West Zone B Division First Round: AES 54 - 42 Fajar

It was a setback, but it is still possible for us to do well.

In what was possibly the toughest match of our round, we faced off our great rivals - Assumption English School.

It seems we always meet them in the first round. In previous years, we have always played against them.

The coaches of both sides are great friends. The teachers-in-charge of both sides are also good friends. There is no animosity between AES and Fajar players. There is a lot of mutual respect.

This time, we felt that we were ready for them. We have quality players. We are both evenly matched.


Unfortunately, our plan was derailed horribly in the first quarter.

Our players seemed powerless, subdued and quiet, and AES took great advantage of our hesitancy to run rings around us and score freely.

The damage was done and the killer blow was inflicted on Fajar in this quarter. The score at the end of the first quarter: 22 - 6.


Naturally the coach and I were upset at the players. They were playing way below their usual standards. They were always half a step behind the AES opponents.

We lacked fire and the motivation.



The second quarter proved to be a slight improvement. Fajar began to raise up a gear in their play. We scored a few more baskets. More crucially, we defended tighter and stopped leaking baskets.

But there was still not enough communication. We committed too many simple errors. We still failed to box them out effectively.

But our improvement told in the second quarter score: 8 - 10.



In the third quarter, we continued to play better. We were getting better in our defence. Our centres started to wake up and dominate their opponents with sweet moves. We were winning rebounds because we started to box out more effectively.

But AES wouldn't give up. They still wanted to win and they were very lethal in several fast breaks. The third quarter score was 10 - 10.


The last quarter was Fajar's best time of the game. We were playing better than AES. Our centres were more agile and began to be very sharp under the basket. Our forwards began to be more adventurous. Zi Ting and Billy began to push and push into the AES territory. We were getting stronger.

Alas. It was all too late. By the time we started to show our quality, we ran out of time. The final quarter score was 14 - 16.



So, the first quarter was the blow that killed us. We tried to make a comeback, but the gap was too big to overcome.


What can we learn from this game? Plenty.



1. It is obvious that AES is a good team, but so is Fajar. They have strong individual players, and so do we.

2. AES played with fierce passion from the 1st quarter. Fajar didn't. Everyone was still asleep. No one was talking and galvanising the players. There was no one to yell and motivate each other. We paid dearly for our lack of communication.

3. So many times we failed to box the AES players out, resulting in losing rebounds. If we had boxed them out EVERY TIME (it can be done), we would have easily won the game.

4. Our centres need to dominate their opponents. We have good centres and we must stand firm and not be easily pushed away or brushed aside.




There is every reason to be optimistic. We have lost the first game, but everyone knows that Fajar has the quality.

For Thursday's match against Nan Hua High, we must play our game, our way, our speed. We must be more adventurous. We must play very hard and be fearless.

Most importantly, we must encourage and warn each other throughout the match. We must keep talking.



The next match is winnable. Victory is in our hands.


We still have great faith in Fajar Basketball. 2008 will be the year that we reach the Second Round. This is the year we do it.