By Jonathan Tan (13A01C)
Photos by Nandaru Annabil, Zhi Xuan and Edwin Chow from Raffles Photographic Society

Day 3 of IHC sports saw three sports being contested, namely Tennis, Swimming/Water polo and Basketball, which was the main event held at the newly opened indoor basketball arena.

The Basketball event was hotly contested in the Boys’ category, with the rules allowing for current players to participate in addition to many ex-players who had since quit Basketball since coming to Year 5—it set up an exciting encounter for all 5 houses.

Similarly, the competition on the Girls’ side was equally physical and demanding, with the 5-a-side full court format resulting in breathtaking end-to-end play that exhausted players and required constant substitution to get fresh legs into the game.

For the Boys’ event, BW wrapped up 1st place convincingly with victories in all of their round-robin matches, boosted by a good mix of ex-basketball players and a slew of key members in the current school team line-up. As for the 2nd and 3rd places, MR and MT were tied after the four round-robin matches and thus had to enter a playoff game to decide the overall standings.

This match was undoubtedly one of the most physical matches as both sides pressed hard, determined not to give their opponents any time on the ball or any opportunity to aim a shot properly. BW supporters decked in yellow were vocal in their unabashed support for MT, because a Morrison victory would have ensured that the overall title for basketball for both genders would go to MR.

While the MR-MT decider was played out, the Girls’ final was being concluded on the adjacent court. Due to a two-way tie for 1st place, the ensuing free throw playoff saw MR emerging victorious over HH—everyone’s attention were keenly fixed on the remaining Boys’ match.

The real action of the match came in the last minute, when key plays were executed. With about a minute or so to go on the clock, MT scored a go-ahead goal through Alexzander Loh to lead by 2, only for MR’s Zheng Shun to tie the game up again with a quick reply.

Alex Loh then scored again to give MT the lead, but MR came roaring back, as Zheng Shun not only equalised once again, but scored another layup on a fast break to take a precious lead. With seconds remaining on the clock, MR defended strongly and managed to hold on to win the game, placing MR as overall champions for basketball.

In addition to Basketball, Day 3 also saw two other events being contested, namely Tennis and Swimming/Water polo.