Written By: Nga Wan Qin Edited By: Valerie Chua & Jolene Wong Photographs By: Eusoffworks
After a long bulking season from the CNY holidays, our bball hunks are back in action! For this round, we were up against Raffles Hall (RH) and our boys were determined to burn their new year calories off! Oh and make it to the finals, that of course.
In the 1st quarter, Austin showed off his Goliath prowess when he won the jump ball despite a 0.1 second lag in reaction time! Unfortunately, the early advantage was not converted into a shot. Thankfully, A Block power couple made up for it when Ashley stole the ball and made an assist to Speedy Jason who then secured a bank shot! Talk about fast game much??? After that sik chemistry, Jason chose to call it quits with Ashley and weaved through RH’s defence with his sharp handles. He attempted a 3 pointer just as the shot clock expired, but the ball rolled off the rim, DANGG! Eager to get the ball back, our boys went all-out aggro mode on the RH players, eventually subduing them into a backcourt foul! Jason was back in possession of the ball, and he went on to show everyone he owned the court when he sliced through the RH defence with a power drive that connected to a sik lay-up. Unwilling to let his A Block freshie outshine him, Sports D Raymond Loo had his eye on the prize and swooped in for the kill, making a sik steal and fast break down for a lay-up as well! This rivalry did not stop here, as Raymond sank in a 3 pointer right after Jason scored one of his own. The competition seemed to be between the alpha males of A Block, rather than the opponents from RH. Even E Block came into the mix when Shao Ye joined the partay with a sik intercept and fast break and SCOREEE! RH gave us a friendly reminder that they were our opponents when they called for time-out, with the score at 20-8 to Eusoff.
Austin towering over his opponent in green, winning the jump ball.
After the time-out, Raymond continued to dominate when he sunk 2 free throws into the hoop with pristine accuracy. RH tried to counterattack with some confusion tactics as their players ran in circles around each other in an attempt to screen each other. Unfortunately for them, they got confused by themselves, and passed the ball straight into the welcoming hands of Lai Sheng, who then made the fastest dribble from coast to coast in all of bball history, pump fake, spin move, and SCORE! This reporter was still reeling from Lai Sheng’s NBA-esque move when the first quarter ended 25-12.
The 2nd quarter started on a high, when Lai Sheng scored a long mid-range shot just before the shot clock went off! Having witnessed our previous success, a player from RH attempted to copy Lai Sheng’s NBA move. To their dismay, the real OG Lai Sheng was having NONE of it, as he mercilessly blocked the shot! Supermario Bosco was busy dropping jaws as well, when he used his king kong biceps to make a long pass to Ashley, who then smoothly scored an underbasket shot. Our boys had such sticky man-to-man defence that RH was eventually pressured into making another backcourt foul! It was obvious our boys were not done making their statement, when the quarter ended 37-18.
Jeremy breaking through RH’s defence for a solid lay-up.
For the 3rd quarter, RH fought back with a lay-up right from the get go. Jeremy, or Jem, as his teammates liked to call him, retaliated with a 3-point play when he drove in and scored a lay-up and free throw, BANG BANG! Jason the Bullet seemed to want this reporter to rename him Jason the Bicep when he used his guns to swing a long pass to Ashley, who laid waste to his opponents with an underbasket. Jason continued to flaunt his mad handles when he made a no-look overhead pass to Bosco, who then dished to Austin, who then sent the ball to Lai Sheng for an easy underbasket. Lai Sheng even went one level higher when he made the underbasket a 3-point play! 10RaymondLoo then decided it was time to impress the crowd again by sinking a sik 3 pointer, EZGAME! By the time the referee blew the whistle to indicate the end of the quarter, our boys were still in comfortable lead, 55-30.
With the last 10 minutes left to hustle, Captain Heng Wei showed everyone why he was the basketball capitan with a MAD 3 POINTER! Not done just yet, Cap HW made another long mid-range shot after Lai Sheng’s dime to secure another 2 points. Kenjun the Noodle (name as requested by his plus one) and Shao Ye the Weeaboo (EBBs YEY) showcased their 6 years of Dunman chemistry with a sik power play but Kenjun’s underbasket rolled off the rim just narrowly, tough luck! However, Kenjun redeemed himself by tightening his defence on his opponent, forcing a travel foul. Shao Ye then made a fast break down to lay-up, but he sneakily slowed down his pace, intentionally allowing the RH player to catch up and foul him for a 3-point play, HAHA SNEKKKK! The final quarter endded 67-39 in our favour, WEW WEW.
Victory over the RH team meant that our boys would be going up against the defending champions in Sunday’s finale. It would be the exact situation as last year – Eusoff Hall vs Sheares Hall (SH). While the formidable SH contenders are revered in the hall basketball scene, this reporter STRONKLY believes that our boys will bring the gold back. One down, last lap to go, JY BBALL HUNKA HUNKAS!
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