vs Kryptonyte; vs USJ 8

The Cagers played two more friendly games. Last night, 20th March, they played against Kryptonyte, arranged by Hadi at the USJ 1 Court.

Against Kryptonyte, the Cagers started of well, hitting their shots and managed to contain the bigger and older opponent. The Cagers continued to play well in the 2nd quarter to lead at the half. Kryptonyte began to use the height advantage and controlled the board. They managed to take the lead after the third quarter. The Cagers fought back and hit several 3-pointers and began to pull away. The Cagers won 42 - 36. It was a good experience for the Cagers. They will be meeting the similiar style teams in the Finals. The Cagers managed to keep the intensity through out the game.

The next morning 21st March, the Cagers played a game against the USJ 8 team. The game was arranged by Mr. Tong after he saw the Cagers practising at the USJ 1 court.

The Cagers started well against USJ 8. They defended superbly and only allowed USJ 8 to score 5 points while the Cagers scored 17 in the 1st quarter. USJ 8 tried to use their full court trapping defence against the Cagers to no avail. The Cagers broke the full court press at ease and scored several easy baskets. The Cagers started to look lethargic in the 2nd half, due to the late game against Kryptonyte last night. They began missing their shots but still managed to lead 36 - 23 at the half.

The Cagers managed to increase their lead after the third quarter 54 - 40. The Cagers struggled in the 4th quarter. USJ 8 began to fight back and closed in on the Cagers. The Cagers managed to hit several 3-pointers and kept the USJ 8 team at bay. The final score 62 - 55, the Cagers won their 2nd game. Overall, the Cagers played well. They managed to hit 5 3-pointers, especially during the critical time when USJ 8 began to narrow the score. The Cagers kept their cool despite looking so lethargic.

Cagers vs Kota Kemuning Boys/ISN visit

The Cagers played a game against Kota Kemuning boys yesterday. They started well and managed to lead at the half. They began losing steam at the second half and struggled to make their shots. They lost 41 - 56. Overall they played well, able to match the more experienced team.

This morning, YBhg Dato' Dr. Ramlan (Cager 77, the 1st Champ) invited the Cagers over to Institut Sukan Negara for a half day session. The Cagers were given talks on Sport Dieting and Psychology of winning by the ISN staff. They were also shown the better way to do their warm-ups. Besides the knowledge, the Cagers were also feted with delicious food (breakfast, tea-break and lunch). Thank you daun keladi, YBhg Dato'.

Cagers vs National U17 girls

Cagers just played an exciting match against the National U17 girls team at MABA this evening. Not surprisingly, even the girls are bigger, taller and fitter than the Cagers. The Cagers put up excellent defence but were done with the superb shooting by the Girls. They hit more than 10 3-pointers. They were overwhelmed in the 2nd quarter after holding on closely in the first. They trailed 16 - 32 at the half. The Cagers tightened up their defence and managed to counter attack the Girls trapping defence. They trailed 35-54 after the third quarter. The Cagers managed to make the score more respectable by outscoring the Girls in the fourth Quarter to lose 54 - 68.

It was a good experience for the Cagers to play against the National team. The Juniors managed to play an extra quarter against the Girls as well. They won 18 - 17.

The training will resume tomorrow morning at USJ 1 court.

The NORTHERN ZONE CHAMPIONSHIP

The Cagers won their 7^th consecutive PHT Northern Zone Championships in SMS Tun Syed Sheh Shahabuddin (SMSTSSS) Bukit Mertajam convincingly. This year Quest-4-Glory (Q4G) had to field ‘new’ team after 8 seniors graduated, leaving behind the juniors to fill in their big shoes. The Cagers 09 struggled to show their true talents, with the games being played with a 7 minutes non stop every quarter (a total of 28 minutes per game), the Cagers couldn’t capitalize on one of their strengths, stamina. It was really a short game, not more than 5 minutes of actual playing time, a total of 20 minutes per game.

The Cagers left Kuala Kangsar at 2:00 pm with 12 players (3 Form 5s, 6 Form 4s and 3 Form 3s) accompanied by Cikgu Rizal led by Cikgu Hisham plus the Debaters. They arrived safely in SMSTSSS at 4:00 pm. After unloading and settling down in the respective dorms, the Cagers went down for a light training and to feel the court.

Tuesday 10 Mac

8:00 am vs. SBPI Kubang Pasu

The Cagers’ struggled in the first quarter. Despite being better skilled than SBPIKP players, Cagers just couldn’t settle down and played their normal game. They managed to lead 8 – 3 at the end of 1^st quarter. The starters (Syai, Ammar, Am, Syafiq Ihsan & Mat Nor) struggled to establish their patterned plays. 2^nd quarter showed marked improvement as the cagers settled down and managed to stretch the lead to 23 – 7. The 2^nd team took over at the 2^nd half. They showed better composure than the first team. They extended the lead to 36 – 15 after the 3^rd quarter. The Cagers tightened their defence in the last quarter and took advantage of their better stamina to win the game 48 – 15. They managed to hit 4 3-pointers despite the 3-point line were as far as in NBA.

11:15 am vs SMS Sultan Md. Jiwa

The Cagers started well this time. The starters established a lead 11 – 2 at the end of 1^st quarter. However, the second team struggled when they took over in the 2^nd quarter. Nothing was falling in; luckily they managed to put up a strong defense. The score was 17 – 4 at the half. The second team recovered in the second half by scoring 12 points to lead 29 – 6 by the 3^rd quarter. They cruised in the last quarter and failed to keep the intensity to win by 33 - 8.

4:15 pm vs SMSultan Abd. Halim

The Cagers again struggled to establish themselves early in the game. The starters struggled to lead 10 – 6 at the end of 1^st quarter. In the 2^nd half, the starters began to dominate the game and held SMSAH scoreless to lead 26 – 6 at the half. The second team took over at the start of 2^nd half. Playing 3 games a day took its toll on the 2^nd team. Nothing was falling in, luckily they managed to put up a strong defense. The score was 28 – 10 after the 3^rd quarter. The second team continued to struggle in the last quarter but they managed to hold on the lead and won 32 – 14.

Wednesday 11 Mac

11:15 am vs. SBPI Gopeng

Cagers’ starters played well to lead 12 – 4 after the 1^st quarter. They tightened up their defense and capitalized the opponent’s inability to score to lead 31 – 9 at the half. The second team took over in the second half. They continued the excellent defense and kept SBPI scoreless in the second half. Cagers won 49 – 9. The Cagers showed marked improvement in their performance. They managed to hit 2 3-pointers in the game.

4:15 pm vs. STAR

Both teams were undefeated, the winner would be the group champion. Cagers’ starters started well by frustrating the STAR players through their excellent defence. Cagers led 14 – 6 at the the of 1^st quarter. The second five took over in the 2^nd quarter and continued the excellent defence and held STAR scoreless to 22 – 6 at the half. The second team failed to keep the intensity during the 3^rd quarter but they still managed to lead 27 – 12 at the end of 3^rd quarter. They recovered in the last quarter and again held STAR scoreless to win 40 – 12. The Cagers hit 7 3-pointers in the game. The inconsistency of the second team is a bit worrying. They need more game exposure and experience to maintain the intensity in the game.

Thursday 12 Mac

8:00 am Semifinal vs. SMSTSPutra

The Cagers started well this time by pressuring the SMSTSP players into making mistakes after mistakes. They led 10 – 3 after the 1^st quarter. The second team took over and continued the pressure. They managed to increase4 the lead to 24 – 9 at the half. The second team held SMSTSP scoreless in the the 3^rd quarter to 34 – 9. They continued their excellent play to win 46 – 14. The Cagers managed to hit only 1 3-pointer.

10:45 am Final vs. STAR

STAR made it to the final after beating SMSTSSS 16 - 14 in the other semifinal. It was a very close game all the way. Playing 7 minutes non-stop benefitted STAR players. They didn’t have the stamina to last the proper 10 minutes per quarter game.

The final game was played in a subdued atmosphere. STAR couldn’t field their main players after the tough semifinal The Cagers played in a relaxed manner while keeping the opponent at bay by playing excellent defense. Cagers led 11 – 2 in the 1^st quarter. The second team took over from the 2^nd quarter. They struggled to score but still managed to keep the lead 18 – 4 at the half. In the second half, the second team continued to cruise to extended the lead 21 – 8 after the 3^rd quarter. They slowed down in the last quarter but still managed to extend the lead. Cagers won 27 – 10. Playing the game at noon affected both teams, STAR being the worst. The Cagers struggled to maintain their intensity in the scorching sun.

Conclusion

Overall, the Cagers played well in patches during the tournament. Skill and stamina wise, they were on a different league compared to other teams. Their lacked of game experience and it showed during the first day. They showed apparent nervousness against lowly opponents. They regain their composure and played better during the next day. They couldn’t afford to be nervous in the Nationals later. We are planning some motivation session with ISN later, before the finals.

North Zone Schedule 2009

The Cagers will be defending their Piala Hamdan Tahir North Zone Championship at SMSTSSShahabudin, Bukit Mertajam from 10th - 12th March 2009. They will be going for their seventh-in-a-row.

The schedule as below:

10.3.09
8.00 am Cagers vs SBPI Kubang Pasu.
2.45 pm Cagers vs SMSM.Jiwa.

11.3.09
8.45 am Cagers vs SMSAH.
12.30 pm Cagers vs SBPIGopeng.
4.15 pm Cagers vs STAR.

12.3.09
8.00 am S/Final I:
8.45 am S/Final II:
9.30 am FINAL :

Hope to see some of you there.

MC-RMC Game

The Cagers won against RMC 55 - 23 during the MC-RMC weekend. Mr. Liew used all the players except for Form 2s. The first team played for a quarter then the juniors took over. The Form 3s played well and managed to outscore RMC. However, the Cagers didn't play up to their standard. They were sluggish and failed to play as a team. There were a lot of confusion as Mr. Liew told them to play 2-1-2 full court. They kept going back for defence after scoring.

The Cagers need to play to instructions if they are going to defend the title. Coming next will be the Northern Zone on 9 - 12th March at SMSTSSS, bukit Mertajam.