Last weekend saw both boys and girls basketball teams participate in the U19 QISN Tournament in Huangdao. Both teams had been preparing for this moment all season and had been working hard to improve their skills and come together as a team. Both teams had a mix of both experienced and new players so some players were excited and ready while others were battling those pre-tournament nerves.

Day 1 Friday saw the start of play with both teams taking on Malvern in pool play. The boys played first and had strong performances all around despite missing many players due to being sick. They were able to comfortably bring home the win and start their tournament off on a good note. Final score 41-20. The girls were up next as they looked to get revenge against a strong Malvern team that had just beaten them the week before. After a slow start by the girls, they found their groove in the second half and could not be stopped, taking control of the game late and securing the win with some excellent defensive play. Final Score 24-16.

Day 2 of the tournament saw the boys take on QAIS in the first game of the day. There was some extra motivation for the boys in this game as they had narrowly lost against them by 1 point earlier in the season. However, this time they were not to be denied. It was a close game early on but then our seniors led the way and were able to push the lead out and take the W. Final score 39-30. The girls had a big task ahead of them going up against a well-balanced QAIS team who had not lost a game all season. The girls battled hard and put QAIS to the test, but the shots weren’t dropping as QAIS took the win. Final score 12-29.

In the afternoon it was semifinal time. The boys would play YCIS in a high-scoring game both teams were making tough shots and seemingly scoring at will. Eventually, the boys would outlast YCIS and claim the victory 51-40. The girls would face off against ISQ in their semifinal and would take it down to the wire. In a closely fought game, the girls were within striking distance at the end and made some big plays to put the pressure on ISQ, however ISQ were able to knock down a big shot in the last few seconds to close the game. Final score 16-20. The girls would go on to finish 4th place, and showed great spirit as they competed from start to finish is some very physical games all throughout the tournament. They also claimed the Sportsmanship Award for their classy play and for setting a fine example on and off the court.

Last game of the day for the boys, Championship game vs Hongwen. The boys would have to especially dig deep for this one, already being shorthanded and missing several players, they were dealt another big blow by losing Captain Jerry Wang to injury in the last few minutes of the semifinal. Despite this the boys came out ready and got off to a hot start with Jack Wang and Joseph Liu leading the way with the scoring. Inside Kevin Cui and Sunny Jiang had to step up and battle the physical Hongwen bigs the whole game without and subs available on the bench. In what was a very close and exciting final the boys played a very intelligent game and gave every last bit of effort to put themselves in position to win, but in the end it would be Hongwen who lifted the trophy. Final score 33-38. It was an emotional loss but the boys definitely did themselves proud and can hold their heads high in a great weekend of basketball.

The teams now travel to Shanghai where they will conclude their season at the ACAMIS tournament.

Best of luck Sharks! Follow along all on the live stream! Links will be shared later via the school WeChat channel and groups!