Written by: Choa Zhao Xiang and Leung Lok Heng Edited by: Choa Zhao Xiang and Leung Lok Heng Photos by: EusoffWorks
Basketball
It was Day 2 of IBG as our Eusoffians gathered at the MPC for another day of exhilarating competition. With the titles of Basketball and Handball champions up for grabs, all blocks were ready to put their best foot forward.
The first game that was contested for the night was Basketball and A Block bounced things off with a fine display of sick handling skills. Star freshie Dylan was a steady force as he dribbled past his opponents like a hot knife through butter, giving his team plenty of opportunities to score. Female freshies Clara and Violet, also affectionately known as “chuchuba” to many, had the hot hands and racked up points for their block with ease. To cap their games off, seniors Valerie and Jinh Hao put the final icing on the cake, placing plenty more balls in the basket to secure their wins.
Speaking of talented seniors, B Block had no shortage of them as well. Jin Wen showed why she’s the Basketball captain this year. Her impressive 3 pointers and hook shots drew massive “OOOH”s and “AAAH”s from the always loyal B Block supporters. Female freshie Jinryl was also instrumental as she set up countless of beautiful assists for her teammates. Not to be outdone, freshie Bryan was also a beast on the court, scoring points again and again as if his CAP depended on it. With his big build and curly hair, he gave off serious Mark Shen 2.0 vibes!
E Blockers were a force to be reckoned with as they fielded plenty of strong players as well. The tandem of freshies Celine and Michelle were a daunting presence as they displayed a mix of offensive and defensive talent, making it as difficult as finding a seat at The Deck during lunchtime for their opponents to score. What was maybe the most dramatic moment was when Block Head Alun stepped on court during the seniors round. In an effort to perhaps distract his opponents, he let down his tied up hair to reveal his signature glorious mane, very much like a shampoo commercial, and he immediately scored! Don’t mess with the hair!
E Block Head Alun with his luscious locks sharing a moment of sportsmanship with Mr Do-It-All Ming Sheng!
Another block that employed slightly unusual tactics was D Block, with senior Regina thinking way outside the box to help her block. In an effort to stop her opponent Shanice, she grabbed both of her hands and tried to pull Shanice out of the court, preventing her from getting any balls to the amusement of the crowd (don’t worry, the two good friends laughed it off after). If you can’t beat them… immobilise them? While Regina was focused on her plan, other D Blockers proved to be assets as freshie Ronald put his long limbs to work, intercepting balls and then passing to other freshie Sean, who would then score 3 pointers with ease. Last year’s Freshie Of The Year, Ming Sheng, added basketball to his already looooong list of talents as he came in and helped score even more points for D Block. Time to add another sport to the resume?
C Block was not to be feared as well as they proved to be worthy competition throughout. Their male freshies looked like a Singaporean version of the Harlem Globetrotters, with practically every guy towering over their opponents and all scoring easy buckets again and again. Their girls were no slouches either, as freshie Jodie put her netball talents to work as her accurate shooting scored points for her team. What a multi-sport talent! Perhaps Block Head Fadi was up to something when he said that maybe C Block trains for IBG…
Freshie Jodie engaging in a telekinetic battle with her opponent to see who can make the basketball levitate higher.
As the final whistle blew, it was clear that A Block had clinched the basketball champion title, dominating the competition and winning all their games! Here are the final standings for basketball:
1st – A Block
2nd – B Block
3rd – C Block
4th – E Block
5th – D Block
But the basketball shenanigans were not over yet! A surprise All-Stars match was held at the end of all the matches, which pitted a group of talented freshies against established veteran seniors! Below are the lineups for each of the All-Stars team:
Female Freshies All-Stars Female Seniors All-Stars
Briana (A) Tamelly (A)
Jinryl (B) Xin Yan (B)
Jodie (C) Li Ann (C)
Aderes (D) Jin Wen (C)
Hui Ling (E) Georgia (E)
Male Freshies All-Stars Male Seniors All-Stars
Dylan (A) Jason(A)
Bryan (B) Alfred (A)
Wei Shyann(C) Hao Hsuan (B)
Max (D) Bosco (C)
Leong Kern (E) Pei Jie (D)
The All-Stars matches were undoubtedly intense as the best of the best were going head to head. With plenty of amazing runs and shots, the players had the crowd in both excitement and nervous anticipation. Despite the Freshies’ brilliant effort, the Seniors were able to take the match 19-6! However, this was not the end of the night as the blocks were getting ready for our next sport.
Handball
After the extremely jam-packed basketball affair, we proceeded to the highly anticipated handball event. Handball, being new to most freshies, drew much attention from the crowd. Little did they know, they would eventually be drawing much attention with opposing players’ ‘hugs’ and aggressive tackles. Not to worry though, there was a lot of respect and consent from the games that were played!
We started the late night games with D and E block locking horns in a truly tense affair. Ming Sheng once again wasted no time with a quick 1-0 start with a stunner of a shot, and freshie Joel doubled their lead. With big plays from Jonathan and Dylan the Villain, D block was able to hold up their 2-0 lead until half-time with masterful leadership from their sensei Ikhsan on the sidelines. However, E block, led by Zheng Xuan on court turned up the aggression and skills notches by a couple degrees and threatened to contest the D blockers. Notably, Ever-so-handsome-popular-amongst-girls-bash-boi Benny, and Hair Gel Nigel took cues from Zheng Xuan, pulling off tactical clamps and speedy movements which was a joy to witness. As the half-time whistle blew, the girls took over and E block resumed their momentum in the game. D block summoned dangerous players like Hasya no Insta and Si Rong. Despite their efforts and captain Jessmine’s leadership, E block was too overwhelming. With powerful and rapid movements from Shi Yi, Georgia and the netball captain Caitlin, they proved too much to handle and the E block girls clawed their way into a 2-2 draw. Freshies Michelle and Chu Yi were impressive on their own, and held their ground against the tough opposition.
The next fixture featured a bout between neighbours A and B block. Usually, these rivals are separated by a mere bridge, but the handball match gave them no chance to be physically separated as clamps and blocks flew all over the place. The B block guys were commendable in their effort. Freshies Ming Yang, Yi Chen, and Cedric caught the eyes of many, as their combined efforts nearly led them to scoring. Ming Yang, who is a trained handballer, showed no hesitancy in powering through A block’s defenses. However, luck was not on their side. Matteus, the A block freshie was persistent in his defensive efforts, exactly how some people in the crowd described him to be – one with an attitude of a cockroach. Together with Yong Seng, the ex-pilot goalie, A block’s defensive prowess shined. On top of that, they were led by the tennis captain Bobby, proving as a force to be reckoned with. A block eventually broke the deadline with a lethal shot on target. The girls’ match was equally interesting. Sheana, the former Singapore Sports School bowler, was an omnipotent figure in the match; getting her hands dirty in both defense and attack. However, the experience that A block packed in Annabelle (playing goalkeeper for this match), and Bryna gave A block the defensive edge. The A block team was well-oiled in their movements as freshies like Nimble Nicole and multi-talented beast Clara moved with grace to prevent B block attacks. The match eventually finished 1-0.
The next match featured C block against E block. Once again, E block presented with their mighty line up. However, C block’s lineup was stacked with attacking gunpowder and speed. Led by Josh Taka, C block blistered past E block’s defenses with fluidity and agility. Yusoff from Eusoff was a reliable player during the game, as players constantly looked for him to build up attacks. Combined with Shawn, who was unafraid in quickly stopping attacks with clamping, C block blistered ahead with a large lead thanks to Taka’s fiery shots.
As the night ensued, we were extremely lucky to witness fantastic plays from players all around. Xin Ran, a D block freshie, came through with monster power shots, leaving opponents on the court dumbfounded while putting the crowd in a frenzy after her goals. Kenson, Taka and Yu Rui wowed the spectators and displayed what it meant to be a top-notch handballer. They were undoubtedly the top scorers of the night. The amazing showcase of handball talents on that Wednesday night was unforgettable for most!
To conclude The Long Night, the standings are as follows for handball:
1st – C Block
2nd – D & E Block
3rd – A Block
4th – B Block
Stay tuned for upcoming IBG matches, such as Volleyball and Sepak Takraw for Day 3! You definitely DO NOT want to miss the sports to come!
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