Ian, Y13, Century Park Campus

Our recent ACAMIS Basketball tournament in Beijing was one to remember for those of us in Year 13. The team consisting of nine players who entered the tournament well prepared and thrilled to take on the challenge. Learning from experience, we started our games with high speed passing, were very aggressive, and we reciprocated according to the physicality of our opponents. Our 1-3-1 press approach, in particular, caught the other teams by surprise. We played exceptionally well for the round robin games, just narrowly falling short of winning on a buzzer beater 3. However, we didn’t let it get in our heads, and instead it motivated us to make tactical adjustments so we would be better prepared to face our opponents again in the finals.

I was extremely proud of the way the team played with unity and determination. Everyone played with heart and gave it their absolute best on the court. This is the best achievement YCIS has claimed for ACAMIS Basketball, and I thought that this was an incredible performance.

Over the years the team has bid farewell to older players who graduated and this was offset thanks to the younger talents in our school who stepped up and showed supreme tenacity. It wasn’t until after I went on stage to receive our team’s ACAMIS trophy that I realized how rare these opportunities to play with my teammates and coaches are. Now I know that for us Year 13’s, we must learn to cherish and appreciate the magnitude of these moments -- such as our overtime semi-final win against another school at the tournament -- and we must seize opportunities as they present themselves.

It has been a wonderful three years on the team for the Year 13s and we would like to thank our coaches, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Connell, for inspiring and challenging each and every one of us to be better athletes. Without the encouragement from our coaches, we wouldn’t have been able to come this far. We look forward to seeing more successes in ACAMIS sports for YCIS, and we hope to see you supporting us in the Shanghai ACAMIS football tournament coming up this April!