Home of the Panthers

By Wei Ee Goh

This basketball trip was the last and long-awaited ISKL tournament for the seniors. On the way to our trip, the bus was filled with initial excitement, quickly followed by everyone falling asleep. 

Once we got to the school, our Varsity Boys team played a local KL team called Hatchers. It was an intense game, with the lead consistently changing by two points, but sadly, due to minor mistakes, we lost by two points. 

Thankfully, we bounced back during our second game against Davidson with an easy win of 58-29. After the long day of traveling and playing games, we ended it by going to the same mall we go to for every trip, Intermark Mall. The Varsity girls and guys' teams scavenged around the mall to find their favorite foods, varying from Nandos, Chinese food, McDonald’s, and baguettes. The night ended with heading to the hotel, waiting for our room keys, and getting ready for the next day.

Breakfast was at 7 am, and soon after, we boarded the bus, ready to play our first team of the day. The skill difference between Sonic's team and ours became evident almost immediately, with our boys jumping to a ten-point lead in the first quarter. The final game score was 58-29, with Dalat getting a comfortable victory. 

After this win, our primary focus became ISKL, our rival school, which was the school we were most excited to play since it was our last chance to compete against them. Both teams desperately wanted the win, and the tension was felt in the air. The game started with both teams making offensive mistakes, leading to low scores in the first quarter. However, both teams eventually picked up their offense, and the lead constantly shifted back and forth. Sadly, our team made some careless mistakes during the third quarter, which allowed ISKL to jump to a ten-point lead. The boys attempted to cut this lead short, but fatigue and mistakes made this comeback impossible. Our team ended up placing third in the tournament with our heads held low. 

On the ride back, our team captain, Josia De Jager (12), told the team, "This tournament shows us that we just aren't ready for ACSC. We need to learn from these mistakes and losses and be better." 

With a month left in the season, our team began practicing harder than before, looking ahead with hopes of winning ACSC in February.