This week, saw the last of our KFSAC and ISACK fixtures take place. After an already fantastic year of sporting success here at TES, the last 4 squads were hoping to add to our already extensive silverware collection.
U13 Girls ISACK Basketball Semi-Final
TES 14 - 17 NES
We kick started the week with the U13 Girls Basketball semi-final. After finishing 2nd in the group stages, the girls had earned themselves home advantage, where we took on NES. After an extremely tense and exciting matchup during the groups, this game promised to be an epic game once again.
During the first quarter, NES came out fighting. We were very slow to start and it was apparent, that nerves had got the better of our girls. Numerous mistakes were made and we never looked like scoring. The score after the first quarter was 8-3 NES. Things hadn’t got off to a great start.
Into the second quarter we went. After a gruelling quarter time talk, suddenly the girls woke up and shook off their nerves. They came back to life and really took the game into their hands with NES barely getting a shot in. We were dominant throughout the second quarter and made multiple interceptions and turnovers. We managed to bring the score to a much smaller margin of just 1 point. 9-8 at half-time, and we were well and truly back in this.
The girls were buzzing with excitement now and their confidence was up. They went into the third quarter feeling good and were by far the better team. More disciplined and feisty from start to finish - but lady luck was not on our side. Defensively, the girls were too much for NES to handle - however, credit must be given to their centre who played superbly at times. We kept turning the ball over, pressurising their offensive play and drove to the basket. But the pressure of the game and too much hesitation around the key, meant we couldn’t score the baskets the girls so desperately needed to swing the game in our favour.
They never gave up. Turnover after turnover after turnover, but still the baskets wouldn’t fall. NES managed to squeeze in two more baskets on the only two occasions they broke our defence. 13-10 was the score going into the final quarter. Throughout the season, the girls have always scored the most during the final quarter due to strong defensive full court pressure. Today didn’t disappoint as they piled the pressure on NES. NES looked lost at times and our girls made it difficult for them to get any kind of shot away. But unfortunately, each time we clawed them back, they capitalised on a small lapse in concentration from our girls and punished us. Until the dying seconds, our girls never gave up. They kept on fighting and threw everything into the game. But the baskets we needed just didn’t come today - it was a heartbreaking end to a fantastic season. 17-14 was the final score, and a bitter pill to swallow after the hours of training these girls had put in. Nevertheless, they did the school proud and exemplified team-work and determination. Well done girls - it’s been another great year in ISACK.
U11 Boys KFSAC Basketball Tournament
The TES boys put in a number of very good performances in order to win the KFSAC basketball competition at NES on Monday evening. The opening game for the boys was versus TEA and they got off to a good start dominating the game from the opening tipoff. The boys attacked well as a team and limited the opposition to long distance shooting, resulting in a 9-0 victory. Straight after winning the opening game the boys went on to beat TEPS 14-2 carrying on their momentum. Game 3 was a bit more difficult for the boys as KES defended well resulting in a low scoring 4-1 win for TES. The penultimate game of the day was against BSK and in another tight game the boys managed to prevail with a 9-7 win after a sloppy performance with too many turnovers and some slack defence. The boys’ best performance was saved for the final and decisive game against NES where the winner would be crowned champions. The boys got in a good attacking rhythm and tightened up on defence and controlled the game from start to finish. In what should have been a close game, the TES team ran rampant and stormed to a 16-2 victory to end the day on a high. The boys won all 5 fixtures and were crowned champions - well done to Truman, Christian, Sam, Maxwell, Haydn, Finnley and Felix, you did TES proud
U11 Girls KFSAC Basketball Tournament
Our U11 girls had been training hard for this, their last KFSAC tournament of the year. The girls were in good shape and looked strong going into the competition. They had five games to play, each 10 minutes long.
They started off superbly, with a convincing 20-0 win over TEPS in their opening game. From start to finish, the girls kept their structure and played a solid game of basketball. Riri was dominant throughout, scoring 14 of the points. A great start to our campaign! We went straight into our second match against TEA. The girls didn’t falter. It was an almost perfect performance with only one foul being picked up. TEA rarely entered our half, as the defence of the girls was strong. They racked up a 16-0 win in this game and were looking good to contend for the title. Immediately after, they followed this up with a 14-2 victory over KES. The girls till now, had played some excellent basketball and should be credited for their awesome defence - three games in, and only one basket conceded.
After a short break, we faced BSK who historically, perform extremely well in basketball across both KFSAC and ISACK. Our girls once again came out strong and played very well against a tougher opponent. A few errors crept in this time from our girls, allowing BSK the opportunity to shoot, but once again they fought hard to continue their winning streak and went on to beat BSK 12-4 in the end. That meant we had one game to go - NES. Going into the game, confidence was high, but the nerves started to creep in. Both teams had won all of their matches, meaning whoever won this match-up, would win the tournament overall. On baskets scored, we were by the far better team.
We started off badly, making far too many silly errors, costing us an early 2-0 deficit. For the first few minutes, our girls were, for the first time chasing the opposition and being made to work hard. We eventually found the equaliser, and immediately followed this up with another basket. We were 4-2 up with just 2 minutes to play. A lapse in concentration soon after however, meant that NES were able to level the score to 4-4. With one minute remaining, this game could go either way. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t go our way. A foul against us, meant that this game was in the hands of a NES player. If she scored, the game would be theirs. And score them she did. A final score of 6-4, saw NES crowned as champions today. It was a heartbreaking moment for our U11 girls, who, up until this game had played some flawless basketball. Well done to Riri, Melanie, Zoha, Anannya, Yara and Olivia who played extremely well.
U13 Boys ISACK Volleyball Final
TES 0 - 2 KES
TES reached the final of the boys volleyball final with a perfect 6 wins from 6 matches and were looking to finish all three seasons as ISACK champions. The opponents in the final were KES, a team we had already played twice this year including a defeat at BSME but a win in the ISACK league. KES started the game well and took an early advantage in the opening set which the boys were unable to claw back. TES were competitive in the set but errors in serving and communication cost us points and KES won the opening set 25-20.
The second set started better for the boys but every time we had a run of points, an error by us would swing momentum back to KES and they took advantage of the opportunities. TES were leading the set at the midpoint but some excellent serving and effective smashes gave KES a lead that our boys were unable to overcome. The set finished with a score of 25-19 to KES and a 2-0 set victory for them. On the day, there were too many errors from the TES team and we were not able to finish points effectively with attacking hits. A good performance from the boys, but it wasn't quite enough against a solid KES team.
Overall, it has been a successful year for the ISACK boys, winning the football and basketball whilst also making the final of the volleyball. Well done to all of the Year 7 and 8 boys involved.