KE vs KR, 22-28
Writer: Jeremy Auw
Editor: Stephanie Kho
Photos by Wu Xi
Chills went down spectators’ spines as the KE girls laid their opponents to waste on the court by running a streak of four baskets. Each team was on the edge of their seats, cheering at the top of their lungs. It was the most thrilling girls’ basketball game KE had had so far, and they were not about to give up.
The atmosphere was not like this initially, though. Five minutes prior to the start of the match, after warming up and shooting a few hoops, Julia rallied her team and gave a quick briefing. The team was clearly nervous, as all she got in response to her unbridled war cry was a steel wall of deafening silence. Unfazed, Julia initiated a team huddle, screamed wildly, and the familiar “KE whoosh!” resounded throughout the courts. Then the starting five strode confidently onto the court.
The girls forming a strong wall of defense
The first quarter saw Julia, Fang Chee, Hui Ann, Ting Wen and Geri Foo as the starting five. Seconds after the ball was tossed, KE was in possession, and Julia quickly ran in to attempt a three-pointer. Thereafter, the initial pace of the game was slow, although Fang Chee caught some KR players off guard and managed a few steals. Yi Lin then substituted for Geri. Within minutes, team dynamics started to kick in, with Yi Lin and Julia grabbing rebounds and Ting Wen trying a few daring passes. After putting up a strong defense for almost the whole quarter, a tactical play by the team saw Fang Chee putting in the first basket for KE, to result in a score 2-6 in favour of KR.
The second quarter was slightly more spirited than the first. As soon as game play resumed, Julia banked on her highly accurate shooting skills to pocket a beautiful three-pointer with an assist from Yi Lin. For a few minutes, the scoreboard did not change, as both teams pitted their stealing and rebounding skills against one another. In response, Michael, KE’s basketball captain for the guys’ team, was on the sidelines cheering KE on, exclaiming that it was “hao qiu” (Chinese for good ball play) and that they were putting up “good defense”. Interestingly, Yi Lin and Ting Wen formed a devastating duo, passing swiftly and nimbly to each other and devouring all who stood in their way. In one instance, Yi Lin, Fang Chee and Rachel (who was recently substituted) fought hard for rebounds, making three or four successive attempts to lay up. This stepped up the pace of the game, following which jump balls abounded and possession changed at least four times in a couple of minutes. Not to discredit KR, they indeed matched us well as #21 scored a nice lay up assisted by #10. With 25 seconds left in the second quarter, KR launched an all-out attack with brisk passes and a few shots on target. In spite of this, our players stopped all their attempts textbook-style to end the first half with a very respectable score of 5-10 in favour of KR.
Of strategies and giving moral support
During the half-time break, our players caught their breath and listened to Julia as she strategized for the next quarter. The welfare representatives finally arrived, bringing refreshments to restore our bruised and battle-worn fighters. At the same time, substitute players Yun Lan, Wan Lee, Steph, Hui Ning and Wang Lu encouraged their team members as they geared up for yet another battering half.
Yi Lin, Rachel, Julia, Fang Chee and Hui Ann started the third quarter with renewed vigour and intensity. One could feel them bringing on their game, as it was before. Not to be outdone, the KR team also stepped up their speed of play. However, our players clambered back so aggressively that the feisty Fang Chee, in a bid to block a shot, fouled one of the KR players to concede two free throws, of which only one was converted. Yi Lin, a few minutes down the road, also inadvertently fouled to concede one successfully converted free throw. Nevertheless, she more than made up for it by swishing in a lovely three-pointer, which was the sole basket for the third quarter. This was despite KR’s clear advantage of sporting a well-built power forward, #24, who would have easily blocked Yi Lin with her tall stature if not for Yi Lin’s lightning agility and impeccable shooting skills. The quarter ended with a score of 8-18, with KE needing to play catch up.
KE Whoosh!
But let us not dwell too much on the third quarter, for it paled miserably in comparison to what transpired in the fourth. As soon as it began, it was titillating in every sense of the word. Our five girls put up iron defense against the initial KR attack, and they lost possession of the ball in the blink of an eye. Here began the utter destruction of KR’s hoop. The plays were not dramatic breakaways, like some of you might have imagined. They were team strategies, thought out carefully and prudently before the match, and put into practice masterfully. Yet, strategy was one thing, and execution was another. After some fast passing, it was Ting Wen who drove in and shot. Each of the two points she earned incited euphoria beyond what strategy could have envisioned. Once again, they regained possession from KR and charged down the court, with Ting Wen, once again, trying a three-pointer. Swish. It was beautiful. At this point the score was 13-18, and every KEVIIan present cheered like there was no tomorrow. As if this wasn’t enough for the KR players to stomach, another steal and offensive play culminated in Julia’s three-point try. Swish again. The score was 16-18. It was indeed a killing spree and the girls were not about to give up at all.
Yi Lin given two free throws
At this point, the KR team called a timeout, thinking our momentum would be disrupted. They were quite wrong, however. After some ball banter, with KR fouling and a jump ball in order, KE launched their fourth attack of the quarter. Yi Lin drove in aggressively and put in another two pointer for KE to equalize with KR at 18-18. By this time, the sound of KE supporters drowned everything else, for a game like this was a rare opportunity. However, KR responded belligerently, with each of their players marking our girls individually. It was a man-on-man (or woman-on-woman 
) defense tactic and the intensity was off the charts. Even as KR scored two successive lay ups, our girls did not relent, and Yi Lin paid them back equally. Moments later, a timeout was called. This was a significant time for the team, as this level of play was unprecedented and they were in high spirits. The captain, Julia, cried out to the team: “Do you all want this?!” The team replied in a resounding “YES!!!” Undoubtedly, it was a hair-raising experience for KEVIIans present at the game to see our girls display such perseverance and tenacity. When the game resumed, however, our girls kept getting called for travelling for some reason. Perhaps it was the referee who was suddenly stricter given the narrow margin of score, or just the overall tension that made our players overly enthusiastic, so much so that they ran with the ball! In any case, after a very applaudable three-point basket by #9 of KR, a couple of fouls earned Yi Lin two converted free throws in all, bringing the score to 22-25 in KR’s favour. As much as KE tried to played catch up, another three-pointer by the same #9 player brought the score to 22-28, sealing KE’s fate. Nevertheless, last tries to score saw praiseworthy dribbling by Ting Wen and valiant attempts to break KR’s intense defense. On the other side of the coin, Fang Chee and Rachel continued to defend well in the last 30 seconds, and forced KR to awkwardly fling the ball out of the court two times in a row. Before long, the game came to a conclusion, with the final score at KE 22-28 KR.
Of course, at the end, both teams displayed good sportsmanship by exchanging cheers and thanking the umpires. It was a fantastic end to the best game the KE basketball girls played this season. Even though they didn’t beat KR, their stunning performance during the game merited more than victory.
All smiling widely knowing they did their best
Congratulations to the team for such a brilliant game! 
