IHG & IHRG Week 2 Round-Up by Yeo Ying Tong

26 Dec 2013, Thursday

Basketball M v Hall 13
WIN 36-9

Chua Kian Kok scored 7 points and Kok Chin Yang added 6 points to power Hall 2 to a 36-9 rout over Hall 13 in this Winner Pool tie. With Guard Choon Hao Wei orchestrating the play, Hall 13 quickly proved outmatched and outclassed. Our team possessed a significant height advantage, with players such as Jordan Ang, Chan Lizhong and Teo Yu Liang towering over their opponents, and this advantage told as they completely dominated the paint. In the end, our boys ran out easy winners, as well as leaving the impression that there is still plenty left in the tank.

Photo Credits: Neo Sian Yin

Hockey F v Hall 3
WIN 1-0

It was a different story at the NIE Hockey Pitch, however, as our girls faced defending champions Hall 3 for a place in the quarter-finals. Despite the presence of a SEA Games Hockey player in Hall 3’s lineup, our girls refused to be daunted, with the teams seemingly fairly balanced. The strain of playing at 12.30pm also took its toll on the players; Shireen Pj could be seen retching by the touchline just before halftime.

However Shireen, in a display of sheer willpower, refused to let the heat defeat her. Receiving the ball in the opposition D during the 2nd half, she took one touch before slamming a low, hard shot across the goalkeeper to give Hall 2 the breakthrough. Our girls then gave their all to hold on to their precious lead, sealing both a momentous victory and their passage into the quarter-finals.

Photo Credits: Esmonde Tan

Volleyball M v Hall 4
WIN 2-0

Buoyed by their earlier victory in Basketball, Jordan, Li Zhong and Yu Liang swapped a basketball for a volleyball, but the result proved no different as they achieved an easy victory over Hall 4. Bronson Cheng had an impressive game, but against such limited opponents, there is really nothing to be said other than a ‘good job’ for getting the win in the bag.

Photo Credits: Neo Wen Ling

Volleyball F v Hall 1
WIN 2-0

The volleyball girls completely overpowered their Hall 1 opponents in this very lopsided game, as evidenced from the score of 25-05 in the 1st set; brought about by Hall 1’s failure to receive serves from Mainisah Buang,Wan Ling Tan and Zhe Kang. The 2nd set was a lot closer, but when your opponents celebrate every time they managed to serve successfully, you know the result was never in doubt.

Credits to Zhen Chiang

Photo Credits: Tan Jun Rong

27 Dec 2013, Friday

Basketball F v Hall 10
WIN 41-26

Pei Ying led the scoring with a game-high 12 points to help Hall 2 overcome a feisty Hall 10 side this morning. Despite cramping up halfway through the game, she showed grit and determination to return to the court when her teammates most needed her. Cunfang also played a key role, adding 11 points and controlling the flow of the game.

Hall 10 were no pushovers, showing lots of aggression in defence, as they stormed to a 8-3 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. But our girls showed resolve and fighting spirit to recover from this early setback, and led by the stellar Pei Ying, eventually came through to secure a crucial victory.

Photo Credits: Lio Yu Feng

Hockey M v Hall 8 
0-1

Despite a splendid penalty save from Weijie in the 2nd half, our Hockey boys were unable to eventually secure the victory that would have secured their quarter-final place. Hall 8 may have been the seeded team in the group, but led by the likes of Johnson Lo, Parthiban Mathevananand Shukri Abdul Jalil, our boys gave it as good as they got, giving Hall 8 quite a few scares on the break in the first half.

With key player Muhd Azhari a marked man everywhere he went on the pitch, our boys were looking to someone for inspiration, but with captain Nicholas Tai off on holiday in Canada, there was none forthcoming. Hall 8 eventually grabbed the all-important goal after Hall 2 failed to clear their lines. The boys however would not have to wait long for a chance to redeem themselves, with their do-or-die game coming right up on Monday.

Photo Credits: Zhen Chiang

Chinese Chess

Vs Hall 5 LOSE 4-1
Vs Hall 15 WIN 3-2

Coming into the 2nd day of the IHRG Chinese Chess competition, Hall 2 still stood a chance of entering the semi-finals should we win our final 2 preliminary ties. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of our players, we only managed to win 1 of the 2, and hence crashed out of the group stages earlier today.

Things looked hopeful at the end of Friday, however, with the highlight of the day undoubtedly being the final tie against Hall 14. Having won and lost 2 games apiece at that point in time, our Hall needed to win Hall 14 to still have a shot at entering the semi-finals.

The script could not have been better written for dramatic value. All the games were played simultaneously, and Jordan Ang was soon to be the only Hall 2 player still playing, with the tie delicately poised at 2-2. Having taken more time than his Hall 14 opponent, Jordan was at a disadvantage despite technically winning the game; if he ran out of time, he would have lost, however the pieces were shaped on the board. His opponent, recognising the advantage he possessed in this respect, hence attempted to draw down the clock and win Jordan via this technicality. Jordan was literally running out of time to win, and just managed to secure the win and hence kept Hall 2's chances alive, with only 30 seconds left as compared to his opponent's 5 minutes.

However, our hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals today were crushed when we lost to Hall 5. It then became a matter of securing enough wins to technically finish as quarter-finalists. It was close, but no cigar; usually winning against 4 halls would be enough to secure the nominal quarter-final finish, but our Hall just lost out on board scores, or in layman terms, the total number of boards won in the group.

Nevertheless, it was a very encouraging performance by our Chinese Chess players, quarter-final place or no quarter-final place. We thank the likes of Lim Chang Yi, Esmonde Tan, Toh Honghan, Teeping Lim, Tee Yong and Yangzhi Zhong, amongst others, for their efforts over the past 2 days.

Credits to Zhen Chiang

Photo Credits: Esmonde Tan

28 Dec 2013, Saturday

Chinese Chess 
v Hall 1 2-3 
v Hall 7 4-1 WIN
v Hall 12 4-1 WIN
v Hall 13 0-5 
v Hall 14 3-2 WIN

Today marked the first of 2 days of the IHRG Chinese Chess competition. As it stands, should we win our remaining 2 ties tomorrow, our Chinese Chess team would qualify for the semi-finals. A more comprehensive report would be up at the conclusion of tomorrow's games.

Credits to Zhen Chiang and Chern Yee

Photo Credits: Esmonde Tan

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IHG Soccer (M) Prelims by Sean Lim

Hall 2 vs Hall 13

WIN 5-0

                                                                                                                                                                   

Hall 2                     Vinoth 39, Farhan 40+1, Brendan 58, 74, Billy 78 (P)

Hall 13

                                                                                                                                                                   

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

ST WILFRID’S SPORTS COMPLEX – In the end, it was a relatively straightforward win for Hall 2. They made neat work of their inexperienced opponents, to the extent sometimes we wonder if the “mercy rule” should be introduced to avoid instances such as these.

There was a makeshift look to this Hall 2 side, a consequence of both the graduation of senior players as well as the absence of key players. Long-time stalwarts of the team such as ex-Hall President Teo Yu Hao and ex-captain Chai Ming Long have left the Hall, while Tan Yong Geng and Christopher Gan missed out on this one.

Hall 2 lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the surprise deployment of Brendan Liang at centre-back, probably to give a relatively inexperienced backline some much-needed tactical nous. Another surprise inclusion was that of Nicholas Tai at left-wing, perhaps hoping that the chemistry with his loomie, the makeshift left-back Arnold Wee, might deliver the goods. Billy Wong lined up in the hole behind the lone striker Farhan, while elsewhere there were debuts for Dalston Leong and Blven Chan.

Hall 13 on the other hand lined up in a Mourinho-esque 4-3-3, with their midfield triangle sitting very deep. The end result of this was the lack of space in midfield, with Billy largely anonymous in the first quarter as he was starved of space he needs to thrive; it was not uncommon to see Billy completely surrounded by Hall 13’s midfield trio, unable to affect the play in any way other than set-pieces.

Hall 2’s main avenue of attack in the first half largely involved playing balls behind Hall 13’s left-back for right winger Terence Cheng to exploit the left-back’s lack of pace. It was a good strategy, taking in account the high positioning of Hall 13’s left-winger, the narrowness and high line of the defence, as well as their midfield’s determination to deprive Billy of any space at all. This left their left-back isolated against Terence, who was able to send in a couple of crosses into the box, but they were all either overhit or comfortably cleared by the Hall 13 defence, with Farhan, Billy and Nic Tai not providing much of an aerial presence in the box.

The unexpected injury suffered by Nic Tai in the 13^th minute put a premature end to his loomie partnership with Arnold, the duo enjoying solid, if unremarkable, games. The introduction of Vinoth in Nic Tai’s place gave Hall 2 an extra dimension in attack, providing both directness on the left wing and an aerial presence in the box. The way he would start out wide, receiving the ball from deep before either driving infield towards goal or down the touchline was reminiscent of Balotelli in his Manchester City days.

Before the first goals arrived however, Hall 2 was exerting pressure with no real danger. Terence’s crosses, Billy’s corners and freekicks all contributed to the feel that Hall 2 was in control, but to call it a siege would be overstating the case; other than a Billy freekick in the 16^th minute and a Billy cross that left the Hall 13 keeper flapping at thin air, he was largely unbothered.

Vinoth’s influence on the game finally told in the 39^th minute. 2 minutes before, he had cut in from the left to fire a shot that flashed just wide. Lesson not learnt, Farhan, who was working hard to run the channels and occupy both centre-backs, had a shot on the turn that ricocheted off the crossbar. The resultant scramble outside the penalty area eventually found Vinoth completely free in the box for an easy sidefoot home.

Hall 13’s pressing and compactness up till the 30 minute mark was a crucial factor in keeping Hall 2 at bay. Such incessant pressing, however, would eventually take its toll, and as they tired towards halftime, space started to appear; spaces that Billy would soon exploit.

Billy’s positioning throughout the game was very interesting. Early on, he was crowded of space in the middle of the park, thus he resorted to either floating towards the flanks to create overloads and send crosses in, or hovering around Farhan waiting for the second ball to drop, akin to a second striker. As Hall 13’s pressing started to drop, however, Billy became more involved in the game as he dropped deeper and deeper into spaces where the Hall 13 midfield was reluctant to follow him.

One such instance led to the 2^nd goal in the 41^st minute. Receiving the ball deep on the left, Billy drilled an angled crossfield ball that Scholes would have been proud of into the inside-right channel for Farhan to run onto. With the Hall 13 backline caught flatfooted, Farhan slotted home to give Hall 2 a 2-0 lead at halftime.

From then on this became Hall 2’s main mode of attack, and everything good about Hall 2 flowed through Billy, a sharp contrast to his performance for large parts of the first half. Having said so, a contributory factor towards Hall 13’s fatigue was Hall 2’s ability to retain the ball and recycle possession, denying Hall 13 the chance to rest on the ball.

The overall technical superiority that the Hall 2 backline and midfield duo enjoyed was at times painfully obvious. Sathiya occasionally dropped into the backline to provide a passing option for Kenneth Gan and Brendan Liang, reliving the pressure on the Hall 2 backline. Dalston played slightly further ahead, his passing neat and crisp, keeping the play going. Arnold and Blven just did what they were supposed to do, staying back, keeping it simple.

Having ran himself into the ground during the first half, Terence’s influence on the game started to fade, just as Billy’s was growing by the minute. No matter, the job was done. 29^th President Parthiban came on for Terence, prompting a tactical reshuffle for Hall 2. Parthi slotted in at centre-back alongside Captain Kenneth, Brendan moved all the way to centre-forward, Farhan dropping slightly deeper, while Billy took over Terence’s place on the right. Hall 2 morphed into a lopsided 4-4-2; Vinoth continued to stay high and wide, and while Billy was the notional right-winger, he was really just moving wherever that allowed him to spray balls towards the 3 forwards on his left.

Brendan’s change of position was to prove the pivotal change for the 2^nd half, as he played a role in the next 3 goals. He scored the first off a Billy inswinger from the left, with the Hall 13 defence completely lost at sea. 

His next was a work of art. Kenneth spotted the run of Brendan and lofted a ball over the Hall 13 defence, while Brendan did superbly to not only beat the offside trap but to lob the goalkeeper from 25m out. He then showed that his link-up play was up-to-scratch as well, playing the through ball that led to Billy’s penalty, which he converted with aplomb for Hall 2’s 5^th goal.

Billy’s crowding out in the first half and Brendan’s deployment as centre-back contributed to Hall 2’s relatively muted start. However, once Hall 13 started to tire, Billy promptly grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, and was ably supported by Brendan in the 2^nd half. With Christopher and Yong Geng to return for the next games, a full-strength Hall 2 side is a terrifying proposition for anyone to face.

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IHG & IHRG Week 1 Round-Up by Yeo Ying Tong

16 Dec 2013, Monday

Basketball (F)
WIN 56-8

Hall 2 kicked off the IHG season with an impeccable start!

In the warm light of the morning sun, our basketball girls thrashed their opponents by a gaping scoreline of 56-8. Overall, our spirited players were consistent in putting up a strong defense and displayed mettle and sheer grit. They overpowered the competition and breezed through to the next stage. 

Snooker
WIN 3-2 vs Hall 1
WIN 3-0 vs Hall 10

It ain’t over till the fat lady sings; and so it proved, as our Hall 2 Snooker team battled back from a 2-0 deficit to complete a superb 3-2 comeback against the Hall 1. Our players continued their winning streak and thrashed Hall 10 with a scoreline of 3-0 to kick-start the IHRG season on a triumphant note.



17 Dec 2013, Tuesday

Basketball (M)
WIN 32-13
We came. We fought. We conquered.

Decked in black and gold, our basketball boys overcame a slow start to crush the players of Hall 5 with a scoreline of 32-13. In the early stages of the game, luck was not on our side. Pressure was building when shots were not converted to points. Nevertheless, the Hall 2 titans pressed on and won the match with brilliant teamwork and tenacious spirit.

18 Dec 2013, Wednesday

Softball M
WIN 9-7 vs Hall 6
WIN 8-0 vs Hall 13

A celebratory mood fills the air as our Softball boys clinched a well-deserved double victory at Kallang Diamonds. This time round, our team successfully triumphed over our arch nemesis hall 6 with powerful batting and a relentless spirit. Despite trailing behind with a scoreline of 2-6 at the end of the second inning, we made a comeback in the third. Seizing every opportunity that came our way, the boys overwhelmed the opponents with a whopping score of 9-6. Under the leadership of team captain Guo Zhen, our team held the fort in the last inning and defeated the competition with a final scoreline of 9-7.




Hockey F vs Hall 15
WIN 3-1

The blazing heat from the morning sun had little effect on our Hockey girls who were consistent in their delivery. Thunderous cheers erupted in the pitch when an assist by Shireen Pj, during the final minutes of the match, led Artrillian Ng to squeeze a goal past the keeper to claim victory against our opponents.

Snooker 
3-1 vs Hall 9 (Quarter Finals) WIN
1-4 vs Hall 11 (Semi Finals)

Over at nanyang house, it was heartbreaking stuff for our snooker team as they continued their fairytale run to the semi-finals but alas fell just short. Our team fell 1-4 to Hall 11 who were simply more experienced. Nevertheless, reaching the Semis is an astounding achievement in itself, and for that we would like to congratulate our snooker team for putting up such a good fight.

19 Dec 2013, Thursday

Softball F vs Hall 7
WIN 7-3

Our softball girls faced a rough start, trailing behind Hall 7 with a scoreline of 0-3 at the end of the first inning. Nonetheless, our players kept their cool. Not to be outdone, team mag Wang Ling won over the entire crowd by catching a powerful drive shot from their second batter that looked destined to the left outfield, from the third base, single-handedly during the second inning.

The pressure was on at the girls’ last batting, with that being the last chance to make a comeback. Steadily, point by point, our team caught up. Batter Weishan brought the game to its climax when she struck the ball outfield. With that, all her teammates at the bases were sent home and the scores increased to a pleasing 6-3. Not leaving any room for chances, our softball ladies earned another point and brought the match to an epic finish of 7-3.

Softball F vs Hall 3 (Winner Pool)
0-1

The tension in the field was evident and the spectators were kept at the edge of their seats since the start of the match. In the final minutes of the game, both teams were neck-to-neck in the competition. With all bases loaded, our players were determined to level the scores.

Unfortunately, our batter was struck out before reaching the base giving us the final score of 1-0. Nontheless, our team had put up a great fight.


Credits to Zhen Chiang and Sian Yin

Hockey M vs Hall 1
WIN 1-0

Within seconds into the match, Azhari shook the confidence of the opposing team by skilfully maneuvering the ball into our possession. Although the Hockey boys managed to hold Hall 1 in their half of the pitch, luck was not on our side and several attempts at the goal fell through. At a crucial juncture of the match when the teams were tied at 0-0, keeper Weijie made a critical dive that upset the opponents’ attempt at scoring any points. Johnson stole the limelight when he bagged the first and only goal of the entire match. The game ended with a sweet revenge against Hall 1 who narrowly won our players last year.

Volleyball M vs Hall 3
0-2

The day started with a resounding bang, as the air-packed volleyball struck against the hard wall surface of the SRC Indoor Sports Hall. Our team fought hard but was ultimately outclassed in an intense showdown by Hall 3. Special mention to Lim Kang Wei, who made crucial blocks that prevented the opposing team from scoring. Thankfully, the game is not over and our boys are on track to make a comeback at their next match against Hall 4.

20 Dec 2013, Friday

Softball F vs Hall 7
7-0

It's blood, sweat, and sometimes tears.

Our softball girls took to the fields at the crack of dawn, determined to thwart Hall 7’s attempt to have the tables turned after suffering a defeat against us in our previous face-off. The team’s morale took a hit when a powerful drive by Wang Ling that sent Mai home was nullified by the umpire who alleged that a foul was committed. At the end of the first inning, we found ourselves trailing by 3 points. Although Hui Min displayed excellent pitching that struck out several batters, points seemingly eluded our players in the subsequent innings. Our girls showed grit as they persisted through the odds and fought valiantly to make a comeback. 

However, in an emotive twist of fate, the game concluded in the opponent’s favour with a score of 7-0. Even though it was a pity that their journey has come to a premature end, our players have fought courageously and we salute them for all the effort that they have put in to bring pride and glory to our hall.



Credits to Zhen Chiang and Sian Yin

Othello
Vs Hall 8 3.5-1.5 WIN
Vs Hall 9 5-0
Vs Hall 4 3-2
Vs Hall 5 5-0
Vs Hall 6 5-0

Spirits were high when our Othello warriors dominated three sets against Hall 8 in the first round of the games. Despite having a crash course on the game just minutes before the competition, Jiahao proved to be an asset to the team as he gained full control of his set and rendered his opponent helpless with no possible moves to take. Kip Mun was the first player in the arena to complete his game. He breezed through round one, crushing the competitor with an admirable scoreline of 50-14.

Unfortunately, despite giving our all, the line-ups of other halls were simply too strong and we fell to the better players.Quick practice sessions during the breaks were insufficient for our novice players of the black and white game to advance to the next stage of the competition.

While the team did not emerge victorious at the end of the competition, we recognise our team for their effort today and would like to cheer them on for the subsequent matches.



21 Dec 2013, Saturday

Othello
Vs Hall 16 5-0
Vs Hall 14 3-2 WIN

Saturday marked the end of IHRG Othello as well as the first week of IHG/IHRG.



Othello behemoth Hall 16 sliced through the competition, upsetting our chance of having a shot at the Quarter Finals. Nonetheless, unfazed by the defeat, our players readied themselves for a final showdown against Hall 14. Piece by piece, Hall 2’s Othello warriors executed their master tactician moves with precision and cautiousness. Our players’ seamless strategy in the last stages of the round led them to outflank their rivals and claim victory in the last match.

Adeline, Jiahao and Yangzhi triumphed over their opponents with a scoreline of 45-19, 35-26 and 38-26 respectively while Isabella came close to winning but eventually lost her set to the other player by a narrow margin of 31-33.

The team’s improvement would not have been possible without the patient guidance of their coach, ZhiKai. We thank our Othello players for all the energy put into the matches and look forward to more great games for the rest of the season.

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IHRG Snooker Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals by Sean Lim

Thursday, 19 December 2013

Snooker
WIN 3-1 vs Hall 9
LOSE 1-4 vs Hall 11

NANYANG HOUSE, NTU – The end of a fairytale.

The Hall 2 Snooker Team picked up where they left off with a highly impressive win in the quarter-finals, but their dream run eventually came to an end in the semi-finals at the hands of Hall 11.

In the 1^st round of the quarter-finals against Hall 9, Jerico Lee’s opponent was a familiar face in the form of his snooker club teammate. Knowing that his adversary was a strong player, Jerico’s strategy was thus to be defensive yet opportunistic, waiting for a chance to strike yet not giving up any in return. He then executed his plan flawlessly to get our Hall off to a brilliant 1-0 start.

Queenie Key was up next. Buoyed by her performance in the previous round, she kicked off with a 10-point lead. The opponent however, not only clawed back her lead but was also leading by 2 points by the last 3 cues. Queenie, however, had other ideas. In the last cue, Queenie proceeded to first pocket the blue ball, before sending the white ball into a position that was impossible for the opponent to score. With that play, Queenie retook the lead, and won the game by a dramatic score of 30-29.

Hall 2’s momentum was halted, however, when Jiahao lost the 3^rd game. His opponent, a National Snooker League player, was simply too strong, despite Jiahao’s best attempts.

It was thus left to Team Captain Lee Ziyang to seal Hall 2’s passage to the semi-finals. In a nerve-wrecking game against a reputed “4Ball specialist”, our captain rose to the challenge and came out all guns ablazing, fully capitalising on this runs to earn a series of high points that left his opponent trailing in his wake. Despite his best efforts, his opponent was unable to catch up, and Hall 2 marched on into the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, our Hall’s chances of progress were again on the slim side, with our opponents Hall 11’s lineup reading like a who’s who of the school Cuesports scene. Hope and determination had carried them thus far, but try as they might, in the end it was really a step too far.

Jerico Lee led the Hall 2 charge in the 1^st game. Up against the NTU Snooker Team Captain, despite trying his very best, Jerico lost to the better player.

1-0   down.

It was then Blven Chan’s and Lee Ziyang’s turn to concurrently take centrestage. Blven, perhaps due to his relative lack of games, took quite some time to get out of the blocks. When he finally got started, Blven quickly made up for lost time, catching up with his opponent and winning. The only freshman in the team, Blven’s performance over these few days has been sterling indeed.

1-1.

Ziyang was however not so fortunate. Up against the Pool Team Captain, Ziyang tried his best, but sometimes you just got to raise your hand and say your opponent was simply better. This was one of those instances.

1-2 down.

Jiahao and Queenie were up next. With our Hall 1 game down, we had to win both games to progress to the finals; lose any, and it was all over.

Jiahao, in a heart-wrenching effort, lost his game by a narrow margin of 11-19, and it was not for a lack of trying. Queenie, the only lady in the entire Snooker IH, was up against the 9ball Open Champion, but did not get a chance to finish her game, for our Hall had already lost 3 sets, and by extension, the semi-final tie.

In the aftermath of what must have been a relatively traumatic moment for our snooker team, we caught up with Team Captain Ziyang, who had these words to say,

“We tried our best, put up a great fight and everybody outperformed themselves. Our initial goal was to make it to the Quarter Finals but we already exceeded expectations and fought our way to Semis.”

As a whole, our Snooker team has indeed performed remarkably well to reach the semi-finals. Special mention must go out to Blven, as the only freshman on the team, as well as Queenie, for being the only lady in a testosterone-laden sport.

To end off on a high note, we would like to once again congratulate our Snooker Team on their brilliant performance to reach the semi-finals!

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IHRG Snooker Prelims by Sean Lim

Monday, 16 December 2013

Snooker
WIN 3-2 vs Hall 1
WIN 3-0 vs Hall 10

NANYANG HOUSE, NTU – It ain’t over till the fat lady sings; and so it proved, as our Hall 2 Snooker team battled back from a 2-0 deficit to complete a superb 3-2 comeback against the Hall 1 Snooker team to kickstart the IHRG season.

This is a testament to the never-say-die attitude of our Snooker players, and serves as the perfect riposte to any rival Halls thinking they would have an easy game against Hall 2.

Having said so, the game really did seem all done and dusted at the end of the first 2 games, and with it the slim hopes of Hall 2 progressing from the preliminary rounds; such is the fine line between success and failure.

Lee Ziyang, despite posting impressive scores of above 60 in both matches of Fourball, was unfortunate to eventually fall to his Hall 1 opponent.

Luck also seemingly deserted our second player, Queenie Key, for a slightly underwhelming game led to our team finding itself 2-0 down.

Our hopes thus rested on Jerico Lee’s, shoulders, and he did not disappoint, winning his game to give our qualification hopes the proverbial shot-in-the-arm.

The Hall 2 revival continued apace when Jiahao won his game as well to level the score at 2-2.

With 2 games won on the trot, the pendulum swung, and the momentum was now firmly in our favour.

Having smelled victory at 2-0 up, the thoughts on the minds of the Hall 1 players at that juncture must surely have been somewhere along the lines of “Surely not?”

Blven Chan, in his debut game of snooker for the Hall, definitely could not have imagined that his day would end up with him in the high-pressure clutch game, with the fate of victory firmly in his hands.

With the destinies of both Halls in the balance, Blven proceeded to show nerves of steel to seal the victory with a solid score of 56, sending Hall 2 into the Winners Pool.

Up next was a match against Hall 10; win, and Hall 2 would be in the quarter-finals.

Compared to the first game, this one was relatively straightforward, with no stirring tales of back-to-the-walls comebacks involved.

Lee Ziyang, Queenie Key and Jerico Lee all made short work of their opponents, who were simply outclassed.

Queenie Key was particularly impressive, bouncing back from the disappointment of her earlier defeat to make 10 consecutive shots for a game-high break of 25 points.

With this win, Hall 2 progressed to the quarter-finals, where tougher challenges surely await, but the fighting spirit and excellence displayed over these 2 games will hold them in good stead.

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IHG Basketball (F) Prelims by Yeo Ying Tong

Monday, 16 December 2013

Basketball (F)

WIN 56-8

Hall 2 kicked off the IHG season with an impeccable start!

In the warm light of the morning sun, our basketball girls thrashed their opponents by a gaping scoreline of 56-8. Visibly more petite in build, the girls from Hall XIV stood little chance against our formidable players.

It was undisputable which team was dominating the match. With their quick footwork and precise aim, our Hall 2 ladies swiftly threw the competition far behind with an 8 point lead. The opposing team had yet to score. The humid air hung still as one of our very own players unwittingly scored an own goal in a bid to defend, ending Hall XIV’s drought of points.

By the time the game reached the third quarter, it was literally raining points – on our side. Our players picked up pace and resumed play with a vengeance. Refusing to rest on their laurels, our Hall 2 players made stunning steals and shots that captured the spectators’ hearts. Li Ping swallowed the competition with her countless shots through the hoop, and point guard Faith put our opponents through a tough time as they tried to break through our defense.

Despite our opponents getting physical and doubling or triple-teaming our players, we easily overpowered the unmarked opposition players.

Nearing the end of the game, Serene Goh had a fast break but was fouled by a defender at the very end of the quarter.

Even though there were several unfortunate misses on the free throws and the lack of rebound catches, the ladies kept their cool under the leadership of team captain Shi Min and shot until the last whistle blew.

Overall, our spirited players were consistent in putting up a strong defense and displayed mettle and sheer grit. They overpowered the competition and breezed through to the next stage.

Hall 2 is beyond proud of our fighters and we look forward to you ladies devouring the next group of opponents. 

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