A Trip filled with Injuries and Disappointments

By Kai Ru Bok

On a calm Friday morning, the varsity boys' basketball team traveled to Kuala Lumpur on Friday, January 27th, to reclaim glory against ISKL (International School Kuala Lumpur) after a devastating loss in the recent Island Shootout tournament. 

ISKL's varsity basketball team proved better the first time after beating the Dalat boys in the finals after a close 40-41 game on home ground. Tensions were high during the days leading up to the team's trip to KL as they worked harder than ever to prove to ISKL, and more importantly themselves, that they were the superior team. After a long six-hour drive, the tired team entered The Jungle, ISKL's main gym, and prepared themselves for the competition. Not long after, all thirteen boys gathered for warm-ups on the court, followed by a pre-game shootaround. 

Starting the game, captain Noah Kaney (12) said, "Coming into the game injured with a sprained ankle is a big upset for me as I was looking forward to playing ISKL again. But I still believe our team will win this game even though I won't be on the court with them." Noah was one of the main contributors in the previous game against ISKL with ten points. Losing one of their main contributors in points, each player came into the game knowing they had to step up. 

Two minutes into the match, SooWei Goh suffered a sprained ankle after attempting to steal the ball while an ISKL player jumped in the air. SooWei, just like Noah, was one of the team's significant contributors in points, averaging eight points a game. Drew Worten quickly subbed in for SooWei, but the team's mindset was distraught. Not long after, Luke Ng suffered the same injury as Noah and SooWei, with a sprained ankle. Being the starting center, Luke scores most of the team's points, averaging 10 points a game. With all three starters out of the game, Dalat's team's mindset fell apart and ended in a disappointing 16-36 loss.

The following day, the boys woke up prepared for a rematch against ISKL. Darryl Dwumfour took it upon himself to lead the rest of the team. Darryl scored a career-high of thirteen points by halftime, and Dalat was leading 27-22. However, the second half of the game didn't go as planned when the referees made multiple bad calls, letting ISKL shoot more than ten free throws, giving them the lead. Despite their best efforts, Dalat fell short, ending the game 33-46. Nonetheless, the coaches and captains felt incredibly proud of the team for their battle against the panthers.

After coming back late Sunday night, the Eagles have been working to patch up the holes in individual and team play in preparation for ACSC. Noah Kaney, Luke Ng, and SooWei Goh hope to return to the court by Saturday, February 11th, in the game against Youngsters. Each of the thirteen members feels confident for ACSC and hopes to add another trophy to Dalat's collection.