22nd Dec Softball

Softball Women

Team Seven Women’s Softball Team embarked on a brilliant start to their IHG campaign with a thrashing of Hall 2. The final score of 13-1 in favour of Team Seven demonstrated their valour, perseverance and overall abilities of the players against opponents who were often outmatched and outclassed.

Star pitcher Amanda Yee began the first inning in style, striking out two of Hall 2’s batters before the changeover. The first batter Jia Ling managed to force Hall 2’s pitcher into a series of errors that allowed her to walk to first base. What happened next was something that Hall 2 did not want to see. Their pitcher continued her streak of unforced errors succeeding in allowing five of Team Seven’s players to walk all the way home. The resu;t was that the first inning ended with a score of 6-0.

The second inning began much like the first with Amanda again striking out two of Hall 2’s batters. A miracle bunt by a Hall 2 batter provided a glimmer of hope but even with two bases loaded, Amanda completed the route, striking out their third batter. 6-0 to Team Seven at the changeover. Hall 2’s new pitcher perhaps felt the pressure of the situation as she like predecessor  in the first inning allowed two more of Team Seven’s batters to walk right on home. Finally, batter Ong Kim Jun stepped up on plate and smashed a pitch to left field. The impact of the shot overwhelmed Hall 2’s outfielders and they scrambled to retrieve the ball. In the madness, two of Team Seven’s players managed to run home to boost the scoreline to an unflattering 10-0. The final score of the inning stood at 13-0 with Team Seven uncompromising in their attack.

The third and final inning destroyed a clean slate for Team Seven with Hall 2 scoring once but by then, it was too late and they conceded meekly to their opponents. With the start of the IHG Softball Season peaking soon, this victorious start provides an excellent platform for Team Seven’s quest for championship glory..

Softball Men

Like their fellow sisters, Team Seven Men’s Softball Team capped a fantastic performance under some rainy conditions to destroy Hall 12 with a similar score of 13-1.

The first inning began with Linus Neo opening the scoring with two bases loaded. With the sky threatening to get menacing, Team Seven held their nerve to score three more times to reach a score line of 4-0 before the changeover. At the changeover, Wilson Chua sent Hall 12 packing by striking out their first two batters. The third batter managed to strike his pitch to centre field by the covering outfielders managed to snag the ball quickly and throw him out. The first inning ended with a score of 4-0 in favour of Team Seven.

The second inning resulted in Team Seven scoring three more times to give themselves a substantial gap between them and their straggling opponents. By this time, Hall 12 seemed to have given up the fight. The rain began to fall near the end of the second inning which only proved a nuisance to Team Seven as they dominated proceedings.

The third inning capped an excellent performance by third baseman Darryl Koe who plucked a high drive by Hall 12’s batter. Even though he was backpedalling, he still managed to snag it to force the changeover. The changeover saw some fight left in Hall 12. Their pitcher managed to throw two of Team Seven’s batters but by then with the scoreline at 7-0, they must have felt that they had a mountain to climb. To show them just how high the mountain really was, Linus Neo stepped up on plate and unleashed a fierce drive to left field that took a long time to be recovered. The inning ended with the scoreline at 8-0 to Team Seven.

The fourth and final quarter starts saw some excellent play by Team Seven in their batting department. Their fierce drives and blistering speed left many of Hall 12’s basemen confused on which base to throw. Unforced errors also allowed Team Seven to load up the bases and protect their batters who could have been thrown out easily. Hall 12 clawed their way back to score a point but by then, the annihilation was complete with a final score of 13-1. The dominance of Team Seven proved too hot for Hall 12 to handle. Certainly, much hope now rests on these Softballers to bring home the prize.

Written By Cavell

21st Dec Table Tennis

Hall Seven Table-Tennis began the start of their IHG2009 by facing a resilient hall 15 in the first of the group stages today.  Without prior knowledge of each other’s capabilities, both teams went all out to secure the needed 3 out of 5 games.

The first male singles match went to  hall 15 despite a strong showing from new player Cheeann who came to set point but unfortunately was unable to convert. He brought the game to deuce on 2 sets out of 3 despite facing a more experienced player.

The second game of the female singles went smoothly to Ho Ying Ying who overwhelmed her opponent in straight sets and 15mins to bring the match at 1:1 apiece to both halls.

Up stepped the male doubles match and hall Seven was taken by surprise as Hall 15 had decided to field both of their strongest male players as a doubles pair. Hall Seven had gambled against hall 15 choosing such a move and hence had to fight a superior opposition. The first set went narrowly to hall 15 despite shaky starts from both sides. However, in the second set, a composed hall 15 tore a huge gap to lead at 8:2. However, a hard fight back from hall Seven tied the game at deuce and an unforced error from hall 15 gave the second set to hall Seven.  The next two sets went down to the wire with only 2 points separating the teams each time. However, hall 15 proved the better when a skilfully placed forehand topspin found the edge of the table with no reply.

The female doubles was a quick affair again as once again hall Seven female players proved superior to their competition by their steadiness and precision. The opposition was quickly dispatched bringing the game to 2:2 again.

The final mixed doubles was a rubber match with both sides appearing to dominate only to be let down by unforced errors. It seemed like a mirror match as both sides fielded a single left handed player in the mixed doubles. In the end, Hall 15 emerged with a marginal victory. Hall Seven would next play in the loser pool with a chance to play 15 again should they win. Having superior players, Hall Seven would be readily prepared the next time they face 15 again!

Written By Steven

21st Dec Squash

Team Se7en’s SQUASH team raced to an easy 4-1 victory against Hall 9. Onn Shaun began proceedings with a smoothly-delivered 9-1, 9-0 triumph. Jun Xin picked up where her team-mate left off, thrashing her opponent 9-3, 9-1. Jamie Ong then wrapped up the victory 9-1, 9-2, to kill off the game and so the score read 3-0, rendering the subsequent final 2 games meaningless, which was of immense relief to Lucy Kong Zhen Hui, who had previously never played a single game of squash before. Lucy’s courage was admirable and she fought bravely but could not help suffering heavy 9-0 defeats but thankfully the game had already been won by then. Dan Chua then finished the watch with resounding 9-2, 9-0 wins to help Hall 7 to an emphatic overall victory.

The game, while appearing like a straightforward victory for Hall 7, comprised a few exciting and adrenaline-pumping rallies that went beyond the 10 strokes. These were especially observed in the first match. Dan Chua came up with some superb saving strokes too.

Overall, the match was played in true sportsman spirit, something Hall 7 can be proud of and always seek to embody, regardless of result. Truth be told, the opponents never seriously got going and the superior skill of Se7en’s players essentially guaranteed victory. Nevertheless, our players never once looked complacent but played with impressive ferocity and intensity, hitting the ground running from the go. The amount of focus, mental resilience and technical abilities were the foundations that helped Team Se7en to victory, and long may it continue against future opponents.

Written by Scott Loh

20th Dec Basketball Male

Team Se7en claimed victorious today as they earned themselves a place in the quarter finals in the IHG. The triumphant did not come easy as Hall 12 put up a good fight against Team Se7en. Both teams understood the importance of today’s game and gave their very best till the end to stay in the league. In the end, the stronger team, Team Se7en qualifies themselves as one of the top 8 teams in the competition. Team Se7en persevered and play hard under the blazing sun with their fatigue and injured bodies. It was a close win as Hall 12 might take the lead and steal the victory any time when opportunity appears itself. The scores were tight as both teams return the shots made by the other one after another. The game was sealed during the last few moments of the 4^th quarter by our Point Guard with a foul-in and his free throw. The final score was 22:28.

Team Se7en did not have a good shooting day. There was no successful 3-point shot falling throughout the entire game. Team Se7en defence was loose and there were many loopholes within the defence for Hall 12 to exploit. The blocking and boxing out of Hall 12 was sloppy and Hall 12 was allowed to get many second chance shots and offensive rebounds. Areas were left unguarded and Hall 12 was given the space and time to aim properly before making shots.

The first half began and Team Se7en tried to use the half court trap against Hall 12 but was unsuccessful. Hall 12 Point Guard had his team to support and screen for him as he dribbled the ball across the half court line. Team Se7en was also not quick to shift into position for a double team and the ball was passed.

During the second quarter, Team Se7en tried to use the half court trap again. Areas behind the baseline were not covered properly by Team Se7en and Hall 12 sneaks into those areas for their Point Guard to slip the ball in to them for offence. Team Se7en 3-2 defence was loose and players were not staying close to their man. Hall 12 Point Guard was open to pull off most of his 3-point shots and the score margin was pulled closer. Team Se7en tried to return Hall 12 with 3-point shots but failed. As more 3-point shots fall, Team Se7en lost their composure and their Center and Power Forward left their position and attempted 3-point shots. No one from Team Se7en was getting the offensive rebound and Team Se7en lost their second chance of attempting at the basket.

In the third quarter, Hall 12 used half court trap and managed to force Team Se7en to turnover. Hall 12 caught up and led by 1-point. Team Se7en was wore out and more mistakes were committed. In order to win the game, Team Se7en could not afford to commit any more mistakes. A time-out was called to focus Team Se7en again. Team Se7en defence and offence started to improve. Boxing and blocking out of Hall 12 players began to show improvement. The ball was rotating around to the Center and Power Forward and shots were taken beautifully.

The final quarter has begun. Hall 12 had also worn out and their shots fell short. Team Se7en had to continue scoring and defending as the score is close and any moment it could be caught up with a 3-point from Hall 12. Team Se7en Center managed to make all his shots count and grabbed most of the defensive rebounds. During the last minute of the quarter, Team Se7en manage to do a fast break and the Point Guard landed it with a foul-in. Team Se7en won as the buzzer went off after the free throw.

Written By Ryan

It was a must-in game for team se7en male basketball as we seek to qualify for the quarter-finals. We were up against hall 12 who proved to be a tough opposition after their last win against hall 4. Despite numerous efforts to postpone the match due to the unavailability of the coach, our committed players still turned up in full attendance for the match on a Sunday morning.

Team se7en was off to a good start in the 1st quarter as we managed to break down their defense easily and score some easy baskets. However, Hall 12 showed their resillience and kept the score close with a couple of 3-pointers. The 1st quarter ended with team se7en leading by 4 points.

In the 2nd quarter, Hall 12 seemed to found a way to neutralise our half-court press and scored some baskets in quick succession to take a slight lead mid-way through the second quarter. Team se7en called a time-out to regroup and try to stop the run put forward by Hall 12. It was a crucial time-out as we kept the score close and prevented Hall 12 from taking a commanding lead. The first half ended with Hall 12 taking a 1 point lead.

During the half-time break, with some inspiration talk from our motivator and point guard, Bobby, we decided come out firing on all cylinders and take control of the match. However, with both teams locking down on defence, baskets were hard to come by and it became a see-saw match with numerous lead changes throughout the quarter. The match was proving to be harder than expected but we managed to take a slim lead going into the deciding quarter.

Fatigue was setting in due to the searing hot weather and the long minutes being played by our starters. But the 4th and deciding quarter was a motivation for all of us as we knew that if we did not put in our very best, the past few months of trainings would have been wasted. With this, team se7en played with their heart and wrestled control of the match late in the 4th quarter relying on some clutch plays by Johnny and Kelvin to give us a slight lead with 2 minutes to go. A few empty possessions by both teams kept the score close and finally with a turnover by Hall 12, Bobby managed to score a lay-up with the foul with less than a minute left to put a dagger to any comeback from Hall 12. In the end, team se7en won by a score of 28-22 and progressed into the quarter-finals. Cheers to the determination and effort of team se7en basketballers!!

Written By Yu Cheng

18th Dec Basketball Girls

It was a tough fight against hall 3 this evening.

In the first quarter of the game, Team Se7en managed to score and took a lead. However, in the second quarter of the game, players were tired and defence against hall 3 was in a mess. Hal 3 were in advantage as they were much faster than Team Se7en in terms of speed and agility. Team Se7en didn’t manage to score much in this quarter and hall 3 managed to catch up and drew a gap between our scores.

In the third quarter of the game, Team se7en tightened the defend but we lose out when we were attacking. Many balls were intercepted just right at half court and around the 3 point line. Passes were also intercepted often. This gave Hall 3 many chances to turn over the play, going on with fast breaks.  However, Team Se7en did not give up and were still giving their best in attacking and defending.

In the last quarter of the game, players were all tired but they continue to fight on to close up the gap between the two teams. Hall Se7en managed to score and drew the points nearer. The game ended with Hall 3 winning 44:24.

Although Team Se7en lost but with the never dying spirit of Team Se7en players. Players took this as an experience and also a learning lesson for the mistakes that were made. Improve and Team Se7en will excel!!!

18th Dec Basketball Male

Today, Team Se7en suffered a defeat against one of the Basketball giants in the league. Team Se7en managed to put up a good fight. The final score was 13:39.

When the first half started, the battle was fierce. There was continuous effort from both sides to attack and defend. Team Se7en 3-2 defence was tight and they manage their fouls well. Hall 2 used man on man defence. The score margin was close. Most of the points scored by both teams were through free throws.

Hall 2 made a few substitutions and began the second quarter with half court press. They used the same play before against Hall 12. Many Team Se7en players were cornered by the tactic used. There were many back court violation committed by Team Se7en. None of the Team Se7en players came down to support to get the ball across the court.

The second half started with a change of the entire Team Se7en. Team Se7en was exhausted by the first half and our Point Guard and Forward were injured. Some of Team Se7en players have to take over the positions they are not familiar with. Team Se7en offence and defence were in a mess. Players did not know their positioning and responsibilities. In addition, Hall 2’s defence was tight and Team Se7en was forced to commit a few turnovers. An immediate replacement was required to close up the score gap. There was a change of the entire Team Se7en and the players have to play under fatigue. Hall 2 continued to use half court press and Team Se7en was unable to break free from it. The score gap began to widen as more turnovers were committed by Team Se7en.

During the final quarter, there was an entire team substitution by Team Se7en. Team Se7en rushed to dribble too far up the court without support and passes and shots were not properly made. Hall 2 took the opportunity to widen the score again.

Written By Ryan

16th Dec Tennis

Hall 7 played better than expected today, winning against the seeded Hall 6 and getting the tennis team off to a great start. Hall 7 won 3-2, with the most exciting match of the day being the women’s singles played by Zhenhui. She fought very hard but in the end the hall 6 player managed to win with a score of 7-5. Next was the men’s singles played by Taylen. Unfortunately, though Taylen fought hard and used much power, our hall 6 IVP opponent was unperturbed by it and calmly and confidently took the match 6-1. The next 3 doubles matches featured Hall 7 IVP tennis players in every match which led to a great comeback by Hall 7. Meiryl and Bharath played mixed doubles where Meiryl took the set 6-3 aided with some high flying smashes made by Bharath. The women’s doubles was played awesomely well by Alyssa and Jaeden and they won the match 6-1. It eventually came down to the game decider which was the mens’ doubles event played by our BEN-BEN pair (BENedict and BEN Seow) whose excellent match play led to a well-deserved victory (6-1).  SWEET SWEET VICTORY to hall 7 !!! WAY TO GO !!! )

Written By Bharath

16th Dec Basketball[Male]

At the beginning of the game, Team Se7en used the half court trap to defend against Hall 5 and successfully used it to gain a few turnovers. During the first quarter, Hall 5 did not manage to block out our players from getting offensive rebounds. There was a bunch of second shot chances retrieved by our shooting guard and many rebounds were converted into points.

In the midst of the first quarter, Team Se7en faced foul trouble as their Center committed two fouls. He was substituted to prevent him from being fouled out early in the game. Both fouls committed were mainly due to failure in blocking the offensive side out of the shooting region.

In the second quarter, Team Se7en began without their Center. Our small forward sustained a minor sprain while getting a defensive rebound and was substituted, allowing Hall 5 to close up the score difference by a little. Three of our players ended the first half with two fouls and had to be more cautious of personal fouls for the remaining two quarters.

As the second half began, Hall 5 started to pick up the pace and gain momentum. We made a few mistakes and Hall 5 grabbed most of the defensive rebounds, closing the score difference. The third quarter ended with Hall 5 trailing by six points 23:17 and three players from Team Se7en will start off with three fouls for the last quarter.

The final quarter saw Team Se7en try to use the half court trap to regain momentum. The play was successful and the same play was made consecutively to restore the original score margin.

With only six minutes left in the game, Team Se7en managed to gain a seventeen point lead The game ended with 38:17 and Team Se7en claimed the victory.

Written By Ryan

IHG Netball and Waterpolo!!!

Netball: Hall 7 versus Hall 16

It was indeed an interesting match put up by team 7 and team 16. Both teams exhibited great determination which brought much excitement to the game. Tapping on the presence of star players, team 7 was fortunate that within less than a minute when the match commenced, we scored our very first goal by GA, Zhiyan. GA continued to stand out with her excellent footwork and speed; she managed to score 4 goals in a row. Nevertheless, other team 7’s players also exuded great confidence and stamina, such as goal scorers Mingyi, Yini, Yujing, who contributed much to our scores and the entire team brought out the united spirit that was praiseworthy.

On the other hand, team 16 displayed morally admirable defense that kept the match worth watching and appealing. Despite facing a tough opponent, their perseverance was motivating and definitely commendable. The first half of match ended with a score of 25 versus 2, with team 7 taking the lead.

The second half of the match began with enthusiasm. Both teams continued to display great team efforts, encouraging one another. The desires performing to their very best were strongly displayed; hence they did not disappoint their supporters who came down all the way to give their support. The match culminated with a score of 37 versus 4, with team 7 emerging as the winner. Kudos to team 7 and hope the cohesive spirit continue to strive for all the upcoming matches.

Water polo: Hall 7 versus Hall 2

With both sports hall competing against each other, the match was simply an exciting one. Remarkable stamina displayed by both teams and it was also breath-grasping watching the players competing in the waters. Team 7 kicked off with a head start, with player number 11 breaking the ice of score. Immense willpower, together with great defense brought the match to a higher height as it progressed. Nonetheless, team 2 turned it around with unity and the first half of the game ended with a score of 2 for team 2, versus 1 for team 7.

Both teams were equally tough in their attacks and defenses, which made the second half of the match interesting.  However, stamping on its speed, team 2 stood out considerably than team 7 even though team 7 had been putting on a tough fight. All in all, both teams gave in their very best, displaying good sportsmanship. The match ended with a score of 5 versus 3, with team 2 taking the winning title away. Nevertheless, team 7’s never-say-die spirit continued to carry on as the guys cheered for the winning team with generous smiles.

Write up by Michelle Ng; Photos by Shuan Tze

Block Supper!!!

Haven’t seen each other for quite awhile? Missed the gossips because you were mugging for your CAs? Buried under tonnes of projects that you don’t have time for a proper meal with your friends?

Therefore!!! It is time for gathering AGAIN!!! Food, drinks and GOSSIPS!!!

Block Supper!!! Pratas, Pizzas, Fruits,  Sushi, Curry Puff and many many more!!!

Residents gathered  below their respective blocks, surrounding the little stone table full of Yummy Treats. Grabbing the food and talking with their mouth full of “vitamins” and “minerals”.

Sharing the seats, the food, the drinks, the jokes , the gossips, their  “happenings” of the week and MAYBE some complains on projects and tests.

I am sure it was an enjoyable night for all who went and for those who missed it, there will always be another time round. And then it will be YOUR turn to play a part in sharing!!! ((=