Gold Cup Basketball: We’re Half Way There

Gold Cup is a new two-day basketball tournament hosted at AISG on Saturday 13 January. Unlike the other tournaments that the basketball team participated in before, this one is a little different. This short tournament is a way for the teams to improve their skills by competing against teams who practice and play at a higher level than them. The schools invited to the tournament consist of a couple of local schools that the teams have been playing throughout the year. Ever since we’ve started playing the local school, we’ve grown a lot as a team and individually. As APAC is in a week, these local school games are the games that we value playing as it moves us forward as a team.

The boys played against Guangzhou Physical Education University (GZ PEU) and the NBA school. The boys were the underdogs of the tournament. They were playing against players who were stronger, faster and more skilled than them. The teams have been playing basketball for their whole life and it was a challenge for them. The boys played decently in both their matches. They wanted to make a ‘Cinderella story’ as underdogs and show what they’re made of. The boys’ first match didn’t go as planned, they didn’t play as well as they planned and were unable to beat GZ PEU. However, Coach Elliott reminded them what their team is made of and pushed them to be better players and teammates which ultimately led the boys to play a great second game. Furthermore, the boys bonded as a team and improved their team chemistry, which is also a fundamental part of a successful team.

The girls, on the other hand, played against the Weilun Sports School (WS School) and Guangdong Sports School (GZ Sports School). The first game started off slow as the girls had to dust off the rust from break. However, after a while, they picked up their tempo and were able to play at a competitive level against the WS School. The girls played an intense 4th quarter but unfortunately were not able to beat them. Many of our girls were in foul trouble and our game plan had to change accordingly. The adrenaline traveled forth and into the next game against the GZ Sports School. Similarly, the girls had an intense and edging game against the school, however, they went into overtime. Overtimes can be pressurizing and intense, but the girls kept their composure and played with poise and control snatching a victory by their fingertips. We finished strong and had played some great defense on the GZ Sports School. The experience from this tournament moved the team forward, preparing us for the upcoming APAC tournament.

All in all, this tournament was a great way for both the varsity boys and girls team to improve their skills and we’re looking forward to our next tournament, the GISAC tournament happening on January 27th.