National Schools A Division Championships- Girls Finals vs Hwa Chong Institution

The day of the finals was a mixture of nervousness and excitement for the team as we prepared to face our toughest opponent for the season who were also the 3 time defending champions, Hwa Chong Institution (HCI). But before we go into the Finals, let me take you through our journey as a team.

Last year, our team started off on a rough patch, giving away our first game of the season to Nanyang JC. Because of that result, we were destined to meet HCI in the semi-finals. We unfortunately lost the game in OT, resulting in a lost opportunity to advance into the finals and reach our goal of claiming the championship title in 2015...

This year, we resolved to being more prepared by putting in the extra hard work and effort needed. The players, coaches and the teachers were all of one mind in doing so and we managed to start off the 2016 season smoothly as the players were all determined not to give away our first game again. Progressively, our team was able to maintain the consistency in our performance, despite falling short on some occasions; we picked ourselves up after every mistake and encouraged one another to fight hard for every game, and for every ball.

20 May 2016. National Schools A Division Finals.

As we entered the Jurong East Sports Hall, we were greeted by huge banners hung onto the railings at the corners of the hall, in red and yellow, that read ‘華中’. Clearly, the spectator gallery of our opponents were already 1/3 filled as they prepared enthusiastically to cheer on their girl’s team. This added a little to our pre-game jitters and anxiety, as our side of the spectator stands was empty at that point of time. However, we diverted our focus onto warming-up and getting used to the basket, and soon realized that the hall was almost completely filled on both sides, and with only a minute left shown on the timer to the Final.

“RAFFLES!” We gave our loudest cheer in the huddle before the game commenced. We started off the game with a small man-to- man defence, giving our opponents a hard time to drive towards the basket. With our height advantage within the 3-second zone, thanks to our tall and active centers, Jie Ying (#8) and Charmaine (#13), we were able to block and intercept a few balls, making turnovers in our favour. On the other hand, our offensive plays were not going smoothly, as we had some problems in running our plays. As a result, we did not manage to convert many of our attempts and ended the first quarter with a score of 17-6 in our favour.

After a short reminder from our coaches on our offensive plays and defence, we got back onto the court for the 2nd quarter of the game. We stuck to our full court press defence for the 2nd quarter, which we had switched into from the second half of the 1st quarter. We attempted more shots and carried out our plays correctly this time round, hoping that our shooting and attacking flow would improve. However, we were still unable to make a few shots as our offensive flows were often disrupted due to our opponent’s tough defence. We were stagnant for almost 6 minutes of the 2nd quarter as our shots and attacks did not go the way we wanted it to. Despite it all, we were able to maintain our score and build up more confidence with our full court defence, intercepting a few balls and converting our layups. The second quarter ended with a score of 26-14.

With fatigue and exhaustion settling in on both teams during the second half of the game, we were more determined to maintain our lead and draw away the points even further. We managed to convert most of our balls during the second half through our center's height advantage, by feeding the balls to both Jie Ying and Charmaine so that they could make easier baskets and draw possible fouls. For the first one and a half minute of the 3rd quarter, we managed to prevent our opponents from scoring and improved our score by adding in another 2 baskets through our centers. We secured many balls by feeding our centers who would then pass it back out for open shots. The second half was definitely more smooth flowing as we converted more shots, and drew more fouls in the paint.

We all worked extremely hard and maintained our focus throughout, despite suffering from muscle cramps during the last part of the game. Several of us had prior ankle or knee injuries from previous games and training and it didn’t help that HCI played an aggressive game throughout.

We didn’t let complacency set in, neither did we once thought of giving up even though we gained the upper hand for each quarter, and as the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard showed 48-33, we huddled together with smiles all over our worn-out faces as we had finally achieved the Championship Title together as a team.

Overall, despite the shortcomings of our offensive plays, the team managed to secure the lead for every quarter through working hard on our defence. Knowing that our offense and shooting were a little off that day, we worked harder on our defence, making sure that our opponents did not get an easy drive into the basket.

“We have to work for everything we’re going to get.” -Stephen Curry

The finals was a whole new experience for me, as I witnessed how my team had fought so hard to get to this stage together. I read the earlier quote by Stephen Curry just a few days after the finals had ended, and as I was reflecting on the team’s journey throughout the long and tiring season. The quote reflected on the team so much, as each and every player, teacher and coach were part of the process that led us up to the final stage together. Our hard work did not start out in the beginning of the season, nor at the beginning of the finals against Hwa Chong, but it started from the 3 hour trainings we had 3 times a week back in November 2015. All the trainings, conditionings, friendly matches locally and internationally had led up to this moment, and I believed that our team was the better team and truly deserved the win.

I always firmly believed that every player on the team was equally important, whether it is the starting five, or players on the benches who cheer the team on, or the coaches who not only cheer but scold and advise us on our mistakes and praise us for our well-performed plays, or teachers who constantly put in so much effort in organizing friendly matches for us to gain more experience and develop on our chemistry and for taking care of our well-being, and of course, those who helped out in recording our matches and supporting us for every match. All of us make up ONE TEAM, with a common goal, and without any part of the team, we will not be able to get to where we are now.

To the team that made it possible, I am really thankful for everyone’s efforts in helping to achieve our goal together. I am proud to be a captain of a team that never gives up, fights hard together, and picks each other up throughout the journey to the finals. Being able to get the gold on my last year makes me feel relieved and satisfied with the amount of hard work that we all put in together in making it come true. I have never really had the confidence to lead, but I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to lead a team with caring and capable players, who never fail to lend me a helping hand, and encourage me even though I have made many mistakes along the way. I will never forget the experience of being a leader and a team player, as well as the memories that this team has brought me.

Last of all, to the One who made all this possible for me to experience and to learn from, I am thankful to God for giving me this opportunity, and winning the championship that we missed out last year. May the next batch continue to strive for greatness and achieve greater results together!!

Dream. Team. Fight. Win.

Raffles Basketball Girls 2016

Points by Quarter:

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

RI 17 9 16 6

HCI 6 8 9 10

#Nationals #2016 #MatchReport #Finals