35th HKSBP in SM Sultan Abdul Halim, Jitra, Kedah

Syukur, Alhamdulillah, the Cagers have retained the Piala Hamdan Tahir for the 5^th consecutive times and 13^th overall in the recently concluded Hari Kecemerlangan Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (HKSBP) in Jitra, Kedah.

Overall, The Cagers’ performance was not as good as Cagers 06 & Cagers 07. However, despite playing at about 50% of their true abilities, the Cagers managed to win all their games by more than 20 points difference. The Cagers were still heads and shoulders compared to other SBPs inspite of being off form. The Cagers 08 struggled to cope with the injuries suffered by 3 main players. They managed to recover just in time for HSKBP but their layoff affected their playing temperment and team synergy.

The others schools knew they couldn’t match the Cagers in basketball skills, fundamentals, teamwork and stamina. They resorted to play aggressive and rough games by fouling the Cagers hard, especially SDAR team. The coach asked his players to foul the Cagers at all costs, to prevent the smooth plays by the Cagers. This tactic was adopted by other teams as well. This is a worrying and unhealthy trend used by our opponents. The referees didn’t help by missing a lot of calls and still using old rules and regulations. The table officers compounded the problems by poor keeping of the match statistics and record. Despite all that, the Cagers managed to hold their heads high and win with comfortable margins.

Ishak Ariffin ‘77 was there to see and he commented in his email: It was alarming to see that the others schools adopted a very 'unsporting' approach when playing MCKK Cagers. They think they cannot beat the Cagers so the players were instructed to go out and bash up our players instead of playing basketball. Shame on the coaches and teachers! And we wonder how our kids became hooligans... some of them were possibly taught to be one!

MC Cagers vs. SDAR

23^rd of May 2008, 9.30 am Court A, College Heights Utara

The Cagers started cautiously against the bigger SDAR players. They played excellent defense in the first quarter by limiting SDAR to only 8 point and scoring 19 point themselves. They continued to play excellent defense in the second quarter to take 34 – 15 lead at the half.

SDAR resorted to aggressive and rough game in the second half. This tactic rattled the Cagers; however, they managed to keep the lead 45 – 36 at the end of third quarter. Three SDAR starters fouled out of the game early in the 4^th quarter and the Cagers managed to overcome the initial shock and played to their game plan. They outscored SDAR by 14 points in the fourth quarter to win 69 – 46.

The Cagers played below their own standard in this opening game and showed apparent signs of nervousness. They struggled against the bigger and aggressive opponents. Justin led the scoring with 18 points.

MC Cagers vs. SMS Kuching

23^rd of May 2008, 5.00 pm, Court A, College Heights Utara

The Cagers started well by scoring 21 points in the first quarter, while holding SMS Kuching to only 15 points. The scoring prowess continued in the second quarter with the Cagers 41 – 27 at the half. The Cagers struggled to score in the third quarter but they managed to play excellent defense to keep the lead 49 – 33. They recovered offensively in the fourth quarter by scoring 13 points to win the game 62 – 40.

The Cagers continued to struggle against an aggressive opponent. Justin led the score with 17 points and Am added 16 points.

MC Cagers vs. SESMA

24^th of May 2008, 5.00 pm Court A, College Heights Utara

The Cagers had a training camp with the SESMA team in 2006 in Kuala Terengganu. The team was ‘friendly’ to the Cagers. The Cagers started off slowly. They looked relieved to play SESMA team knowing there would be no aggressive and rough plays. They took a 26 – 18 lead at the half. The Cagers struggled in the third quarter and SESMA took advantage by narrowing the score 30 – 25 by the third quarter. The Cagers woke up from the evening slumber and tightened up defensively in the fourth quarter. They outscored SESMA 20 – 8 in the fourth to win 50 – 33.

The Cagers wasn’t playing all out with the ‘friendly’ opponent. SESMA was the only team that managed to get closest (3 points) to the Cagers. Justin and Ammar led the scoring with 12 points each.

MC Cagers vs. SBPI Gombak (SBPI Gom)

25^th of May 2008, 11.00 am Court A, College Heights Utara

This was the last game of the pre-round for the Cagers. SBPIGom was also unbeaten by upsetting SDAR in their earlier game (52 – 41). SBPIGom had to play SMS Kuching later in the evening. The Cagers started off well, offensively, to take the lead 19 – 7 in the first quarter. SBPIGom adopted SDAR tactics by trying to intimidate the Cagers in the second quarter. The Cagers continued to play excellent defense and led 31 – 14 at the half. The Cagers continued the pressure in the third quarter by scoring 18 points and held SBPIGom to only 6. The second team took over in the fourth quarter and held the tiring SBPIGom to only 2 points. Cagers won 61 – 22, the Cagers’ biggest winning margin in the tournament.

The tired SBPIGom were eliminated by SMS Kuching later in the evening. SBPIGom paid a heavy price by playing all out trying to match the Cagers. Syahmi managed to score three 3-pointers, Cagers’ first in the tournament. Am led the scoring with 16 points and Syahmi helped with 14 points.

Semifinal:

MC Cagers vs. SMS Hulu Selangor (SEMASHUR)

26^th of May 2008, 8.00 am Court C, SMSAH

SMS Hulu Selangor qualified for the semifinal through point count back after 3 teams; MOZAC, SMESH and SEMASHUR each lost a game to each other.

The Cagers started aggressively against SEMASHUR. They held SEMASHUR to only 7 points while scoring 23 in the first quarter. The Cagers struggled to play in the second quarter after an excellent start in the first quarter. They managed to hold on the lead 36 – 19 at the half. The Cagers recovered their rhythm in the third to lead 53 – 24. The second team took over in the fourth. They couldn’t keep the intensity by the first team but managed to hold on to win 65 – 49.

Justin led the balance scoring with 19 points, the Cagers hit three 3 pointers with Amir contributing 2 and Syahmi 1.

The Final

MC Cagers vs. SMS Muzaffar Shah (MOZAC)

26^th of May 2008, 5.00 pm Court C, SMSAH

MOZAC qualified for the final by beating SMS Kuching 75 – 62 in the other semifinal.

MOZAC startled the Cagers by scoring the first 4 points. The Cagers tightened up their defense by limiting MOZAC to only another 4 for the quarter. The Cagers showed their prowess by scoring 20 points to lead 20 – 8 at the end of first quarter.

The Cagers struggled offensively in the second quarter, however they played excellent defense by limiting MOZAC to only 5 points to take the lead 26 – 13 at the half. The second half continued with the Cagers playing superb defense, allowing MOZAC to only 6 points to lead 37 – 19 at the end of third quarter. The second five took over in the fourth and led all the way to a comfortable margin of 52 – 30.

The Captain and the tournament MVP, Mokri led the scoring with 15 points with a single 3-pointer. Syahmi contributed 13 points with two 3-pointers.

Our ‘sister’ team, STF Dynamites, has successfully defended their championship in style by thrashing their opponents all the way (beating SEMASHUR 60 – 10, SMSKuching 59 – 30, SAINA 66 – 04, SMSTMFPutra 66 – 14, semifinal SSP 41 – 14 and Final SMS Sabah 48 -17). This is the second double champions by the Tok Bomoh!! (Mr. Liew).

APPRECIATION

On behalf of the Q-4-G team, I would like to express our deepest appreciations to the following:

· Mr. Liew for his undying commitment in driving The Cagers (& the Dynamites) to excellence. His reputation for bringing the MC Cagers to a class of its own is still intact!

· The MCKK HM, Mr. Rauhi; PK 1 Mr. Shamsudin Mustapha; PK HEM Mr. Fairuz; PK Kokurikulum, Tn. Hj. Roslan; Cikgu Rizal and Cikgu Fatimah, MCKK staff and supporters who were involved directly or indirectly towards achieving a higher level of excellence in MCKK basketball.

· The continuous support from MCOBA, especially Mr. President DS Mac and JakLi ’76.

· YABhg. Tun Haniff for the sponsorship in rebuilding the New Hostel court.

· The MCOBA Northern Chapter, especially Sdr Fauzi ‘75 & Tn Hj. Ariffin ‘66 for the grand welcoming lunch and all oldboys who were there supporting the Cagers during the games.

· Old Cagers; especially Izuan Amir ’87, Riza Beg '76, A.Halim Hussien ’77, Annuar Marzuki ’87, Chaei ’92, Azran ’96, Faisal Shahbuddin ’87, Dr. Aidi ’89, Farizal ’87, Rizal ’85, Jimmy ’91, Kamarul Azrin, M.Ikram Badar, Nik Kamil and Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin, thank you for your invaluable contributions and endless moral support towards the project. Once a Cager, always a Cager!

· Zainal Abidin Abas ‘80, Azman Mohd. Hussien ’80, Azman Ibrahim ’80, Kamarul ‘Asri ‘80 and Uniqorn 76 – 80 for the timely financial contributions.

· Serpents ’78 for the sponsorships (jersey and shoes).

· The STF HM, Pn Hajah Junaidi & Ex-HM, Pn Halimah Shaaban, PKs, Teachers for hosting the Dec intensive camp in STF. STF Drivers (En Sharom & En Salleh) for helping to ferry our players from SMJ to the courts throughout the tournament while MCKK’s driver had to attend to other matters in Kuala Kangsar.

The Champions: STF Dynamites and MCKK Cagers

The 2008 Cagers

Standing: Mokri (Capt.), Am, Ammar, Justin (Asst. Capt.), Luqman, Khairul, Azim

Squatting: Syahmi, Iwan, Syai, Jae, Amir

Email from Cepe; Capt & MVP 05

Dear Abg Ise & Kak Ana,

I hope still sempat lagi before you guys bertolak ke Jitra. I planned to write this down since the last couple of weeks lagi but just couldn't find the right time to do so. Malam ni try jugak, & Alhamdulillah I managed to finish it. I already did something similar to this last year, so I just felt a sense of obligation to do it again this time around. I just hope that this will help the boy in one way or another. Please send my regards to Mr. Liew, Cikgu Jimmy, the boys & everyone nanti. Thanks a lot & all the best. I'll wait for the good news, InsyaAllah.

Regards,

Cepe

Salam from Sydney,

So the defining moment is here yet again. I am pretty sure that it is a moment that you guys have long been waiting for, and you just cannot wait to get off and show the world your true quality. You guys will be gunning for a fifth consecutive title, and all I can say is what a massive achievement that will be.

In reality, by now you guys can already consider yourself as a winner, given the amount of hard works you have put in to get to this very point. Not many are willing to choose the way of life that you guys have chosen, and this fact alone makes you stand out from the rest and leads me to suggest that you are worthy winners. Nonetheless, in the world where winning is deemed as actually standing on the podium and receiving your medal, my own definition of winning is insufficient and just does not seem quite right. You guys still have to go out there and actually win it. I am optimistic that you will, and come Sunday I will wait patiently for that good news to reach me.

My only advice here is to not only win, but to win with humility. This quality often gets overlooked by many, especially in a moment of joy and victory. When the final whistle has been blown, do not just walk off the court with your prideful swagger, but instead go and shake hands with your rivals. Everyone knows that you have won, but that does not grant you any right to be disrespectful to those rivals you have just defeated. Most importantly, you should never leave the court without thanking those who support you, those who guide you to where you are now. In short, you may stand on top of the world but you should always remain humble, and never forget those who made it all possible. You see, gracious winners get all the respect and plaudits, while snobby ones will only go down in history book and not in people's memory. I am pretty sure that you get my point. I hope this quality will be perched in your mind and heart not just during the moment you are crowned as a champion, but forever in your life.

I wish you all the best in your pursuit of glory. Bring home the fifth consecutive PHT!

Best regards,

Cepe

CAGERS '05

Cameron Highland Weekend

The Cameron Highland Camp

The Cagers will be going to Cameron Highland for the final camp before the HKSBP in SMSAH. We're bringing a total of 42 Cagers, including the Form 1 as well. Mr. Liew will fine tune their preparation for the HKSBP tournament. This trip will also give them the opportunity to release the tension after sitting for their respective exams.

The Cagers will be playing several friendly games against the local teams. This will give valuable game experience for the juniors as well. Will post the updates and hopefully pics after the trip.

Updated schedule for the PHT National Finals

The Cagers are in Group A together with SDAR, SESMA, SBPI Gombak and SMS Kuching. Group B consists of MOZAC, SAINA, SMS DUNGUN, SMS H Selangor and SMESH. The basketball schedule for the Hari Kecermerlangan SBP in SMSAH, Jitra.

Friday 23 May

9:30 am, Court A College Heights.
The Cagers vs SDAR

5:00 pm, court A.
The Cagers vs SMSKuching

Saturday 24 May

5:00 pm Court A, College Heights
The Cagers vs SESMA (K. Terengganu)

Sunday 25 May,

11:00 Am, court A. College Heights
The Cagers vs SBPI Gopeng

The semifinal will be on Monday morning either 8:00 am if the Cagers win all their games or 9:30 am as group A Runners up. The Final would be at 5:00 pm, the same day.

The Court A is at College HEIGHTS, Jitra. Meanwhile, the Cagers are fine tuning their game plan, making adjustment for two injured main players who might not be able to play in the Finals. They will be going for their 13th and 5th consecutive championships, insyaallah

The semifinal will be on Monday morning either 8:00 am if Cagers win all their games or 9:30 am as group A Runners up. The Final would be at 5:00 pm, the same day.

The boys and girls final will be played simultaneously. We're trying to get the organizer to change the schedule so the Cagers and the Dynamites can support each other, if both teams make it to the final.

2008 North Zone report

The NORTHERN ZONE CHAMPIONSHIP 11 APRIL – 13 APRIL 2008 @ SERATAS

The Cagers won their 6^th consecutive PHT Northern Zone Championships in SMS Sultan Azlan Shah (SERATAS) Taiping convincingly. This year Quest-4-Glory (Q4G) decided to field a team with 8 juniors in preparation for the next year’s tournament. They did well despite the games were played with a 7 minutes non stop every quarter (a total of 28 minutes per game). So it was really a short game, not more than 5 minutes of actual playing time.

The Cagers left Kuala Kangsar at 3:00 pm with 12 players (4 Form 5s, 4 Form 4s, 3 Form 3s and 1 Form 2) accompanied by Cikgu Rizal and Cikgu Fatimah led by Cikgu Roslan PK KoKo plus the Debaters. They arrived safely in SERATAS at 4:00 Pm. After unloading and settling down in the respective dorms, the Cagers were not able to train due to rain.

Friday 11 April

8:00 am vs. SMS Pokok Sena

The Cagers’ first game was against SAINA. The SAINA team came over to KK during the mid-term break to train together with the Cagers. It was a game between two friendly parties. Mr. Liew also spent several weekends in SAINA to follow up on the team. The Cagers started well. The starters (Mokri, Ammar, Justin, Am & Starmy) established a big lead 19 – 2 at the end of 1^st quarter. The junior took over and maintain the dominance by leading 32 – 7 at the half. The third team struggled to maintain the intensity in the third quarter. The second team took over in the last quarter and managed to stretch the lead. The final score 46 – 13. The Cagers only managed to hit only 1 3-pointer.

10:15 am vs SMS Sultan Md. Jiwa

The Cagers started well. The starters again established a big lead 16 – 0 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. They recovered in the second half by scoring 15 points to lead 32 – 3 by the 3^rd quarter. They kept the intensity by scoring another 20 points in the 4^th quarter to win by the score of 52 – 8.

Saturday 12 April

8:45 am vs. SMS Tuanku Syed Putra

Syed Putra lost their game against SAINA yesterday. It was an upset because they had beaten SAINA by 22 points in a friendly game before this tournament. However, with Mr. Liew around to coach, SAINA exacted a sweet revenge by beating Syed Putra 19 points. This left Syed Putra a difficult task, beating the Cagers to move on.

Cagers’ starters played well to lead 12 – 7 after the 1^st quarter. They tightened up their defense and capitalized the opponent’s eagerness to score by launching fast breaks after fast breaks. Cagers led 24 – 8 at the half. The second team took over in the second half. They continued the excellent defense by the starters and kept scoring easy baskets from the fast breaks. Cagers won 46 - 19

11:45 am vs. SM Sultan Abdul Halim

Cagers’ starters were rested for this last group game. Cagers are already in the semifinal. The second five started the game and continued to play well to lead 19 - 6 after the 1^st quarter. They tightened up their defense and continued scoring to lead 25 – 6 at the half. The third team took over in the second half and continued to play well to lead 33 – 7 at the 3^rd quarter. Cagers’ third team began to coast and allowed the opponent to out score them 8 – 10 in the fourth quarter. Cagers won 41 – 17.

8:00 pm Semifinal vs. SMS Tun Syed Sheh Shahabuddin

SMSTSSS made it to the semifinal through count back after 3 teams in their group lost a game each. SMSTSSS were playing the 1-2-2 full court press tactics in the previous games. Cagers’ were ready to play against the full court press. Cagers broke the press at will and resulted in easy baskets. Cagers led 17 – 2 by the 1^st quarter. SMSTSSS continued using the same tactics, the second team also broke the press easily and led 37 – 10 at the half. The second team continued the excellent play by leading 51 – 17 in the 3^rd quarter. The third team stretched the lead in the last quarter. Cagers won 62 – 19.

Sunday 13 April

9:15 am Final vs. SMS Pokok Sena

SAINA made it to the final after beating SMST. Intan in double OT in the other semifinal. It was a very close game all the way. Mr. Liew was coaching SAINA. SMSTI players were better with the individual skills but were plagued with foul troubles. 4 main players fouled out of the game and one was suffering from cramps. SAINA players took advantage in the 2^nd OT by crashing the board and it paid handsomely when they made it to the final

The final game was played in a friendly atmosphere. The SAINA players were tired after their titanic battle in the semifinal while the Cagers cruised in theirs. The Cagers played in a relaxed manner while keeping the opponent at bay by playing excellent defense. Cagers led 17 – 5 in the 1^st quarter. The second team took over from the 2^nd quarter. They struggled to defend against the bigger opponents but managed to keep the lead 23 – 16 at the half. In the second half, the second team used their superior fitness to outrun their tiring opponents and extended the lead 33 – 20 after the 3^rd quarter. They slowed down in the last quarter but still managed to extend the lead. Cagers won 42 – 28.

Conclusion

Overall, the Cagers played well in the tournament. Skill and stamina wise, they were on a different league compared to other teams. The juniors showed their potential by playing well in the tournament.

We would like to thank

• MCKK admin for allowing us to bring the junior supporters to see the games,

• Dr. Sallehin and family for hosting 10 junior supporters in his house and bringing them to court to see the games,

• The oldboys who came and supported the Cagers. Sorry for the ‘low-key final’,

• Azran 96 for the 100 plus drinks for the Cagers.

The Team

Standing: Azim, Mokri, Justin, 'Ammar, Starmy, VIP, HM SERATAS, HM Koleq, Am, Syafiq Ihsan
Squatting: Ammar Faid, Shai, Md. Nor, Amir, Rohaizad

Friendlies against SSAS, Putrajaya

As a part of the preparation for the upcoming regionals, the Cagers played two friendly games against S Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya on April 6 kat KK.

The Cagers senior team (U17) beat SSAS 66 - 33, however the U16 struggled to beat SSAS 47 - 39. The juniors are short on games experiences and we are having difficulties in arranging for friendly games kerana transport issue. MC ada 2 buses, I coaster and 2 vans but only 1 (ONE) driver!!. So, the friendly games yang dah dirancangkan kena cancel kerana takde transport. We have to wait for other teams to come to KK for friendlies (very rare!!!)

The 2012 Cagers

Below are the next generation of Cagers, 08-12 Batch. So far tak de yang nampak tinggi but they are still not done growing yet, I hope. Acap 08 and Puyoh 08 are coaching them on the basketball basics. So far they are learning the dribbling, passing and doing the lay-ups. Couldn't get their names yet.

2008 North Zone Schedule

The Cagers will the defending their PHT North Zone Championship in SMS Sultan Azlan Shah (SERATAS), Taiping from 11 - 13 April 2008 and going for their sixth (6) consecutive championships. Their schedule is as follows:

Friday 11 April 2008

8:00 am vs SMS Pokok Sena
3:50 pm vs SMS Sultan Md. Jiwa

Saturday 12 April 2008

11:00 am vs SM Sultan Abdul Halim
4:00 pm vs SMS Tuanku Syed Putra

Sunday 13 April 2008

8:00 am Semifinal
11:00 pm Final

All games will be played at SERATAS.

We'll be sending 5 Form 5s, 3 Form 4s 3 Form 3s and 1 Form 2 players. The juniors will be given more playing time to give them valuable game exposure. The National finals will be in SM Sultan Abdul Halim, Jitra Kedah during the Mid Year School Break.

Mid Term Break Training Camp 2008

The Cagers' had their Annual Mid-term break Training Camp from 6th - 16th March 2008 in Kuala Kangsar. The Dynamites of STF and 5 players from SMS Pokok Sena joined the camp as well. The Camp was a preparation for the upcoming PHT North Zone Regional Tournament, which will be held from 11 - 13 April at SERATAS, Taiping. The Cagers went through a new offensive drill, which emphasised on the fast break options.

The Dynamites went through a tight zone defensive drills to tighten up their defense, while having their own option of fast break. The SMS Pokok Sena just went through the normal training program while playing a lot of sparring games with the junior cagers.

The Cagers getting ready for the offensive drills.

The Sifu giving pointers and showing the proper way to run.

The Dynamites watching & listening intently.

Several Cagers 07 came back for their SPM results during the Camp. Rahmat, Capt. 07, did well by scoring 10 1As. The third Cagers to score 10 1As since Q4G started. Miki did suprisingly well by scoring 10 As as well.

Rahmat's special pose ;-)

Rahmat with his parents, Abg Hj. Rahim & Kak Jamilah

Miki, after being released from PLKN

Miki's parents.

Updates on The Cagers

The Cagers are the 2008 MSSPk KK District runner's up. They lost to SM Shing Chung Sg. Siput,65-47. Shing Chung has 1 upper six former and 4 last year's players. The Cagers lost to a better team in terms of experience and exposure. They beat SM Tsung Wah 61-52, and SM Tsung Wah Private about 16 pts.

During the MC-RMC weekend the Cagers thrashed RMC 77-27! 1st Quarter score 20-2, 2nd Quarter15-8. Half time 35 - 10. 3rd Quarter 32-6 and 4th Quarter 10-11. The basketball game is beginning to loose its luster with RMC barely giving the Cagers a decent fight. I still remember the Cagers' first away win in Sg. Besi in 1980 with the score 89 - 85. It was the highlight of the weekend games. It was the only time that RMC could sent a full strength team. During the PHT, they could only field one Chinese player at a time.

The Cagers during the line-up

CNY Camp 08

As with the previous years, the Cagers had their annual CNY camp. This year's edition was not compulsory for the juniors but many Form 3 Cagers decided to stay back and join the camp. 3 Form 2s stayed back as well. It was compulsory for the seniors. This year's camp went on smoothly with a lot of drills on the fast break option. A full court defense was introduced and The Cagers had difficulties in adapting the option to their already vaunted defense. Once they are more comfortable with the full court option, they will a defensive force to reckon with.

Several oldboys, especially the 05 batch came down to provide some sparring for the Cagers. They only managed to provide minimal resistance due to lack of stamina. The Cagers outran them especially in the third and fourth quarter. However, it was a valuable experience for the Cagers. It has been a while since they last played competitively.

The MSSPk will be on the 17 & 18 February. The Cagers will be playing against Shing Chung of Sg. Siput in their first game in the morning 17 February and Tsung Wah later in the afternoon. The MC-RMC weekend is on the 22 - 24 February weekend. Basketball is included this year after RMC couldn't send a team last year to KK due to other commitment. The Cagers are training hard for both, however they will be sitting for their exams immediately after the MC-RMC weekend. Their exam performance is critical if they want to play in the PHT North Zone tournament. The North Zone team will be selected based on their on and off-court performance. Hopefully we don't have to do another 'benching' incident.

The early morning training in KK

The Cagers doing the stepping drill

The Sifu showing the proper block out

The Big Dinner sponsored by Sir, Taiche and Pak Soo

The Oldboys team (80, 91,05, 06 & 07)

The Cagers and oldboys

Thank you to the Malay College admin for allowing us to have the Camp and providing the 2 apartments for our accomodations.

The Cagers 2008

The new line-up for the Cagers 2008. This 2008 Cagers consist of 9 Form 5s, 5 Form 4s and 9 Form 3s. The squad will be split up into two teams consist of the senior team and the juniors. The senior team will train at the Big School court while the juniors will train at the new refurbished Tun Haniff Court.

More details later......

Keputusan Pertandingan Piala Board of Governors

The Malay College Cagers has won their latest championship. They won the Board of Governors Trophy last week. A full report will be published later, much later.... The schedule and results as follow:

PERTANDINGAN BOLA KERANJANG JEMPUTAN BAWAH 15 TAHUN
THE MALAY COLLEGE

	Group X	Group Y
	A. Cagers L	E. Cagers I
	B. STAR, Ipoh	F. SERATAS, Taiping
	C. SMS Dungun	G. SAS, Putrajaya
	D. Cagers J	H. SESMA, K.Terengganu

KEPUTUSAN PERLAWANAN

X	Cagers L	STAR	SMS Dungun	Cagers J	Mata	Placing
Cagers L	X X X	29 – 14 W	35 – 36 L	54 – 24 W	5	2
STAR	14 – 29 L	X X X	22 – 36 L	30 – 26 W	4	3
SMS Dungun	36 – 35 W	36 – 22 W	X X X	48 – 24 W	6	1
Cagers J	24 – 54 L	26 – 30 L	24 – 48 L	X X X	3	4

Y	Cagers I	SAS	SESMA	SERATAS	Mata		Placing
Cagers I	X X X	25 – 32 L	33 – 36 L	42 – 27 W	4		3
SAS	32 – 25 W	X X X	36 – 51 L	32 – 24 W	5		2
SESMA	36 – 33 W	51 – 36 W	X X X	47 – 28 W	6		1
SERATAS	27 – 42 L	24 – 32 L	28 – 47 L	X X X	3		4

	Championship	Plate
Semifinal 1	Cagers L vs SESMA 42 – 27	Cagers I vs Cagers J 22 – 8
Semifinal 2	SAS vs SMS Dungun 54 – 51	STAR vs SERATAS 28 – 19

	Championship	Plate
Final	Cagers L vs SAS 41 – 28	Cagers I vs STAR 47 – 30
3 – 4 placing	SMS Dungun vs SESMA 57 – 51	-

MCOB VOLUNTEER JUNKIES

I found this article written by Hisham 'Spice' at MCOBA OFFSIDE. It's about the volunteer spirit in MCOBs which is difficult to explain to Non Mcobs. Enjoyed the article and hoped Spice wouldn't mind it appearing in this blog.

MCOB VOLUNTEER JUNKIES

As I sat perusing the Centenary Celebration Day booklet, the 2005 Royal Gala Playbill and the 100 Years MCKK Pictorial Book, a few pages were dedicated to individuals that participated in the said events. I believed they were individuals from amongst the OBs that had given their arms, limbs, blood, sweat, money and time to make the events successful ones. It made me wonder about the passion of these unsung heroes whose common denominator was that they went to THAT school in Kuala Kangsar.

PASSION, a word hard to define (the closest Malay equivalent being ‘berahi’), invoking sense of love, craze, obsession, zealous and maybe sex. But these volunteers are passionate people (hopefully similar to their sexual innuendos). They may be ages apart, batches apart or even families apart, but the things they do together to gets things done, and doing it well is something that no other school alumni could emulate, at least for now. These people do not get any monetary gains nor receive tokens of appreciation. To them it dose not matter much for being a MCOB volunteer means the satisfaction of doing and seeing the plans set out is in itself satisfying gain never the least.

Many people wonder how the MCOBA gets their activities and programs done. A justifiable and valid factor is these bands of MCOB Volunteers that turned up, put their neck out and there to stay. All one needs is a champion that leads and the rest are done by these volunteers. Who in their right mind have the audacity to bring 7 elephants from Thailand (without APs), paraded them around KK, and have them bow to the Rulers on the Big Field on 26th March.2005 People might see just the elephants., but they do not see the ‘soldiers –ants’ running around to make the events. There are people handling the protocol, the press and the rain-bomohs’, collecting elephant dung, the Royal Luncheon ‘bouncers’ and even someone handling the Royal Toilet. Sure, they have their names in the Centenary Book but these are just names without faces… just faces in the crowd, so to say. These people would be handling bicycle race like First Cartel akin to Tour de Langkawi, during the Le-Tour 100km around KK in 2004. They would be running to the publishers, literally sitting down together with the typesetters to make sure the Book comes out in time. They would be delivery boys picking and sending artwork from PETRONAS gallery from artist to buyers during the Art Exhibition. They would the ones framing posters into IKEA frames for the exhibition at the National Museum. They would be the one licking MCKK 100 years stamps on the envelope the night before at KK Safari Resort before the launching First Day Cover issue. Yes, MCOB volunteers. …people might not see them, but there are there to make things click.

I am a self-confess MCOB Volunteer Junkies who would find reasons to meet up at MCOBA Penthouse at nights to partake in meetings, rehearsals and maybe talk ‘cock’ once a while. When they meet, they agree to disagree and they disagree to agree. A fatal concoction towards a successful managment and implementation of an event. They might get a free dinner, a free T shirt and a free ‘dog tag’ to hang on their neck and maybe the occasional invites to the President’s Night to much finger food at some up-beat club a token of appreciation. The Bargreaves Ballerz received Royal Neck Ties (to wear on alternate Wednesdays) from Istana Negara for their sterling performance at the Royal Gala 2005. The former MC Cagers were rewarded for their perseverance in coaching the present MC Cagers by winning the Hamdan Tahir Cup year in and year our. The Former Debaters (MC Master Debaters?) hoped their annual debating camp would one day translate in returning the PPM Cup to MC. These MCOBs have a distinct passion that drives them up the NS Highway to KK, at their own expenses and time to the Alma Mater for the common clichés, ‘..giving back to society.’ I know of a former MC Cager that hosted 20 present MC Cagers over at his terraced house in USJ for the school holidays just for the simple reason for creating team spirit and to gobble up his monthly supplies of groceries within 3 days. Many MCOBs participate in different activities and subcommittees for many reasons. While these are great reasons to get involved, they are not the only incentives for would-be volunteers. Most of the time, making someone's day by just saying "thank you" means that you are the one getting something out of it. It is a win-win situation.

Some "volunteer junkies" are involved in one or more committees Sometimes in one night they might have two or three meetings at the same time .The term volunteer is contested -- there is no one agreed-to definition, and the term is frequently debated. Some say a volunteer is someone who performs or offers to perform service out of his or her own free will, without payment, usually in support of aorganisation initiative or community. An in famous OB once said “You stop volunteering once you volunteered. After that it’s all about commitments.” I guess that’s why they form committees, to fulfill commitments!

Still, there seems to be only a core of MCOBs doing all the volunteer work. Why is it so difficult to expand that core? Sure, some people may not be into volunteering in itself, but if you like basketball, for example, why not put that to work and shoot hoops with the present boys? You'll end up playing a sport you like, while giving attention, friendship and mentoring to kids who may not get as much of those things at home. You’ll end up making a master debater of the kids whilst master debating yourself. The famous phrase of “ask not what MCOBA can do for you, but ask what you can do to MCOBA” is a phrase defining a MCOB Volunteer. As the famous Uncle Sam Poster ‘US Wants You!’ Be a MCOB Volunteer. Be a Junkie…