Sunday, June 04, 2006

PHT 2006 Report

Below is the official report from Quest-4-Glory, written by Ahmad Amirul Hafidz @ Cepe: Captain Cager 05 & PHT 2005 MVP

33rd HKSBP in SEMSAS
Mc Cagers vs. SMS Lahad Datu
29th of May 2006, 9.30 am

In this first grouping match of the tournament, Mr. Liew fielded the first five players as the starters. They were off to a jittery start, but managed to settle down just in time to put up a good defense and poured in points after points at the other end, albeit committing quite a number of evitable mistakes. Qassim led the first quarter surge with 7 points as the Cagers commenced to a 19 - 9 lead.

Early into the second quarter, Aliep committed his 4th personal foul to force Mr. Liew to replace him with another player, avoiding taking any risk of losing him. Later on, the second team took command of the game from the starters, and they finished off the quarter with a score of 35 - 18.

Aliep was fielded back into the game entering the 2nd half as Mr. Liew looked to let him regained his confidence, and this was proven to be worthy to himself in particular and to the team generally as Aliep demonstrated a somewhat excellent individual offensive play. The 3rd quarter came to a conclusion with a score line of 50 - 30, the Cagers are in front.

The five starters remained on the court in the final quarter in spite of a comfortable 20 points lead the team possesses. They switched their style of play defensively, opting for a 2 - 3 formation before Aliep was fouled out having committed his fifth personal foul. The 2nd team was again taken into the court afterwards up to the final whistle as the Cagers emerged triumphant with a 67 - 42 win.

All in all, the Cagers played below their own standard in this opening game and showed apparent signs of nervousness. They also committed a breathtaking 24 personal fouls on the whole. Nonetheless, nothing to be worried as according to Mr. Liew, as the team is well on the right track of winning. Aliep, the team captain led the way in scoring with 24 points.

MC Cagers vs. SMS Dungun
29th of May 2006, 3.00 pm

Again, the team started off unconvincingly with Nash committed two early mistakes in passing to give an early lead to the opposing team. Anyhow, the team made up for their blunders by putting up a good defense and claimed the lead shortly afterwards, albeit missing numerous numbers of free throws gifted. They concluded the 1st quarter with a 16 - 9 lead.

The Cagers continued to display a splendid form in defense in the 2nd quarter while scoring 20 points themselves on offense to magnify the lead over their opponents closing the 1st half.

Justin was brought in to play alongside first team regulars to start the 3rd quarter, before Mr. Liew rotates the players in and out of the game. All the players did give pleasing performances and deserve credits indeed. This 3rd quarter saw the Cagers forged to lead SMS Dungun 36 - 15.

As the match resumes to its final quarter, it became more and more obvious that there was just no way for the opposing team to get back to the game and give worrying threat to the Cagers. Even the Form 3 team that was fielded by Mr. Liew in the final minutes of the match seemed to be far better than the players from the other side. In the end, the Cagers claimed their 2nd successive wins stylishly with a final score of 83 - 24.

MC Cagers vs. SBPI Sabak Bernam
30th of May 2006, 8.00 am

Against this novice participating team of the tournament, the Cagers scored the first 11 points in early minutes to start this 3rd game of the grouping stage on a brilliant note. The team later on forged to a 22 - 3 lead to wrap up the 1st quarter, Aliep and Qassim combined for a total of 21 points.

Miki committed 2 quick fouls and was replaced by Justin in the 2nd quarter, while some other starters were also rested halfway through to give ways to junior players. Having enjoyed a comfortable lead, the Cagers slowed their pace down, only to see the opposing team got back on track and cut the point difference. The 1st half score stood at 31 - 23.

The five starters got back into the game entering the 3rd quarter as the Cagers looked to make up for their lapse in performance in the previous quarter and reclaim a big lead. This had proven to be essential as the Cagers outshined their helpless opponents with strong offensive plays and tough defense, denying any of their opportunity to once again reduce the scoring gap. The Cagers outscored their opponents 26 - 8 in this 3rd quarter.

Mr. Liew fielded the Form 3 team to replace the key players in the final minutes of the game as the Cagers held on to their big lead throughout the whole quarter. Justin did put up a somewhat splendid performance before retiring from the game due to a serious ankle injury. He is not expected to play for the rest of the tournament for a matter of slight concern. Anyhow, the Cagers cruised all the way to a 76 - 48 victory.

Aliep played well to his standard and became the top scorer as usual with 24 points. The Cagers sink in a total of 5 three pointers in this match.

MC Cagers vs. SMS Seremban (SASER)
30th of May 2006, 4.00 pm

This is the last game of the pre - round in which the winner would top the group as both teams have already qualified for the semifinal.

SASER scored the 1st basket of the match before Cagers recovered and took a commanding lead wrapping up the 1st quarter at 15 - 5. Aliep and Miki got into an early foul trouble to force Mr. Liew to take them out to the bench.

The 2nd quarter saw the team lost their ground on defense, allowing the opposing team to trim down the lead to merely 7 points. Worse still, the main players kept on committing unnecessary fouls, forcing the 2nd team to take over to avoid any risks of losing them.

Aliep and Nash were fielded back into the game midway through the 2nd half, only to see both of them walked off the court moments later for fouling out. Anyhow, the Cagers managed to hold on to their lead before the game was thwarted by rain, forcing in the change of venue. Shifting to SEMSAS, they gave up another 4 points to their opponents to conclude the 3rd quarter with a score line of 44 - 37, the Cagers led.

The final quarter obviously was not a game to remember. Having lost two key players plus Justin who sustained an ankle injury, the Cagers found it hard to hinder aggressive offensive plays by SASER, mostly due to lack of size, and let their lead to diminish. SASER even got in front at times. With clocks ticking down, the Cagers still had a 1 point lead as well as the ball, before Ammar horrendously made a mistake in passing leading to a simple lay up by the opponent for a reversed 1 point lead for them. Trailing with seconds left, there goes our 33 - games winning streak under the Q4G Project despite a last-breath effort from Em. Final score, Cagers lost 56 - 57

On the whole, the withdrawal of Aliep and Nash in the 3rd quarter was proven to be too costly and disastrous to the team. Other players did not play up to their mark either, resulting in this rare defeat. The Cagers gained a blessing in disguise however as according to Mr. Liew, for the players now realize that they are prone to committing unnecessary fouls besides relying too much on main players. The Cagers were still up to play in the semi final match on the next day as the runners-up of the group.

Semifinal:
MC Cagers vs. RMC
31st of May 2006, 8.00 am

Up against their traditional foe, the Cagers were determined to seal a win to make up for their humiliating yesterday’s defeat and recaptured their confidence as well as claiming a spot in the 3rd successive final game of the tournament.

The starters demonstrated a brilliant overall performance in the 1st half of the game, especially in the 2nd quarter in which they outscored RMC 26 - 8, contradictory to their below par performance in the previous match. Changes in strategy saw Aliep played up front on defense instead of at centre, while Em was brought in midway through the 2nd quarter to give a tight marking to the opponent’s point guard, intentionally to halt the smooth flow of RMC’s offensive play. The 1st half score was 36 - 17, the Cagers led comfortably. Qassim and Aliep were ahead in the scoring run with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Entering the 2nd half, the Cagers continued their dazzling display at both ends added up with minimized number of fouls as the main players remained on the court despite possessing a huge scoring margin over RMC. A couple of three point shots by Em plus another one from Nash sparked a fine scoring run to the disappointment of the opposing team, who trailed as far as 30 points behind. Junior players later on took over and played until the final whistle, as the Cagers emerged triumphant with 76 - 48 the score line. With this classy win, the Cagers moved one step closer towards the solitary goal of claiming the 3rd successive PHT.

Over all, the Cagers proved that they could indeed rise to the occasion at crucial moments and play up to their billings despite still pondering over the previous day’s defeat. Obviously, the key factors of this win are minimal number of fouls committed which sum up to merely 6, added up with the balanced performance of the players as well as the high confidence and positive attitude shown. Nonetheless, let us not stop and rest on the laurels at this moment. Rather we ought to gear up and keep on this fine run for our final decisive game ahead.

The Finals
MC Cagers vs. SMS Machang
1st of June 2006, 9.30 am

Up against SMS Machang in this final match of the tournament, the college was the hot favorite to win the PHT for the 3rd time on the trot. SMS Machang, which was coached by no other than our own Dr. Nasir 89, an Old Cager, was the 3rd different team in three years the Cagers faced in the final, all of which came from East Coast.

It was a neck-to-neck tie in the opening quarter of the game; Qassim took the first basket before their opponents took charge for a match akin to a mouse and cat game in the early 10 minutes. The Cagers eventually surrendered the 1st quarter to SMS Machang, trailing by 9 - 11. Qassim had 7 out of those 9 points scored.

The Cagers came off the bench to begin the 2nd quarter in an optimistic and high-flying mood, certain of salvaging a huge lead and sealing a win as early as in the 1st half of the game. Em was brought in to inject stings on the defense and help Aliep with his offensive plays. This was proven to be essential, as the Cagers turned the table and clinched a total of 24 points in this 2nd quarter alone, while at the same time restraining SMS Machang for a mere 10 points. Nash was unfortunate however for committing his 4th foul, forcing him to be replaced by Ammar mid-way through.

Early minutes of the 3rd quarter saw Aliep inspired a brilliant 9 nil run to give a doubled score line of 42 - 21 for the Cagers, a heartbreak for our opponents. Hazwan was fielded back to replace Em albeit an awesome show by the latter halfway through this 3rd quarter, while the other 4 players stayed put on the court. Later on, SMS Machang opted for a half-court press defense system to thwart our smooth offensive flow, yet was calmly prevailed over to their disheartenment. Excellent defensive plays by the Cagers added up with scorching hot scoring touch on offense resulted in a 54 - 27 the 3rd quarter score. Aliep, Hazwan, Qassim and Miki all combined for a fine scoring run in beginning of the 4th quarter to blow up the already-enormous scoring margin. The Cagers’ fitness was proven to be superb as by this time, the game was metaphorically similar to a track race, and while the opponents were not exactly the tortoise, the Cagers were definitely the hare. Aliep, in particular, displayed an overwhelming one man show before the five players headed off to the bench to be substituted, buoyant for the sealed sweet triumph. The final minutes were basically played by the Form 3s who continued to play impressively, with Mokri and Syahmi sank in two three pointers respectively before the final whistle, concluding this final match of our quest for the 3rd successive PHT on another victorious note.

The final score is 81 - 37; the Cagers emerged triumphant with a margin of 44 points, a record for the biggest point difference in any final game of the tournament. Cagers made a sum of 8 three pointers, 5 of which contributed by Qassim, while Aliep led with 32 points in scoring.

It was a great atmosphere with stirring drama after the final whistle; the Old Boys in presence presented the traditional ‘Bung Wak’ to the triumphant boys, who soon presented theirs in reply. The ‘Gemilang’ song filled the air shortly afterwards, before Riza Beg led the pack honoring Mr. Liew with three cheers for his unsurpassable feat of winning the 11th PHT for the college.

The prize-giving ceremony was held subsequently, with Aliep, the team captain being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Special thanks to Mr. Liew, for his undying spirit and his gift of this 11th PHT, Q4G Project coordinators and supporters, old boys who were there to cheer the Cagers; Riza Amarallah Beg 76 and family, Ihsan 80 and family, Azran 96 and family, Azmi Jimat 91, Azhar Che Ahmad 80, Dr. Aidi 89, Aziz Saleh 78, YBhg Dato’ Salahuddin 79, Wan Zefri 88, Azhar Affendi 83, Mahmud, Zuwairi 96, Raja Arif 91, Som 95, Azri Ali 81, Azamin 83, Zainal Abidin Zainuddin 83, Hasnul , Dr. Nasir 89, Shahruddin and family, Megat Mazhar Khair 80, Halim Hussien 77 (we apologize for names unintentionally being left behind), the college adminitrators themselves; Mr. Rauhi, the principal, Mr. Safwan, the chief of the contingent to Kuantan, teachers, the players themselves, present boys, supporters, and all those who were involved directly or indirectly.

Three years the Q4G project has been carried out, and three years we tasted victory. The winning margin expanded year after year; from 3 points gap in the triumph in 2004, to a 9 points win later in 2005, and of course, this year’s 44 points margin for the 3rd win- a proven success of the project. Therefore, let us continue to lend our hand and support this Q4G project in years to come, in hope that we will be able to keep the elusive PHT for the next following years.

No comments: