Written by: Ong Jia Jie
Edited by: Leung Lok Heng and Choa Zhao Xiang
Photos by: EusoffWorks
14 August 2019 – To most NUS students, the only thing significant about today is the start of the (slightly dreadful) academic year. However, Eusoffians have also been eagerly waiting until today for the commencement of the one and only INTER BLOCK GAMES.
At nightfall, Eusoffians flooded into the function hall (FH) and filtered into their respective blocks. After some fun trivia questions by the riveting emcees Brenda and Jerald, Dr. Arafat once again gave his 8MC safety & sportsmanship workshop while showing clear bias to E blockers by claiming he wore his questionably ‘blue’ pants in support of E block.
Sports Director Amos gave his own rousing speech before the respective block heads came out to introduce themselves. The heads were definitely out there to one up each other this year – starting with E block’s Alun giving a tantalizing solo dance, followed by D block’s trio showcasing Stephanie bouncing a human basketball, Fadi flexing his C block’s reigning IBG trophy, Neville using his B block freshies as football equipment, and when we reached A block, Javier decided to showcase all the Olympic sports altogether. Javier and Steph’s hilarious performance sealed the deal for them as they were crowned co-champions for the walk-in.
Steph dribbling a ‘basketball’, also known as a Hong Sheng!
To kick-start IBG, we had the H(EH)Ds Challenge, which featured a multitude of different games. The first game played was Would You Rather, which pitted the blocks against each other to see who knew their block heads the best. While A and D block came in tied for first place, we all knew C block’s Fadi was going to choose “would rather be the most good looking person in the room” option. (the rest of the blocks were tied for second place). After a whole bout of sliding across the FH floor for the next Magic Carpet game, A block was again crowned the masters of hip-thrusting and butt-grinding, finishing well ahead of the second-placed B block (3rd E, 4th D, 5th C). Overall, A Block emerged victorious for the H(EH)Ds challenge!
With everyone all hyped up and ready to roll, we were all set to commence the first official IBG game – Floorball! The first match already started with a bang as B block freshies pulled off a jaw-dropping volley from half court right off the bat. B block fielded veteran players such as this year’s vice-captain Jonathan and last year’s captain Terry who doubtlessly proved their worth- scoring a whole bunch of goals including a wrap from behind the goal at the last second to tie a nail-biting game.
B Blockers going Bananas after a fantastic goal from Terry!
Speaking of veteran players, C block proved to be a formidable force despite their proclaimed lack of senior players (Nicholas was playing but he didn’t play IHG last year and thus conveniently forgotten). Ending the night undefeated, C block fielded very promising freshies who blew past their opponents with ease and even scored a free-hit which was set up as though they were a professional team.
Clad in black, C Blockers clearly meant business today, scoring goals like a lean, mean floorball machine.
A block was the only block to not concede a goal to the dominant C block. This was clearly the work of the same dynamic defence duo from IBG 18/19 – Jaypy and Jared. This year’s floorball captain, Jaypy, was clearly out for blood, firing shots from wherever – even from deep within his own half.
Our floorball captain Jaypy from A Block showing us how it’s done, fending of E Blocker defenders with ease!
D block showed us why it’s known to be the family block – fielding an exchange student Max who clearly stood out from (and above) the rest of the players. Experts say he needs only 3 strides to get from one end of the FH to the other. There were also other familiar faces like Ikhsan who was giving motivational speeches on the stage to hype his team while those who were there “OOOHHH-ed” when Hasya’s attempt at a desperation shot to tie the game just grazed past the goalpost.
The night ended with E block trying their best to get their first win under their belt in their final game against D block. It almost seemed impossible, with E block being down 3-0 at the end of the second period. But boy were we in for a treat in the third period when chants of “HAO YUAN! HAO YUAN!” erupted from the E block supporters as last year’s IBG floorball MVP graced us with his presence in the final game of the night. Hao Yuan quickly justified such an overwhelming response from the crowd as he dismantled multiple opponents on his way to the goal, with each move producing ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the crowd. When he scored an absurd shot from deep within his own half of the court, MVP chants filled the FH – what a way to end the night!
The final standings for floorball are:
1st – C Block
2nd – B Block
3rd – D Block
4th – A Block
5th – E Block
The first day of IBG has been wild and exhilarating and hopefully everyone will be ready for some basketball and handball action for Day 2! Don’t worry about today’s performance – we still have a whole week of games so press on Eusoffians! See you at the MPC on Wednesday!
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