Written by: Isaiah Tan, Choa Zhao Xiang and Leung Lok Heng Edited by: Choa Zhao Xiang and Leung Lok Heng Photos by: EusoffWorks
Sepak Takraw
The third day of our beloved IBG commenced as the beautiful sunset’s rays hit the endearing MPC. The five blocks were about to compete against one another in Volleyball and Sepak Takraw and the crowd was anxious to see who we emerge as champion of the day.
A sea of Eusoffians began to stream into the MPC, donning their respective block- coloured shirts, eager for another session of fun and laughter. Once the briefing for the respective sports were complete, the night was ready to begin.
The first match to start the night off for takraw was A Block against B Block. B Block head Neville stepped up to the challenge accompanied by freshmen Jess and Yi Chen. Up against them was a trio of freshies; Matteus, Sean and Yao Yi. After a flurry of well-placed serves, Matteus helped A Blk to take the lead. Some excellent plays by Jess allowed her block to get back into the game. However, her efforts were not enough as they succumbed to Matteus and his brilliant plays. The man had skills to pay the bills and showed that great things need not come in large packages. A block proceeded to take the first set.
Giant Bryan, Si Heng and Hidayah took to the court next for B Block and facing them were A Block’s Dylan, Jing Xin and York Tat. With B block taking the lead with their deadly serves and A Block unaware that it was an actual game and not a service warm up practice, B Block quickly took the set. Things were getting heated up!
B Block weren’t messing around as they sent veteran Kawch, more commonly known as Chun Chun by his fans, Sheana and Yuichiro to face A Block’s senior Oli, Hao Ran and Sharlene. Chun Chun came through for B Block, need I say more?
Chun Chun was the grandmaster of takraw. No time for amateurs.
Up next, both C and E block to the courts and were eager to kick some rattan balls. C Block sent out a strong lineup with Football Captain Wen Hao flanked by freshmen Ethan and Avina. Their opposite numbers Benny, Elvis and Bernadette were ready to go. Both teams found serving a lil challenging but they eventually got it. With Avina scoring some lovely service aces, senior Wen Hao later took over service duties and put the first set to bed.
The lineups remained the same apart from Takraw Captain and C Block Head Fadi swapping places with Wen Hao. It was a much tighter set as a number of rallies went on. As the set was still neck and neck, a tactical swap by E Block saw freshman Zac come in for Benny. However, it wasn’t meant to be as C Block took the second set and with that, the game.
Up next, D Block was ready for their first Takraw game of the night as they came up against A Block. Briana, Sean and Isaac faced Yu Xuan, Gaele and Amber on the court. Gaele came up with some sick serves to put D Block in the lead. Must’ve been those nice ass converse sneakers giving him an advantage. As both blocks continued to swap servers to find the flavour of the night, Yu Xuan put up a sexy serve which took things up a notch as Isaac replied with a tasty service, mmm… mmm…mmm. The best rallies of the night ended with A Block taking the first set.
Both blocks saw a rotation in players as Wen Jing, Jia Sheng and Wee Teck came up for A Block while Dylan, Amber and Aniq for D Block. The two trios of freshmen put up an entertaining set for their supporters, but A Block eventually beat out their competitors as D Block were unable to handle Jia Zheng’s sublime services.
As the night continued, one of the more heated matches against B and C Block began. Chun Chun was up again along with Jian Hui and Albanie for B Block while C Block sent Saitama Eun Seong, Timo and Ye Yun to combat them. It was a valiant effort by C Block but seriously, who can stop Chun Chun?
Up next, the amazing Sports D Amos graced us with his presence as he thought he might have a go at Takraw. Alongside him were Simon and Isabelle while Kay Shin, Avina and Izzat represented C Block. Sports D began the set by clowning around but somehow B Block took the lead. Simon and Avina also had their own individual moments of brilliance. Kay Shin’s services eventually proved too hard to handle as B Block bowed out.
B Block found themselves in another tie breaker set and who else would they call on to save them? That’s right, Chun Chun. With Jian Hui and Jovina by his side, it felt like nothing could stop em. However, Captain Fadi had something to say about that and along with Kay Shin and Avina, they finally defeated the almighty Kawch.
Other highlights of the night include when A Block came up against E block in comedy central game of the night. SMC Head Ardy with some unorthodox plays really wowed the crowd as E Block took the first set. A Block decided that the best tactic to confuse the opponents was to genuinely confuse themselves as well when Bryan, Jia Sheng and Xiao Fan struggled to figure out who was left legged, left handed, but right thigh during their service routines. Absolutely horsing around this A Block. A confused Bryan eventually helps A Block to take the set.
Towards the end of the night, B and D block gave the audience some sports entertainment. Bima with his long luscious locks teamed up with Yuichiro and Shaena up against D Block’s Felice, Aniq and Sean. A combination of Bima’s hair and Yuichiro’s head wowed the crowd as they scored a flurry of points. Just when all hope seemed lost for D Block, a hero emerged as Malaysia’s pride and Joy entered the court. Referee Hong Sheng stepped onto the playing field although something seemed a little off with him. After losing a couple of points, Hong Sheng and D Block gave out to B Block.
Another highlight of the night was when broken arm Joel from C Block decided that playing Takraw while having his arm in a cast was a good idea. Fella seemed quite comfortable playing with the cast and it was a lovely sight to behold. Opponent Matteus had a little dispute with the officials who were apparently helping C Block, but it was quickly settled as the game continued. After a little pep talk from A Block Head Javier, Matteus got back into the game to take down the one-armed man.
The last game of the night saw D Block come up against C Block. Freshies Brandon and Vanessa were accompanied by another expert of the game, Marcus Leow. Up against them were Alicia, Aniq and Ikhsan. D Block had a fierce start with Ikhsan leading the charge by their attacks were well handled by C Block. With C Block freshies Brandon and Vanessa stepping up, they eventually took the set.
Up next, Swan, Emma and Daryl were pit against Ethan, Vanessa and Tien Chun. Swan secured and early lead for D Block with some nice serves and was truly as graceful as his name suggests. Superb individual plays by Daryl and Swan allowed D Block to take the second set comfortably.
In the final nail-biting set of the night, Swan and Gaele teamed up with Rachel to see out Marcus Leow and C block to clinch the final set of the night.
Volleyball
Meanwhile, the volleyball matches were being played concurrently. Many freshies were excited to try their hands on this highly technical sport and they sure had got what they came for as they battled it out with towering net blocks and robust spikes.
The first duel of the day featured D and E Blocks who were eager to make an impression on the crowd. Both teams were evenly matched as both blocks had experienced freshies, but it was D Block who drew first blood as they went on a blazing hot start, establishing a quick 5-1 lead. Star freshie Joel was instrumental in this as his stunning serves bamboozled the E Block receivers who could not return his serves. However, E Block had a few tricks up their sleeves as well. Freshie Zoey served up a few aces of her own in a pinch and just like that, tied the score at 6-6. The game was definitely on! The two sides continued to trade points, with D Block freshie Song He (who also deserves a special shoutout for his admirable job as part-time commentator) quickly taking control and sending spikes tunneling into his opponent’s court. Not to be outdone E Block freshie Zachary continued to earn point after point with his ferocious spikes while D Block freshie Aderes would counter with her resolute defence. For a point, she sprawled out across the MPC court and had a miraculous one-armed save which sent the crowd nuts! It was truly an epic sight to behold, and a perfect Instagram boomerang moment if anyone caught it. Eventually, D Block was able to outlast E Block and won with a score of 20-14. However, if the first match was any indication of the night to come, the following games were going to be competitive and entertaining!
The second match featured neighbaes A and B block. Having just won the takraw match moments ago, the two blocks stepped up on the volleyball court; B block trying to maintain their advantage over A block and A block trying to get the better of A block this time. B block fielded some of their very exciting freshies which included Bryan Beh and Sheana. Bryan Beh was excellent with his thundering spikes and Sheana was very persistent in her efforts. Most notably B block was led by the highly defensive oriented Jeremy. Jeremy the Remedy was truly a pain in the ass for A block’s spikers and most of the other teams that faced B block subsequently as he constantly dug spikes with ease and accuracy. However, A block got the better of B block this time, enlisting the help of freshies Yao Yi and Isaac. Let’s not kid around. Yao Yi, currently playing in the Singapore female National Team, was instrumental in A block’s success. She showed everyone what it meant to be competent in both setting and spiking. Isaac was Yao Yi’s partner in crime, as his serves and spikes showed that he meant business. The match concluded 21-6 to A block’s favor.
C and E Blocks then took to court for the next showdown. E Block employed an unexpected tactic and fielded a lineup of all-females, but it worked out well as they managed to score the first few points with some sick serves for a 6-2 lead. Perhaps it was also the intensified screaming from all the E Block players, led by ever-popular senior Shu Yi, that managed to distract their opponents for the split seconds needed to score (future teams take note). She also managed to find time to strike a few poses throughout the game which were unfortunately not caught on camera. However, the C Blockers proved to be formidable opponents in their own right as well. Freshie Yusoff displayed his prowess with his aggressive plays and timely spikes which would disrupt any momentum their opponents had garnered. C Block began to creep back into the game and freshie Yun Xi proved invaluable in this comeback. Her steady receives helped create plenty of opportunities for her teammates to score, and score they did! It was a nailbiter right to the end, but eventually C Block ended up taking the match 21-16.
As the night carried on, we would see absolutely stunning displays of volleyball skills. Seniors Lok Heng, Zhe Wei and Yen Yi showcased their skills built from almost a decade of volleyball experience. Even grand-seniors LYLC Kai Qi and Vice-President Tzi Wah were present to grace the crowd with amazing performances. We then moved on to the All-Star match. Notable Freshies like Joel, Isaac, Yao Yi and Zoey took centre stage. Taking advantage of mistakes made by the seniors, they took the lead early, However, the seniors, led by Lok Heng, Tzi Wah and Kai Qi, would eventually close the gap and stay close to the tails of the freshies. The match would eventually be played to a 25-25 deuce, and resulting in the win of the seniors. What an enthralling match!
Wrapping up the 3rd day of IBG, we hoped that everyone had their fair share of fun! We are looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming IBG events!
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