Floorball Guys!

After seeing the girls rough it out with one another, it was time for their male counterparts to flex their muscles and show what they are made up of. After a series of warm-up, the first match started and saw the C-towners being pitted against the Eekers.

Block C vs Block E: 3-0

Block C was touted as the hot favorites by the other blocks for the title as they had a disposal of talented players in the midst and they soon showed why when Zhao Hui, easily last year's best performer in IHG for Sheares, drew first blood by doing a spectacular air hook past a hapless block E keeper. While block E did well to hassle the C-towners and tried to play their own style, they had no choice but to succumb to the better team who fluently played the ball around. In the end, the final score was 3-0 to block C.

Block A vs Block D: 0-2

Up next was the Acers against the Deeblockers. Refusing to pale in comparison with the other two blocks, they played with an intensity that could match up with their previous competitors. Alas, block D seemed to be able to stick to their gameplay better and they came out on top 2-0.

Block B vs Block C: 2-1

The next matchup was between the defending champions against the C-towners. Both teams played their hearts out in this intense game and it took a few near-misses before Chang Jie finally broke the deadlock and opened the scoring. Nevertheless, block C stepped up their game and managed to peg one back. The game provided suspense at the highest level as the Beekers managed to take back the lead and both teams ran with all their might till the dying moments.

Block A vs Block E: 0-2

Subsequently, it was the Acers and Eekers' turn to step into the court. The fate of both teams hinged on this game as they needed to win to have a chance to enter the finals. Of course, such a match promised much suspense and grit and they did not disappoint as both teams took the game to each other. Alas, the Eekers managed to come out on top and ran away with the game 2-0.

Block B vs Block D: 3-2

With the other blocks having done their shares, both block B and block D had the fate of going into the finals in their own hands. The intensity was certainly up a notch compared to the previous game and a lot of physical contacts was evident. The tug of war between the two blocks remained closely-contested as block D managed to score one back for every single one which block B scored. Nevertheless, the Beekers proved to have that slight edge above their opponents and won 3-2.

FINALS: Block B vs Block C: 3-2

There was no love lost as these two teams were reunited again in the finals. Having made it to the finals, the two teams played like there was no tomorrow. Win or lose, this was to be the final match. Again, the endless running of the Beekers seemed to put the skilful block C players off. However, this time, they managed to open the scoring first. As promised of a final, it was to be a closely-contested match. Decorated with fully-contested refereeing, the Beekers managed to grab one back and bring themselves back into the game. Alas, their walls did not seem to be strong enough to dam the C-towners' attacks as again they were forced to pick the ball from their goal. Into the later end of the second half, the equilibrium remained in place till finally, a long-distance shot from the Beekers nestled its way into the net, fully instigating the crowd into an uproar and bringing themselves very well back in the game. With the surge of fully-charged adrenaline, they rode on the momentum and scored another goal to take the game's initiative back in their favor. With some dogged defending, the Beekers finally won the game 3-2 to bring back the trophy for the 2nd year running.

Full credits are deserved by all the players who played their hearts out in the floorball game and cheers for everyone!

William

Floorball

Floorball Girls!

Floorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s. It is a fast paced sport, with limited physical contact allowed. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland. The game is played indoors on a gym floor, making it a year-round sport at the amateur and professional levels. Today was floorball for girls as everyone gathered in the MPSH for warm-ups. The matches started at 8pm with the girls playing in the usual star system. Results were as follows:

Blk C – Blk E: 0-4
Blk B – Blk D: 0-2
Blk A – Blk E: 2-4
Blk B – Blk C: 3-2
Blk A – Blk D: 1-1

The results meant that Blk D and Blk E were through to the finals which proved to be an exciting one for those watching. As this reporter was away for official IFG duty, in which SDE drew with Medicine 1-1, the only thing I can contribute for this article is the final result in which Blk D beat Blk E 2-1. Cheers!

Blk D beat Blk E 2-1

TRR

Table Tennis

This report will not be fully detailed as there was four games going concurrently on at the same time and writer had and will always have one pair of eyes. Apologies to the games affected. If scores are not correct, please inform me! Thanks.

Monday, 2nd September, 2009, Sheares MPSH - After an intense evening of orange balls ricocheting off everywhere, Block C emerged as undisputed champions with Block A coming in as the first runner-up. The result was no surprise due to the expertise of the IHG seniors in the two blocks. Kudos to the other blocks too for their unyielding spirit and creating a few surprise upsets along the way.

Block A VS Block D
1st Single (Male): 2-0
1st Mixed Doubles: 2-0
2nd Single (Female): 2-0
2nd Mixed Doubles: 0-2
3rd Single (Male): 2-1

4-1

The games started with Block D versus the Block A. Block A, led by their IHG seniors Xue Bin, Peiran and Hui Qin, had no problem in winning the less experienced Block D.Nonetheless, the Deeblockers managed to win one of their mixed doubles with formidable Adeline. The last single duel between IHG players Yu Qian and Peiran was the most exciting game. Despite the three games in hand and a win already for Block A, both sides took the game seriously and gave their all. It was breathtaking to watch the smashes and eventually Peiran managed to withstand Yu Qian's attacks to win the match 2-1. This one point proved to be crucial for Block A later on as it aided the Acers' bid to the finals.

Block B VS Block E
1st Single (Male): 0-2
1st Mixed Doubles: 2-1
2nd Single (Female): 0-2
2nd Mixed Doubles: 2-0
3rd Single (Male): 2-0

3-2

Block A VS Block C
1st Single (Male): 2-1
1st Mixed Doubles: 2-1
2nd Single (Female): 0-2
2nd Mixed Doubles: 0-2
3rd Single (Male): 0-2

2-3

The opening match of this game saw Block A table tennis vice-captain Xue Bin and IVP player Swee Foo facing off with each other. Spurred on by the Acers' cheers, Xue Bin managed to keep his calm and minimized his mistakes and this allowed him to win the game eventually. The 2nd mixed doubles was played by Peiran and table tennis female captain Wanglin against Qiu Ping and the table tennis male captain Hanzen. Peiran and Wanglin proved to have more chemistry as both of them worked seamlessly to defeat their opponents after coming down a set. Alas, these two wins were not enough to guarantee Block A a win as in the remaining sets, the Acers were soon trashed by their stronger opponents C-Towners.

Block D VS Block E

1st Single (Male): 0-2
1st Mixed Doubles: 2-1
2nd Single (Female): 0-2
2nd Mixed Doubles: 2-1
3rd Single (Male): 0-2

2-3

Block B VS Block C
1st Single (Male): 0-2
1st Mixed Doubles: 2-0
2nd Single (Female): 0-2
2nd Mixed Doubles: 2-1
3rd Single (Male): 1-2

2-3

Both with a game win of 3-2 in hand, it was down the do-or-die final decider for this two blocks. The Beekers and the C-Towners gave their hearts out and they were closely matched. In the end, it boiled down to the final set between the 2 IHG players - Captain Hanzen and Yong Zhou. Everyone held their breath in anticipation as the game began. In the first set, Hanzen dominated most of the match and won Yong Zhou with hardly any problem. Initially, the second set seemed to be going the same way as the first set as the points were standing at 10-6 with Yong Zhou trailing. Despite the huge odds, Yong Zhou managed to deny Hanzen of the game point and won 6 points in a row to bring back victory for Block B! It seemed that Yong Zhou was on a row! Hence, for the last set, both players played the game carefully and tried their best to minimized their mistakes. Like the ball, the scores ping-ponged between Block B and Block C and it seemed that the game could go either way. Eventually, Hanzen emerged the victor as he won this closely-contested set. And with both wins, the C-Towners proceeded to the finals.

Finals
Block A VS Block C
1st Single (Male): 2-0
1st Mixed Doubles: 2-0
2nd Single (Female): 0-2
2nd Mixed Doubles: 0-2
3rd Single (Male): 0-2

2-3

Again, it was the rematch of the previously closely fought match between Acers and C-Towners. Unfortunately for the very good-looking Acers, despite the Block A experienced seniors Xue Bin, Peiran and Wang Lin paving the way with their wins, history repeated itself and Block C triumphed over Block A once again. Although the last set was the deciding set, it was a one-sided game as IVP player Swee Foo had no problems fighting off the Block A's freshie Zhou Bin. With this match, Block C is the newly crowned table tennis champions! Congrats!

Christy

PS. It is a mere coincidence that Block C gets first and Block A gets second whenever I am writing the report.

Badminton Guys/Gals

In the first of the series of games being played in our very own Sheares MPSH, rackets sent shuttlecocks flying with endless drops of sweat flowing down some of the most talented badminton players Sheares Hall had to offer. With both guys and girls playing in a best of 5 sets, compromising one singles, two male and female doubles, countless wondrous drop shots and precise high speed smashes the audience and supporters today were in for a feast. The results are as follows.

Eekers vs. Acers
1st Singles: 21-8
1st Doubles Female: 21-8
1st Doubles Male: 21-6
2nd Doubles Female 21-14
2nd Doubles Male: 21-11
In an otherwise lop-sided game, the acers show true strength and courage going against the tough eekers. As the saying goes, as long as you try the best the results doesn’t matter.

C-Towners vs. Beekers
1st Singles: 21-23
1st Doubles Female: 8-21
1st Doubles Male: 10-21
2nd Doubles Female 10-21
2nd Doubles Male: 9-21
The highlight of the 5 matches played was played between C-Towner alumni Wei Cheng going against NUS/Sheares Hall No. 1 Singles player Yu He. Although Yu He was leading by quite a few shots, Wei Cheng show great determination to pull the score to 21-21 deuce, before Yu He showing his true prowess and took the last two points.

Beekers vs. Eekers
4 – 1
With a place in the final on stake, the eekers threw everything that had at the hot favourite’s beekers. However it was not enough as the talented beekers overpowered courage and perseverance with sheer technique and skill. However ex-DOS Calvin Liu manage to salvage some pride for the eekers as he and freshie Alex manage to get one match off the beekers to put a blemish on their perfect record so far.

Acers vs. Deeblockers
1 – 4
The Deeblockers showed no fail in their quest to reach their first finals in years, despite going a match down; they manage to overpower the acers in the remaining games with the handsome seniors Keith Foo and Mr. Sheares Leonard showing the way, not forgetting the pretty Pat Pat and Sheryl.

C-Towners vs. Deeblockers
1 – 4
The final preliminary game was played between the C-Towners and the Deeblockers. Although having lost one game already, both the C-Towners and Eekers had a mathematical chance of going into the finals at the expense of the Deeblockers. However it was not to be, despite Wei Cheng taking a game through the male’s singles, the rest of the line-up the Deeblockers had to offer was too much for the C-towners to handle.

Finals
Beekers vs. Deeblockers
1st Single: 21 – 3
Eyeing victory, the Deeblockers took a gamble and decide to forsake the singles match and threw in a player that stood little chance against the mighty Yu He. Despite being in a David vs. Goliath match, the deeblocker freshie ran himself ragged fighting for all the loose balls and splendid shots of Yu He. Although the match wasn’t really fair to him, he deserves credit for daring to step up and take a shot.
1st Double Female: 21 – 7
The stakes was high, as it was a make or break game as the Deeblockers ladies had to beat the beekers ladies to prevent going two matches down. Yet, with the talent on disposal for the beekers, the experienced duo of the Deeblockers prove no match for the all-conquering beekers ladies led by the upcoming badminton star of Sheares hall Shi Ya as they raced to victory despite resistance from the Deeblockers
1st Doubles Male: 21 – 14
The third game between the two blocks had the twin Keith of block D against Joel and Leo of the beekers. With both team boasting experience in their team, it prove to be an exciting match as the intricate teamwork on show was dazzling and sometimes heart stopping. Both pairs didn’t show much weakness, only superiority in technique outclassing the other at times. However the beekers’ pair proved their mettle with more stability within their ranks compare to the determined Deeblockers. Although it ended 21-14 to the beekers, the score would have be much closer as the format of one set match played had too little time to showcase more scintillating badminton matches.

Santa

Be Part of SMB 09/10!!

Football! a.k.a. Soccer

It’s time for the world’s most popular game, football! The time was 7am as the soccer captain Zhang Ren and last year’s female soccer captain Cynthia made their way down to the SRC in preparations for the upcoming IBG soccer games for both male and female. The weather though wasn’t that kind and it looked like there could be a downpour form the heavens any time soon.

Blk C vs Blk E (Guys & Girls)

Both male and female matches kicked off concurrently with the Blk C girls and guys playing against the Blk E girls and guys. Things started off brightly for the Blk E girls as they got on to a winning start, thrashing their opponents 5-0. Over at the other half of the pitch, a bit of comical defending from Blk C allowed them to concede the 1st goal. A brilliant pass from the Blk C no. 8 was wasted as the strikers lost control of the ball which pretty much summed up the action for 1st half of the game. A tactical change in the 2nd half saw the Korean legend Kim Min Woo taking up his favourite central role. Another fan favourite was the maestro Remy coming back and taking time off from his busy schedule to help the Towner’s in their plight for victory. The subs made an immediate impact as Min Woo’s first attack of the game led to Blk C’s equaliser. Remy combined beautifully with Min Woo with a bit of 1-2 down the side. A hopeful ball from Remy down the left wing found Horace and he nicked it in with his right foot to score the equaliser. The 2nd goal from Blk C came almost immediately as a corner from the right from Remy saw the keeper knocking the ball into his own net.
Final score Blk C - Blk E (Girls) 0-5, and Blk C - Blk E (Guys) 2-1.
Evelyn was proud of her boys and girls.

Shortly after the game, the sky started to open up and it was raining cats and dogs. The match had to be delayed as everyone took shelter under the bus stop. For the girls’ matches, the 1st game was also going to be their last as the rest of their fixtures were postponed until further notice.

Blk C vs Blk B, Blk A vs Blk D

The match-up between Blk C and Blk B was just as intensifying as the 1st. After the downpour, the match continued with both sides fielding their best players for this must win game for Blk C. Blk B drew first blood by scoring the opening goal which forced Blk C to up their gear a notch. A tactical sub saw the ever talented no. 8 being substituted in. With just a few touches of the ball, the Blk C no. 8 saw an opening through Blk B’s defence and slit in a wonderful through ball to Remy. Keeping as cool as a cucumber, Remy rounded pass the keeper and neatly finished with a left foot shot towards goal. The game ended in a 1-1 draw between the 2 sides. Over at the other half of the pitch, Blk A was playing Blk D in a match which resulted in a 2-1 defeat for the Dee Blockers.
Final score Blk B – Blk C: 1-1, Blk A – Blk D: 2-1
Evelyn was even prouder of her boys.

Blk A vs Blk E, Blk B vs Blk D

The last of the group matches saw the C-Towners taking a rest and pitting the rest of the blocks together. The C-Towners watched anxiously from the bus stop across the road as Blk A played against block E. The result had to go Blk E’s way in order for the Towners to qualify for the finals. A moment of joy for the Towners as Blk E scored the opening goal. A win from Blk E would give Blk C the slimmest chance of going through to the finals should Blk B draw with Blk D. But Murphy’s Law set in and Blk A managed to come back from a goal down to beat Blk E 2-1 to earn a place in the finals and Blk B thrashed Blk D 3-0 also booking their place in the finals.
Final Score: Blk A – Blk E: 2-1, Blk B – Blk D: 3-0

Finals! Blk A vs Blk B

The finals started with a drizzle and cold winds blowing. It was almost like a mini blizzard right here in NUS as the two teams battled it out. Blk A looked the more menacing side with Prashant at the back and Joshua controlling the midfield. Shortly after, Joshua single-handedly dribbled past the entire defence and scored the opener. The 2nd goal from Blk A came shortly after Leo lost the ball the in midfield. Blk A capitalised on the mistake and shortly but shortly after Blk B managed to pull one back. The game ended in a 2-1 victory which Blk A well deserved to make them this year’s IBG soccer champions.

TRR

Softball Final!!!

Saturday, 29th August, 2009, SRC Field - The long awaited softball finals between Block A and Block C was held right after the touch rugby carnival! Unfortunately for the Acers, who were tired out from the winning overall championship for touch rugby, they eventually succumbed to the C-Towners with a score of 8-2.

Tiredness was not the only reason why the Acers lost. The last minute (I was only informed at 1am in the morning) finals had repercussions on the Acers' softball line-up as most of the original players could not make it. Hence, resulting in quite a few blur but very cute Block A players on field. This resulted in the 7-0 trashing of the Acers by the very experienced C-Towners led by Min Woo and joined by old alumni Abi in the very first inning.

Of course, being very intelligent people, it wasn't long before Block A got into the groove. Led by Block A very own star player Ashwin, they were able to reverse the second inning into Block A's favor with a win of 1-0.

Alas, despite the Acers' gallant attempts, it was a matter of too little too late as they could not overturn the score in the third and last inning which resulted in a draw of 1-1. Abishek proved why he was godlike as he knocked a solo home run which he comfortably ran through. With this, Block C had sealed the game and were crowned the IBG champions for this year. Congrats!

Nonetheless, the after-game was even more exciting. The friendly Acers and C-Towners had decided to play on for fun with some of the weirdest things happening:

1. Caoyang completing a homerun while hopping on his not injured foot (Please take care and recover soon! What with Block A and injured ankles anyway?)
2. Min Woo batting for Block A and allowing Block A to earn quite a few points
3. Jason Lau changing gender just to bat
4. Caoyang and Jason Lau hugging each other very very happily (Don't ask me why)

And many many other events which shall not be recorded.

Oh well, it was fun. =)

Christy

PS. This is an objective report. Any biasness detected is simply due to your subjective point of view.