Basketball (M)

In the second qualifying round, the Hall 4 basketball boys were up against Hall 8, an assertive team which dominated the majority of the game. It was an uphill challenge as the game went by; the boys were visibly worn out but nevertheless, determined as ever to narrow the score gap.

The game started on a rather dismal note, as the team was taken down 11 – nil by the end of the first quarter. It was only in the second quarter when we managed to successfully break through Hall 8’s dogged defence, ending off the first half with just two points on our side.

The pace of the game remained quick in the third quarter. Ball possession was better balanced between both teams as our defence started to adapt to the speed and style of the opponents, only allowing another 4 points to be collected by them. With determination and tactical creativity, we also manged to take 3 points for ourselves within this 10 minutes.

The final quarter felt like an emergency rescue exercise, as defence was on high against the increasingly unpredictable attacking schemes undertaken by Hall 8. Neverthelss, we managed to pick up another two points in this final quarter, finishing the game defeated, 7 – 27.

Our boys in defence.

Brilliant jump by ZeLong.
Clearly, an ungracious act by the Hall 8 player trying to tug him down.

Watching intently as the game moved along.

It was definitely a disappointing game, marking the end of our male basketball campaign for this year's games. And we shall be pinning our hopes on our female basketball team, which have had their game postponed twice.

- Cai Zhimin (Alexis)