BasketBall Female Prelims: KE vs SH

Pubz Comm Reporter: Chrissy Phoong

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7^th January 2008: On a neighbouring court, at the same time as our male Basketball team, our girls were also fighting for their chance to compete in the basketball semi-finals. They were up against the bright orange Sheares Hall for their 2^nd preliminary match today.

In the 1^st quarter, Sheares managed to gain possession of the jump ball and thus, obtaining their first two points. There was much to look at during this first quarter. Hui Ann did several good cuts and bounce passes. Due to a foul committed by the aggressive Sheares’ team, we had 3 free passes during which Hui Ann scored our first point. Audrey and Fang Chee displayed high amounts of determination to keep the ball despite the heavy defense by our opponents. However, even that was not enough to stop Sheares from obtaining the lead after the end of the 1^st quarter with the score 18-1.

More heavy struggles to keep the balls in our possession ensued in the next quarter. Beatrice showed our opponents her perseverance to hold on to the ball although they were repeatedly pushing her. Fang Chee continued her admirable never-let-go-of-the-ball attitude, and she even got down to the ground to pass the basketball to her teammates. What a show! Although, we heavily attacked our scoring zone, the 2^nd quarter ended with Sheares gaining a bigger lead of 32 to our 1 point.

The 3^rd quarter began with a good start with us having the ball first. There was also one very gripping moment when our team did many continuous bounce passes to one another. Then, we persisted on our relentless attack to score points but to no avail. However, our girl’s never-give-up mindset paid off when we managed to score 2 points later on. Even though we got 3 points in this round, Sheares did better and extended their lead to 48-3.

Even if Sheares was leading by many points, our team didn’t concede defeat easily. This was clearly shown when Hui Ann, with her swift movements, passed the ball to Fang Chee who scored another 2 points. We also played a better defense in this quarter with Sheares scoring fewer points compared to the previous 3 quarters. However, this was insufficient to stop Sheares from emerging as the winner with the total score of 58-6.

 

The match between our team and Sheares proved to be a David versus Goliath match in every way. Our girls lacked players for this match and thus, were forced to enlist slightly ill players. The Sheares team was also a more aggressive and experienced team than ours with heavy support and cheers from their fellow Sheares’ residents at the sidelines. Nonetheless, I’m glad to say that our girls were never demoralized and they played today’s game with an air of sportsmanship, skill and teamwork. Vice-captain, Geraldine Foo promises that they would do better next year and I know that we are all looking forward to the moment when our very deserving female basketball team win the gold award.

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We will continue to believe…

BasketBall Male Prelims: KE vs EH

Pubz Comm Reporter: Chrissy Phoong 

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7^th January 2008: It’s the fiery red KE against the bumblebee Eusoff again. This time was the 2^nd preliminary match between our male basketball team and Eusoff’s. The male basketball matches have always proven, time and again, to be very exciting and this one was no different.

The 1^st quarter alone was packed with action. The first beautiful play was when Yang Dazhi grabbed a rebound and executed a bounce pass to a fellow teammate who shot the ball into the hoop. Another was by our basketball captain, Zhang Yang who performed a perfect 3-pointer. But they were not enough to stop Eusoff from obtaining a lead of 4 points by the end of the 1^st quarter with the score 12-7.

If the 1^st quarter was exciting, the 2^nd quarter was simply captivating. There was the series of continuous passes which did nothing but confuse the opponents, ending with a dazzling 2 point shot by Yang Dazhi. Another heart-stopping moment occurred when Eusoff attempted to do a 3-pointer but failed. We managed to catch the rebound but before we could even savour the small victory, Eusoff caught it back to attempt another shot. Thankfully, it missed again and this time, we caught the rebound and brought it to the other zone. What a tiring struggle that was! Next, the 2 points we didn’t obtain from our 2 free passes were later redeemed when Liu Caoquan managed to score despite the two defenders around him. By half-time, we managed to chalk up 6 points making the score, 14-13. We were fighting back!

The 3^rd quarter was not without thrilling moments as well. Zhang Yang performed another 3-pointer. Now, we had a lead of 2 points. Later, Hendrik used his advantage of height to catch a rebound, thus preventing our opponent from scoring further. However, despite our team’s effort, the 3^rd quarter ended with the score 25-16 with Eusoff leading once again.

The final quarter was vicious with each team struggling to win the game. Wherever the ball goes, there would be a brawl consisting of legal pushing. There was Liu Caoquan ramming his way to pass the ball to his fellow teammate. There was also Yang Dazhi pushing through the defenders to shoot successfully into the hoop. However in the end we sadly still lost the game with Eusoff winning by 17 points. The final score was 38-21.

Although our team didn’t make it to the semi-finals, it is already preparing to do better next year. As soon as the game ended, Zhang Yang analyzed their mistakes during the play. When interviewed, Zhang Yang said, “We still need improvements. But for now, our spirit is fine. Next year, we will do better”. It is comforting to know that our team is not discouraged after the loss. In fact, our male basketball team has much to be proud of. Our guys displayed a huge show of agility, strength and sportsmanship. Watching them reminded me of our KE cheer, ‘The KE Warriors’ for they were so much like warriors fighting to defend the honour of King Edward VII Hall.

Thus, I have this to say to the KE basketball team: We (at least, those few who came down to support) were all proud of your play today.

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KE Warriors Forever