stringing a fancy play into a goal!

After four matches and several yellow cards, the KEVII female soccer stars faced the moment they had all been waiting for; the first victory in years, or so I am told. With our best team on the field, there could be no debate over who dominated the game. The first half saw a textbook-perfect play; Kimberly booted a clear from the defense line which Amanda picked up, and her crisp pass up to Jiahui was shot into the back of the net so quickly there was a split second of disbelief before the red crowd went wild. Everyone was at a loss for words as the girls in red raced off the field to celebrate their 1-0 win, flashing smiles and creating more hoo-ha than their photographers or video crew could ever ask for.

These girls – the ones telling me, “I have never had so much fun playing soccer,” and “I’m just so happy!” – were the same girls who had told me I did not have to give them a pep-talk on the possibility of losing because they were so used to it. These were the girls playing the sport people in their own Hall had snorted at, the girls from whom no one had ever expected anything. As a newcomer, not only to coaching an entire team (comprising exclusively of girls older than myself) as captain but also to Singapore, NUS and KEVII Hall, it means a lot to be able to think to myself, ‘wow, I really am so proud of these girls and of what we’ve achieved as team.’ It means even more, perhaps, to realize that the fifteen of us have gone through so much over such a short period of time that we really are more than just a group of girls wearing the same soccer jerseys; we truly are a team – the KE VII Hall Female Soccer Team that just set the bar several notches higher.

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Pubz Comm Reporter: Puneeth N

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Our hall’s Male Hockey team, which was one of the leading teams in the NUS, was not to be seen this year. Instead, we had to make a great transition to floorball. The worst thing was that we had only a couple of months to do the change, and the better part was that we had a captain named Jonathan Kwong (or JOnk ), who had the experience of playing floorball.

The 27^th of January was the day on which the transition skills of our team were to be tested. The team was made up of some stalwarts like Hafiz(Sr.), Terence and Florian and, not to forget, our captain Jonk and vice-captain Musa, who all helped the freshmen to settle into the squad very smoothly. We had good depth in our squad, thus we were able throw in up to four lines of players into the fray. We also had some very good freshmen like Michael, Hongyi, and myself, the Goalkeeper, amongst others.

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FIRST MATCH: TH v KE

We kicked off the proceeding at about 9 AM. The first match was against one of the toughest teams around, Temasek hall, braced with some lightning fast Varsity players. They were definitely the ones who you would not like to face first up. Our first line was made up of Jonk, Terence, Michael, Hafiz and Musa, plus I as goalkeeper. We had a very good start to the first half and we dominated the match but were bitterly unfortunate not to score. The first half also featured some good and very vital saves by our goalie. The half ended with the scoreboard reading 0-0.

The second half started off brightly too but the deadly Temasek team had the first laugh and scored two early goals in the second half to make the score 2-0. But having lost so many chances to score, we finally fought back with a superb tap into the goal by Jonk, followed by a last minute goal by the ever-present Terence, sending our team into frenzy.

Even though the match finished on a score of 2-2, we had the upper hand for the most part of the match and it was a real shame that we did not kill the match off. Nevertheless we had a very bright start to the day by securing such results.

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SECOND MATCH: EH v KE

This match was a real test of nerves and character. After a gap of about 2 hours we returned to be faced against a dominant and supremely technical Eusoff team, again braced with many IVP players unlike ours. The match was off to a very ominous start this time. The ball went out and our team was making line changes but the referee did not even bother to stop play. There were 5 Eusoff players against our one goalkeeper, who made a fine save but the rebound still slotted into the goal. Our valid claims fell on very dead and useless ears of the referees. The whole team’s morale suddenly fell down. From then onwards, we had a pretty uneventful match where we expected to be thumped out of the match by the Eusoff team. We let in three goals in the very first half, including a very unfair and unjust first goal.

In the second half of the match, we managed to pull one back thanks to the mighty Terence again. Yet, our team was very demoralised by what we felt were so many unjust refereeing decisions against us, coupled by a very physical Eusoff team. The latter managed to slot in two more goals at the end, one of them a very bad trivial miss by our demoralised goalkeeper. We finally went down 5-1 in the match.

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THIRD MATCH: KR v KE

We had a loss and a draw under the belt. Now was the time for a victory. We started off as well as it could have been, Terence again slotting a goal within the first 10 seconds. The Kent Ridge hall players frequently fouled our players and more prominently our goalkeeper. In my own personal opinion, there was again a perceived bias by the referees against our hall, which would be the norm of the day. These overlooked fouls cost us dearly as KR scored two more in the second half. One of the players from the other team even pulled the helmet off my head, but the referee remained blind to this foul. That was a very unjust judgement which put our whole team in a minor panic mode.

The game which could have so easily finished in our favour ended up a tainted 3-1 win for KR.

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FOURTH MATCH: RH v KE

This match was the one that we were expected to win, but a major problem surfaced at the very start of the match, when I, as the goalkeeper, suddenly had a very niggling problem in my knee. Thanks to the KEVIIan team spirit though, the whole team made life easy for me in the match. It was a great display of team effort when I was rarely put in the match. We dominated the proceeding from the word ‘Go’ and thumped Raffles Hall 5-0, with many of our players, including Terence, Hafiz, Siva to name a few, getting on the score sheet.

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FIFTH MATCH: SH v KE

We were set for a very probable fourth place finish when we came face to face with Sheares hall for the penultimate game of the day. It was a very good start to the match, with us leading 2-0 at the break thanks to our stalwart forwards Jonk and Michael. We had a very high morale going into the breather, but after the break we shot ourselves in the leg. With a national player in Sheares’s ranks, it was obvious that we would pay very highly for mistakes. And so it proved to be when the player in question took SH within a goal of us.

A second, third and fourth goal soon followed. Many of our team mates gained unwarranted suspensions; we shot ourselves in the leg. Finally Jonk proved his excellent skills by giving us one more goal making the score 4-3, a classy finish.

In the final moments of the game, emotions went boiling over a bit with a Sheares player intimidating Musa and kicking up a small skirmish.

We ended up losing 4-3. Tt just was not going to be our day.

It hurts to fall down from a credible third place finish in hockey last year to a disappointing fifth place finish for floorball this year.

But nevertheless, our boys who were given a tough task of learning and performing a new sport at such short notice, did very well. Still, the transition would have the better if we did not lose our cool and commit some very important mistakes, focusing instead on shutting out the games and making it out of reach for the other teams.

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To sum up the tale of Floorball this year, things have surely been lost in Transition.

Pubz Comm Reporter: Michael Lee
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Date of Match: 24 Jan 2008
Score Summary: KE lost 1-4
Matches Played:-
Sui Fai, Michael, Josh (Singles)
Alvin and Ching Mien, Remus and Kaikai (Doubles)
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Photos by KE Photographers

The final badminton preliminary game for King Edward VII’s men’s badminton team was against Temasek Hall. Having lost to Sheares Hall in the previous game, the KE team needed to beat Temasek Hall in order to progress to the Semi-finals. However, that task was made all the more difficult when the KE team lost their captain Damian and singles player Zhi Peng to injuries before the match.

The KE badminton team fought hard against Temesek hall, but in the end were unable to snatch a victory. The manner of defeat though, was anything but embarrassing. Though Temesek Hall’s badminton team was not as strong as Sheares Hall’s team, they still managed to feature prominent NUS IVP (which stands for ITE-Varsity-Polytechnics) players in their line up.

KE lost the first singles match, but came back strongly to secure a morale boosting win in the first doubles match, with Alvin and Ching Mien rallying from a set down to beat their opponents. Unfortunately, the KE team was unable to add to their doubles victory and eventually lost the remaining matches, many of which were closely fought. Team Captain Damian said: “I’m very proud of my players and felt that they played very well today despite the loss”.

Hall president Raymond was among the supporters, and he commented during one match: “I’m impressed with our players’ determination; they really go for every ball”, to which Damian replied: “As long as the shuttle hasn’t hit the ground, there’s still a chance to return it, that’s how the KE team plays!”

While the KE team played with great spirit, they were aided immensely by the fervent KE supporters who came down to cheer on their fellow hall-mates. The KE badminton team would like to thank all the supporters for their encouragement and support during both preliminary games. Despite missing out on a place in the Semis, the KE badminton remains confident that the foundations are in place for a stronger badminton IHG challenge next year.

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Pubz Comm Reporter: Jonathan Chan

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KE’s two handball teams were both pitted against sports powerhouse Eusoff Hall in the final preliminary matches for the event. Guys and girls alike had a sense of expectancy, having trained hard through the last semester and knowing that, having faced up to Raffles and Kent Ridge Halls respectively, the worst was supposedly behind them. Not that EH was not worthy opponents of course.

HandBall guys

KE 12-24 EH

The guys went into action first. Eusoff passed the ball slowly and precisely before the yellow wave met the red defence. But still all of a sudden, the huge Eusoff player was through with sending the ball into corner of the net: 0-1. The game was on.

Knowing that the game would be fairly even, the outfield line-up of Eric, Pak Kin, Josh, Marcus, Yin Rui and Wu Hong gamely closed with the EH defence. With a significantly larger number of red-clad supporters than the previous matches fanatically cheering for KE’s win (and EH’s blood), the two sides clashed rapidly, exchanging shots. Eusoff added two more to their score but it was only a matter of time before the strong shooting arms of Wu Hong and Marcus found the target. A slow ball fizzled low through the Eusoff defence, and past their keeper, who had been putting up a commendable fight, and into the net. First goal for KE, and the supporters cheered like mad!

For a while it was stalemate, with both sides wasting chances by shooting within reach of the keepers. The Eusoff pivot (a player dedicated to tangling with the defence, waiting for the chance to grab the ball, spin and shoot) was giving the KE defence a headache due to his great height which no KEVIIan could match, but somehow they were kept at bay. A Eusoff player leapt athletically over the KE defence and shot from the top far corner, but Jonathan positioned in the goal dived high and long to deflect the shot for a throw-in.

But maybe the excitement blurred the KE team, for chances were also wasted and shots were sent into the EH keeper’s arms, who made up his lack of agility by his size. Still, Wu Hong, Marcus and Wei Qing happily exploited his lack of agility with shots to the corners which he could not collect. At half time, the score lay at KE 7 (pun not intended) – EH 15.

With Hendrik and Eric demanding that the team find back their confidence and fighting spirit displayed against Raffles Hall, the handballers took to the court again. Both sides fought hard to regain possession of the ball, clamping down every attacker within reach, and in the midst of it all, accidents were bound to happen. A Eusoff player charged through the KE defence and leapt across the goal area towards the net. Jonathan leapt out at him, closing down the angle. The shot deflected off the black-clad keeper’s arms, to his infinite satisfaction, before the EH player’s knee proceeded to plant itself squarely in Jonathan’s abdomen, winding him badly and knocking the ecstasy out of him. With the collision between the stocky Eusoffian and slighter KEVIIan looking like a lorry ramming a car, Hendrik quickly called in the experienced Loo Bing who quickly took his place for the restart.

Ryan, the winger (and our resident lawyer), proceeded to be awarded a two-minute expulsion following an enthusiastic foul of his on his opposite number. Still, some stout defending from Marcus led to KE repossessing the ball, even with 5 men, to launch their next attack. With the time ticking away, and Eusoff maintaining the lead, KE flung themselves against the Eusoff goal. How the opposing keeper managed to weather the worst of the attacks is a mystery to the writer, but weather he did, saving shots from Pak Kin and the other wingers running in from the flanks. His lack of mobility was exploited whenever possible, and Wu Hong was finally incapacitated with a cramp during one of his breathtaking runs through the defence after scoring 5 goals.

Yet despite the efforts of the KEVIIan team, and the yells and cheers from the supporters whenever the EH net was penetrated, the match ended 24-12 in EH’s favour. Despite the spinning shots from the pivots, the lung-splitting runs by the second men, the long jumps of the wingers and the dives of the keepers, KE’s bid for the elimination round was over. Eric, handball captain, commented that why we lost the match was more because of a lack of aggression on our part, rather than EH being superior. But the handball campaign this year has still been a vast improvement over the previous year’s; KE’s Guys’ Handball team had gone from one “still learning not to break the rules”, in the words of Aik Leong, to one which could be a genuine contender for future competitions. Next year, they would show the other halls that having KE in their group did not mean a sure ticket to the elimination round!

HandBall Girls

KE 2-9 EH (Girls)

Hot on the heels of the guys’ match came that of the girls. With the supporters now augmented by the guys’ team (who’s blood was now well and truly up), the KE crowd roared their encouragement as Brenda, Kimberly, Hui Ann, Fang Chee, Amanda and Hui Ying sped up and down the court, challenging the tall EH girls for the ball. Jia Hui was a rock in the goal, keeping out shot after shot, drawing the cheers of the crowd.

For a long while, it was a stalemate. Both sides had chances which both keepers denied repeatedly. Finally, a shot ricocheting from the ground skipped past Jia Hui as EH again drew first blood. Yet, the KEVIIans never took it lying down. Brenda caught the ball right in front of the goal area, spun and unleashed a fierce shot which the Eusoff keeper could not reach despite an athletic dive. But the ball bounced agonizingly wide of the post. We, supporters, groaned at the miss but cheered at the splendid attempt. The girls had it in them, we knew it.

Of memory in the writer’s mind is the occasion when a EH player jumped in and fired a shot which Jia Hui deflected. Another player collected the rebound and shot again, which she again blocked. A THIRD Eusoffian was quick to the ball again, but our keeper had repositioned herself and stopped the third attempt! A brilliant individual display!

And there was also Amanda who challenged the EH winger for a loose ball, and having failed to regain possession, proceeded to close down her opponent with an efficient clamp, preventing a clear shot at the goal.

With such displays, the Handball Girls’ were then down by only a small margin of 0-3 at half time. They restarted the half fighting hard. Jia Hui and Brenda exchanged places, with Brenda doing an equally fine job in the goal. The fast EH players, combined with a few controversial calls from the referee led to KE’s defence being breached more than once, but she pulled off save after save to deny them on several occasions. And at last, Kim let fly with a textbook style shot, which bounced off the floor just before the goal line, disorientating the EH keeper, who did well to perform a near gymnastic split in her attempt to stop the shot, but to no avail. The net bulged and the KE supporters cheered as though we were playing in the finals.

The pace was quickening, with space opening up across the court, allowing players from both sides to make use of their speed to run through, receive long shots and make looping passes across the court. Our left winger made good runs, even nearly scoring from a neat low ball. Still, Eusoff’s better technique troubled the defence, which Brenda’s skill could not totally negate.

Then in the middle of an attack on the EH goal, Kim once again leapt forward and sent a second shot into the Eusoff net! The crowd yelled their approval as the players formed up for the restart.

But despite their best efforts, the score at the final whistle was 9-2. Not that the girls’ team had anything to be ashamed of, for to us, they had put up a fine effort, showing speed and enthusiasm for the game, even when trailing behind. Again, with handball only having been recently introduced in KE, they did well, and we look forward to see them in action again next IHG!

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Pubz Comm Reporter:  Yu Kit Chan

The reporter and Pubz Comm would like to apologize for the extreme lateness of this report due to unforeseen happenings. We seek your understanding.  Thank you.

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Date of match: 18th January 2008

It was the day of the table tennis finals and we looked set to clinch the coveted gold award. Having previously beaten Eusoff Hall in the preliminaries, our table tennis girls were equipped with the skill and technique necessarily to pull off a similar victory.

All went smoothly as Wan Xuan and Lee May smashed their way through the singles matches again. Even though their opponents seemed good, Eusoff was still out-classed by our star players and bowed out of the singles matches.

However, the next 3 games turned out to be somewhat disappointing as Eusoff unexpectedly managed to defeat our team. The first doubles match (2-3) was a very close fight again as Wang Liao and Yue Xin relentlessly kept up the fight but lost in what was a very narrow margin of 2 points in the final set.

Nevertheless, Yue Yi and Chun Yan were not disheartened and fought fiercely in the second doubles match, taking the lead for the first two sets. However, they were evenly matched with their opponents and were forced to battle through every set of the game. They eventually conceded defeat with a score of 2-3.

In the last singles match, Tang Pan squared off with the captain of Eusoff’s table tennis team. She tried her very best, with determination and concentration etched firmly on her face through the match. However, the final score was 0-3 with Eusoff taking the last singles match. We are still proud of Tang Pan’s efforts and applaud her for her never-say-die attitude.

In conclusion, even though it was a slightly disappointing end to the IHG season for table tennis, we still have much to be proud of and we deserve to hold our heads high. Although our table tennis team was stronger in terms of technique, luck was just not on our side this time. Nevertheless, our table tennis team never faltered in their steely determination through all the nerve-wracking matches and will definitely return again next year to clinch the gold award that should be rightfully ours. Go KE7!!!

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