Temasek Hall

With a clean sweep of 3-0 victory, we are the new champions!

As the loud drum beats from the spectators reverberated throughout the indoor court, everyone’s heart was beating in anticipation of the final results. A blow from the referee’s whistle and the ball was served. The TH girls received it well and gave them a good spike. At the start of the game, the TH girls were in the lead until they lost it, mentally. The scores started to inch forward, point for point, and Xueying was exasperated. In anxiety, everyone was fighting with her to receive the spikes. In addition, there was tension between the TH girls and the referees regarding the calls they made on touching the nets and doing a ‘double’. The crawl to the winning point was stifling. A timeout was aptly called and everyone gathered round to exchange words of encouragement and a few hard pats on the back. Feeling refreshed, everyone went back into the courts and played on. It was a crucial time when SH reached the 20-points mark, the time where it’s make or break. While most ordinary teams would break, our girls made things happen. A mere few services and ace spikes by Felicia, Bonnie and Cenying, we were not only in the lead, we eventually won the set with 25-22. This was just the team’s warm up set for more exciting plays to come.

The second set got off on a bad note. Everyone seemed to be out of focus. Even our MVP, Bonnie, got her spike blocked by the SH’s centre player. Not to worry, Bonnie made it up by ensuring this was the first and last time she would allow them to feel conceited and she gave the SH team a taste of her own medicine. Although SH had good spikers, our blockers gave them few chances to gain any points out of them. Each spike they gave were received, set and returned with a winning spike by the TH girls. However, they started to lose focus again until SH was in the lead with 20 points. Possessed with an unspoken determination, everyone strove to win it back. Point by point, they took it back slow and steadily. True enough, the spirit of “never say die” brought them another winning set of 27-25.

Finally, it all boils down to the 3rd set. The air was full of hostility. Everyone had their own agenda to fulfill. This is the time for TH to make the difference.

SH served the first ball and we took the service back from them. Unfortunately, the TH team lost it with a bad service. It was not just 1 bad service; it was 6 bad services in a row. Feeling a little dejected, we fought even harder to snap out of these silly mistakes. The “curse” was finally broken when Cheryl took over the service and gave us a lead ahead of SH with her services. As the situation continued to be as tense as ever, our center player, Cenying, suffered from leg cramps. She struggled to keep up before she was substituted by Dominique. Despite being called to play at a critical period, she remained calm and collected while giving the opponents a few brillant blocks and receives. Another conflict that occurred was the decision of an “in” or “out” ball from the referee. While our TH linesman, Weide said it was an obvious “in” ball, the SH linesman allegedly says it is an “out” ball. The referee gave a “reserved ball” call and Yirong served the ball again. With another excellent spike from Bonnie, the rightful point was given back to us. Yet SH was still ahead of us with the score of 21-19. Proof of TH having both brains and brawns, Melissa played smart and dropped a spectacular ball to the side while the SH girls were struggling to regain their defense positions. The crowd went wild. The final chase for IHG gold ended on a high note that goes “thump” when Shimin (aka “Pretty”) gave a pretty set to Cheryl. She spiked it right into an empty spot on the SH’s court, leaving the SH girls in nothing but utter disappointment. Meanwhile, the TH girls and their faithful supporters went crazy with joy. Finally, the gold is ours to hold.

Being one of the last few sports in this IHG season, it has been a long ardous journey. The bitter route to this glorious golden moment has definitely left everything behind with a sweet after taste. Cheers to the start of defending champions in IHGs! Well done!

PS: Knowing how tough it is to keep up the fighting fire when you’re one of the last sports in the season, we know how important support is from fellow hallmates, so come down to provide your cheering voice for the TH track team!

Editor’s Note:

At this point, so close to the finish, we are now one point behind EH, but if it comes down to a tie after today’s track and field, we would have the advantage due to number of golds won. After the long IHG season and even longer training sessions, the title and bragging rights of IHG champions all boils down to today.

With the tight margin between us and our neighbours, YOU can make a difference! Come down and join the sea of white! Be there! 6pm. SRC