Written by:
Raine Yang, Year 12
Lessons learned from the 2014 Girls’ Basketball ISAC tournament and how the experience can help the Boys’ squad achieve similar success in Subic.
As many of us are already aware, the recent ISAC Girls’ Basketball tournament was exhilarating. In case you were unfortunately unable to watch this year’s games, here is my personal recollection of the tournament:
Firstly, the ISAC basketball tournament consists of 6 preliminary games that determine which teams will participate in the playoffs and whom they will go up against.
For BSM, the group stages culminated in 1st place seeding, which meant that they would play against the 2nd seeded Faith Mindanao in the semi-finals. Both teams struggled quite heavily during the semis; however, BSM eventually pulled through and advanced to the finals via a crucial shot by Alex Tan.
Throughout the tournament, the girls’ basketball team continued to surprise me. Admittedly, I was doubtful that this squad could achieve much success; they lost many integral players from the previous year and had no clear-cut superstar. Instead, the team embraced its role as the underdog, choosing to emphasize effort and camaraderie. This was displayed most clearly in the final match of the tournament.
For the majority of the game, BSM trailed against Southville and with less than a minute to go. The girls found themselves down 8 points – their largest deficit in the game. Most teams would have been disheartened, but once again, the BSM squad showed its mettle and played one of the most exciting and memorable minutes of basketball I have ever witnessed. A series of scored baskets on their part and forced turnovers for the opposing team paved the way for what would be the signature moment of the tournament: a final basket in the closing seconds by Nathalie Limandibhratha that gave BSM the lead.
This culminated with BSM being declared as champions and people running to the court in celebration. Overall, this year’s competition was a thrill and is certainly one of the, if not the most, unforgettable sporting event that I have ever seen live.
That is not to say that this year’s squad is inferior, however. The new members are all very talented and add unique skills to the team, while the returning players have only gotten better. Although the boys’ tournament will be just as challenging as last year’s, the players only need to look at their female counterparts to see what it takes to win the tournament: team spirit and tenacity. If these two traits are kept in mind, I am positive that this team can return the championship trophy back to BSM.
Please support this year’s squad as they play in Subic in a couple of weeks, as I’m sure the players would appreciate to see you all there (Note: students are not encouraged to skip classes and should only be in Subic for Saturday’s games).
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