National Schools A Division Championships- Girls Semi Finals vs Victoria Junior College

It was hard not to feel a sense of apprehension and trepidation in the days leading up to this crucial match. This was the last hurdle we would need to clear as a team in order to get into the Finals. Last year, we unfortunately fell at this stage of the tournament. Despite leading HCI for most of the game fatigue started setting in as mostly 6 main players played during that game. In the end we lost out during overtime and a couple of our players came down with quite several bouts of cramp.

Today’s opponents were Victoria Junior College, a team that we met during our first round preliminary games. Though we won that game by a large margin previously, we were nonetheless hesitant to feel confident about this game. There was no room for complacency as we were sure that they had improved on their plays and found new methods to counter ours. With that in mind, we set out for our match against our familiar opponent, VJC.

Upon entering the venue, we were rudely greeted by the scene of a sizeable number of VJC supporters occupying the stands. However, we stood undaunted and remained composed as we readied ourselves for the match that was to come.

As per normal, we pressured our opponents with our signature full court defence right off the bat, but VJC had come prepared and was able to smoothly glide through our defence with their quick passes. Despite their numerous attempts at attacking the basket, they proved to be futile as the basket was guarded closely by our centres. On our part, we capitalised on the height advantage that we possessed, allowing our centres to exercise their dominance in the paint, which contributed to our 11-5 lead in the first quarter.

A minute into the second quarter, the VJC team was thrown into a frenzy when one of their key players, Emily #8 sustained an injury. With one pillar down, we seized the chance to widen the score gap. Stepping up on our defence, we managed to force them into sloppy passes, creating chances for us to score quick points, dealing them punishment for their errors. Once again, VJC had minimal chances to score against us. By the end of the second quarter, it was evident that VJC’s team morale was on the verge of collapse despite the roaring cheers from their supporters.

The second half of the game was more or less decided, with us still being able to play with the same energy and intensity as when the game first started, which lasted until the very end. It was a stark contrast to the weariness and fatigue that our opponents showed on court. Once again, we eventually managed to claim victory with a comfortable lead, and land ourselves a spot in the finals, after one year’s absence!

Amidst the exuberance and excitement, strangely, a sense of apprehension and trepidation remained as we caught glimpses of the match between defending champions HCI and DHS in the adjacent court…

Points by Quarter:

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

RI 9 23 8 18

VJC

#Nationals #2016 #MatchReport