Written By: Nga Wan Qin Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: Eusoffworks
With one day left till the culmination of the annual Inter-Hall Games 18/19, Eusoff Hall still trails behind their carpark 15 counterpart by 9 points (as of the last @ihgofficial reports). After bringing the gold back for Badminton (M) and (F) in the morning, as well as Floorball (M) and (F) in the afternoon, the atmosphere was at an all-time high for our supporters in yellow. With their eyes set on the quintuplet victory of the day, our bball hunks were all raring to go dethrone the defending champions for basketball, Sheares Hall (SH).
Right from the get-go, it was obvious that SH was not like any other team our boys had faced. Instead of winning the jump ball instantly like he always does, our Angmoh Power Austin hit the ball the exact time SH’s centre #22 did. The ball goes out of court, and the jump ball was restarted. This time, SH won the jump ball and pulled no punches in launching their offensive play. Despite putting up a tight man-to-man defence, SH managed to score first with a lay-up when our boys failed to box out effectively. While our boys had really good Ds that denied many good SH drives, it was their field goal percentage that failed them. By the time half the 1st quarter was over, the score was 0-4 to SH, much to this reporter’s consternation!
Even the jumpball was a tough one… but Austin displayed his angmoh power!
Taking on the full court press defensive strategy, our boys were able to curb SH from scoring any further to maintain the scoreline for their sik comeback. Eventually, Lai Sheng had enough of the dry spell and did his signature NBA move (pump fake then spin move and UNDERBASKET) but he got fouled whilst attempting the shot! Knowing what was at stake, #LYLC Lai Sheng converted the 2 free throws with his immaculate aim, finally allowing our boys to move in on SH.
Unfortunately for both teams, what followed next was nothing at all, as neither side were able to convert drives into scores. Jason was so concentrated on the game, that he did not even realize he was bleeding after a testosterone-fueled wrestling interlude with a SH counterpart (男人流血不流泪, JY JASONNN). The referee had to send him out of court, and this reporter was literally on the edge of her seat from how untimely this injury came! Our boys tried to capitalise on SH’s fouling rampage but Shao Ye missed the 2 opportune free throws that could have been the equalizer shot by a small margin, tough luck! The 1st quarter hence concluded with SH leading 4-2.
Unsatisfied with the way things were going, Lai Sheng went on to set the stage for Jason with an impermeable screen the moment the 2nd quarter commenced. Speed Devil Jason then charged towards the hoop at 100km/h, only to SYKE his opponent and dish to Lai Sheng at the last minute. Lai Sheng then sealed the deal for this pick and roll with an underbasket, WHAT A WAY TO START THE QUARTER!
Muscular Ashley going in for a layup… what a sick elevation!
However, this reporter’s excitement was short-lived when SH brought the game back to square one by scoring a lay-up, followed by 2 free throws to bring the score 8-4 to their favour. Luckily for us, we had Jeremy with his great D that made a timely steal to put the ball back in our possession. Jason then juked his opponent with a fake, clearing his pathway for an easy underbasket! Freshie Jem was not yet done making an impact on the team; he cleverly screened 10RaymondLoo while dropping him a dime, and 10RaymondLoo just dove straight through the SH opposition to score a lay-up, even making it an and-one play! With Raymond’s well-timed 3-point play, our boys took the lead 9-8. Jem continued to destroy when he soared 20 feet to the sky and SMACKED SH’s shot down, SMASHING their hopes of regaining their lead. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on our side when Raymond had to step off court after a violent hustle caused him to sprain his ankle. SH took advantage of our boys’ lapse in focus to score an underbasket before they called for time-out, leaving the score 9-10 to SH.
Sports Director 10RaymondLoo bringing the ball up after winning the rebound.
After the time-out, Power Austin was back on court and he dropped 2 free throws to pass the lead back to us. We were neck-and-neck with SH, as they would score immediately after we did and vice versa. Our break came when Ashley levelled the playing field with a long mid-range shot that ended the quarter 15 all!
Now that the score was equalized, the gold seemed to be within reach and our boys knew it. The 3rd quarter starts on a high with Jason’s sik 3-point play when he cut in for a lay-up and got shoved by a SH player whilst in the air. SH tried to counter but Jason said NO with an INSANE intercept, and even slyly instigated a reach-in foul, GUD STUFF. With a well-placed overhead assist to Giant Austin, our boys extended their lead to 20-15 with his underbasket! They continued to perform under pressure as they force a shot clock call on SH’s side with their impervious defence. However, SH did come pretty close to equalizing with free throws when our boys made a couple of fouls.
Just as the score got as close as 20-18, #LYLC Lai Sheng swooped in to save the day with a long mid-range shot! He then extended the lead with a pump fake and underbasket, WHAT A LAD! SH fell into a mad frenzy and tried to fast BREAK but they ended up fast LOST when Raymond stole the ball and showed them how to fast break and underbasket. Unfortunately, SH managed to reduce our lead due to our subsequent shots not making it into the hoop. The quarter ended with a nail-biting 25-23 to us.
Last quarter, last chance to make it or break it. The JJs of A Block displayed their all-star chemistry when Jason dimed a sik overhead pass to Jeremy, who then locked in a 3 pointer, BANG BANG! Wanting to join the A Block showboat partay after Ashley scored a sik lay-up, Sports D Ray Ray forced a turnover with his impassable defence for an 8-second violation. He then sealed the deal when a sik overhead dime from Ashley placed him at the perfect spot to BANKAI for a lay-up! After putting one for the team, Raymond proceeded to have a mini competition with Lai Sheng on just who was the King of Intercepts as they stole the ball 4 times in a row to prevent SH from scoring, YEBOI!! Our boys were on FIRE and put in shot after shot with the accuracy of an Olympics-standard Korean archer! In the blink of an eye, the score was 45-33 to our boys.
Superstar Jeremy looked on, before raining from 3s!
With 2 minutes left on the clock, the SH players began to feel the heat and called for a time-out in a last-ditch effort to disrupt our boys’ momentum. This proved no biggie for Lai Sheng when he reached into the sky and BLOCKED SH’s attempt at a shot. SH eventually managed to draw 2 fouls from us, but the free throws they converted turned out to be inconsequential by the time the buzzer went off.
The grand finale had ended; our boys defeated all odds and DETHRONED the reigning champions with a score of 45-37!
It was truly a magnetizing moment as this marked the fifth sweep of the day. The win was clean and irrefutable, and our boys had achieved what they set out to accomplish! Whatever the outcomes may turn out to be on the 11th of February, Eusoff is extremely proud of all our athletes for rising up to the challenge.
Comments