Blacks '08: Batch Profile

(Written by Tay Wee Kuang - 19 Sep 2006)

Appointment holders
Captain: Yeo Siyuan
Vice-Captain: Sng Yi
Quartermaster: Teo Hong

Team members:
Allon Poh
Brendon Chua
Elias Tiong
Glenn Wong
Joseph Chan
Sampson Lim
Tay Wee Kuang
Yan Yan

Yeo Siyuan
The captain of our batch. He gives his best effort in trying to bring the team together and makes sure that no ones gets left out. He has a very good attitude towards basketball and this brings on even to his schoolwork. Off the court, he likes to bond together with his batch mates. Very focused even when comes down to training, his level of discipline keeps us motivated and focused on our goals. A good friend off the court and a good leader on the court. A very good defensive player.

Sng Yi
Sng Yi is the powerhouse center of our batch. Makes a very good vice captain that shoulders responsibilities very well. Is a straightforward guy that gives very insightful advices. His acts like an elder brother in our batch that we can depend greatly on. He is also a very street-smart guy. “What can I say, another guy who does not say much in public, much like Johnny. But when I get closer to him, he actually can talk!!!”

Teo Hong
Probably the best player around for our age. Great shooter, fast, he is the best person to rely on on the court. Hardworking as well, he motivates himself greatly to reach further heights. Off the court, he is actually a very fun guy to be with. Easy to communicate with, he is probably the best choice for quartermaster. Similarly with Sng Yi, he shows this quiet leadership that holds certain responsibilities. He steps up to challenges with a very strong fighting spirit.

Allon
Joining the team later than most of us, Allon never failed to try his best during trainings and matches. He has a fiery passion for basketball. “I will always remember Allon as the short guy who wasn’t afraid to trying out for basketball. He joined the team late after an appeal and told me that he loves basketball.” Off the court, he is an intelligent guy that has a positive outlook. He is very helpful and always helps us whenever we needed his help in studies. He bonds well with the team and is never left out.

Brendon Chua
A very enthusiastic guy when it comes to basketball. He has a very strong passion for basketball. “Well, because he is young, he is enthusiatic, he has lots of potential, and WHEN he matures and disciplines himself, HE WILL BE A FORCE.” Off the court, he has developed great discipline and has matured during this period of time with basketball. He also mixes very well with his usual antics and tricks.

Elias Tiong
The latest to join the team, Elias started training with us only at the end of the year. He is a nice person to be with off the court. He never fails to bring joy into our batch with his lightheartedness. Losing out in training time due to his late joining to the team, he has improved tremendously given just slightly more than half a year with us. He is an approachable person, and always tries to brighten up our days when we feel down. By the way, he’s an actor too!

Glenn Wong
Also another actor in our batch, Glenn has done very well juggling between basketball and acting. He entertains us with his sense of humour even though he sometimes overdoes it. Hardworking in whatever he does, he always give is 100% in whatever he does. Although he sometimes fails himself, he always gets back on track. Has a fiery personality and always puts on a fight whenever there is a need.

Joseph Chan
The fun-nest person in our batch. Entertainer, joker, clown and whatever you can think of. He somehow finds a way to entertain us. Equipped with his AND1 skills, he also fascinates us with his unique dribbling skills. On the court however, he can be a very serious player that focuses very well. Gets along with teammates very well. His lighthearted personality integrates an important role of uniqueness into our batch.

Sampson Lim
Another enthusiast for basketball. He never allowed his physical ability to stop him from improving. Totally new to this game, he has improved tremendously since day 1. “I could remember the image of him sprinting back on defense during the match in Muar last year. Determination and fight was all over his face.” Off the court, he is a very helpful person that never rejects others when others is in need of help. He is very open-minded and this brings about fun within the community.

Yan Yan
The cool cat of our batch. Always appearing cool and calm, even when it comes on court, it brings about this steadiness and readiness in him. He’s never too excited or nervous about something, but look at him into his eyes, and he’ll give you the silent fire burning in him. He often wears this cool cat shirt, similar to his personality, which brought about the nickname for him, coolcat.

Wee Kuang
The most self-motivated person of the batch. Never stop trying to improve himself ever since the day he joined basketball. People of the batch always see him as a model example when it comes to self-motivation. Also, he never fails to ask for opinions to keep himself going. His excellent basic fundamental skills and deadly shooting was the result to his efforts.Off court Wee Kuang is also a nice friend to get along with with his great personalities. Unless trainings and matches, he would never stop smiling.

Reds '07: Batch Profile

(By Danny Chua - 31 Aug 2006)

We are an extremely exciting and excited bunch of kids. Well, everyone of us loves, if not likes, basketball. To say that basketball is our passion is an understatement - we live and breathe basketball and almost at times consider it to be of greater value than our GPAs and PhDs.

To us, basketball is more than just a CCA. Simply put, it’s a brilliant experience since we started off as a troop of excited year 1s not knowing who that tall guy was, not knowing where that fellow baller learnt his moves. With ups and downs, difficulties, new members joining in here and there mid-way through our 4-year Raffles career, we laughed and joked around, toiled in the rain and sun together and formed a team that each of us “would rather lose with than to win with another”.

“Dream.Team.Fight.Win” - it wasn’t just a motto or a mission/vision so cliche it’d make us look like fools. Honestly, we put great emphasis on each of the four words, eveything on and off the court, we take into consideration these four words.

What we want to achieve goes past our tangible dream of claiming 3 National Titles in a row, what we want to leave behind after our 4 years is a legacy. In the end, we aim to bring out an exemplary RAFFLES SPIRIT, not just in terms of fighting spirit on the court that we want our juniors to inherit; we intend to be a model for other sports CCA in RI; we want the basketball world to see that RAFFLES BASKETBALL is more than a name you love or hate, RAFFLES BASKETBALL is what we fight for, a special team. What will you think of us then?

Appointment Holders
Captain: Chng Anzhen
Vice-Captain: Danny Chua
Quartermaster: Simon Ong Jun Wei
Secretary: Dillon

Team Members
Kevin Boo
Wang Fang Tong
Chey Zheng Feng
Jonathan Lim Kim Fei
Stanley Seow
Charles Oei
Feng Yi Fei
Tan Kee Yao

An Zhen
An Zhen is the best man for the job of a captain. To be straight forward, he is responsible and pushes the team to go far and go hard when we are down and out or lazy. A good leader is one that relates to his comrades, and one that recognizes his shortcomings especially toward his mates right? He communicates well with our coach and through our honest team-talk sessions among ourselves, he never fails to take the initiative to open up on senstitive issues, and though can be harsh with his words at times, acknowledges and seeks our understanding (Quote anonymous: Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind). You can ignore whatever is written about him before this sentence because to put it simply, he is a good captain (trust us) and leader, a steady and experienced player on the court. As coach says it best,
“If I have to choose the captain all over again a thousand times, I would still have chosen you. You hold the team together with a combination of discipline and friendship. Its really something that I find very rare boys your age - even adults can’t do it.“

Charles
Charles is one of our other jokers off the court. He brings life to the team and his cheery self is a motivation to us; his presence brings about a really relaxed and happy atmosphere that you almost feel life has more hope, really. Charles is an important person to the team just like everyone is, just because he is who he is. A person that rarely gets angry, he always puts on his widest smile to motivate us and make everything seem easy. When games are tough, he is the first to encourage and fight, be it on or off the court. When we are down, he’s always there to be a listening ear, and offer his help - a listening aid. Charles never looked like basketball material when he first joined the team, but he worked hard and his shooting is something you have to defend!

Danny
Danny is the livewire of the team. He is an excited kid off the court and usually makes something out of nothing - noise. He is rather optimistic about things e.g. games/seasons and always gets fired up. As our vice-captain, he tries to make up for whatever the captain fails to do and bring the team together sometimes. Trying to motivate his teammates at times, he recognizes his role as the point guard - a leader on court. As coach says it best again,
“When he came he was talking non-stop, crazy jokes. But I like the lightness of heart that brought to the team. It did not take away from his training seriousness. So I think Danny does a lot for team-dynamics just by being who he is.“

Dillon
This is our real big man, standing tall at over 1.8m, he was always a bright prospect to dominate the paint area when he joined us. Dillon on the surface may seem quite quiet and a thinker at many times, however, when he brings out his funny side, he brings joy to the team. When he laughs, something we do not see very, very often, he brightens our atmosphere. Dillon works VERY hard off the court, at times, he goes to the gym by himself without telling us.
“You are also one of those i can trust most to train on your own. Once I gave a menu, I was quite certain that you would do it on your own, whithout me checking on you. In terms of work ethic, you are as good as any other guy I’ve ever coached.”
On the court, though not a fearless warrior, Dillon puts in his effort. Even though he lets himself down at times because of his inexperience, he never fails to bounce back - its just like the rebounds that he fight for, if he’s missed a shot he’ll go for it and get a second chance at sinking it. Dillon is a very intelligent boy off the court, having a passion for knowing lots of information about everything you can talk about: Basketball the NBA, Soccer, History etc.. We make fun of him for his talent, but his interesting facts at times can be a light in our darkness!

Fang Tong
This is one kind of a fighter. Fang Tong lives for basketball, he watches the NBA, he loves Michael, he adopted the name “Michael”, best of all he does what he does best on the court and fights for loose balls, rebounds and plays hard, like the person that he is off the court. Particularly concerned for his studies all the time, Fang Tong always makes an effort to complete his work in the most spectacular way, also, working hard without fail, for tests. To be frank, he really is one of the more serious players on the court. However, when he is off the court, he is actually a cheery and joyful person who does not mind making a fool of himself for everyone to have a good laugh.

Johnny
” Johnny shocked me when I first saw him in Sec 1. He did a between the legs dribble and drove past the guy on the baseline and finished with a bank shot.”
Yes, Johnny is an exceptional player, a rare player to come by nowadays with unusual physical strength and amazing natural abilities. Johnny is a quiet person though we wouldn’t say an introvert. Johnny wants the best for the team ALWAYS, we know deep inside, there’s this hidden fire in him, burning brighter than ours, and sometimes he tries so hard he tries too hard. Johnny though being quiet by nature, put in effort and tried his best to communicate with us, he’s always discovering more about himself. Johnny brings to the team, a solid foundation and a base of confidence. With him at the games, we have faith and worry not about our boards. With him around, we look forward to spectacular steals and his uncanny ability to be able to kill huge stumbling centres with his three point shot. Johnny sacrifices for the team, even though he’s a doormat for us to step on, the bridge for us to attain our dreams, he’ll be glad to know that the team is attached to him exceptionally.

Kee Yao
Kee Yao dumped us for Sailing in Secondary 1! That was the past, now this fellow teammate of ours have joined us in our trainings and team gatherings. There’s gotta be nothing about him that we do not like. Kee Yao though not the most confident person on the court, shows his willingness and fighting spirit when he exceeds expectations and defends his defensive boards well. Kee Yao is good kid with a big heart, shown by his desire to help the needy when he joined RI’s interact club to do community service on a consistent basis. Here I am, in the middle of day and night writing about Kee Yao and it brings a smile to my face because Kee Yao is dearest to our hearts in the way he makes us laugh and joke about many things.

Kevin
Kevin is a team player, evident also in the way he plays on the court where he always looks to create opportunities for others. Sometimes he overdoes it but we know his intentions and we recognize and respect them.
Coach says, “Look at it this way, for a guy who is shorter than the starters by more than 10cm, and who has never played basketball in primary school, you’ve over-achieved. It’s not easy to get into the RI team, even if it is the C Division. On this count alone, I am so proud of you.”
Sure, Kevin is a special one to all of us, especially when he fought hard and perservered to make the junior team in ‘05. It’s just different for us when Kevin is not there, be it at a game, at a team outing etc. In our Sophomore year, he proved his value and his importance to us when on the bench most of the time, he cheered us on continually. We know he always wants us to win, as much as we want to, or maybe even more. He never voices out alot in terms of basketball but we know he is trying, and although trying your best is not enough, there’s something about Kevin that wins our hearts - he never gives up!

Simon
Simon is our post-player. Awesome dribbling skills, smooth moves, good outside shot, killer baseline crossover.
“I think Simon contributes most with his steadfastness and hardwork. I don’t see him missing training or slacking ever, except the one time when he woke up late after staying over at granny’s place. Indeed, he is a model of consistency and diligence.“
Simon is very patient with the team and always makes an effort to correct us when we are wrong. He only scolds us or urges us on whenever we play badly, showing his desire for us to really do well! Simon is a funny charecter off the court and always participates in our jokes. Simon is very hardworking and akways tries to help us, the weaker ones in our studies.

Stanley
Stanley is a hardworking kid on and off the court. He is the interact club chairman is really kind at heart. Off the court, Stanley is busy most of the time due to his committments. However, we always believe thats his passion remains with basketball. He is a rather ‘just do it’ kind of player and has no second thoughts about taking his shots or driving the lane. Stanley is also one of the more serious players on court together with Fang Tong, like the way that he is, he always puts in utmost effort and desire to do something that he really wants to do. This is a very devoted guy, we always encourage him for his willingness to try and his desire to improve. We love Stanley actually.

Yi Fei
Yi Fei joined us at the beginning of our third year in RI. He snubbed us in Secondary 1 (just like Kee Yao!) for rugby! But he’s a part of us now! Yi Fei is a very quiet person off the court, at least when he is with us. He’s still in his initial months of basketball training, and even though he may not be able to totally match up to the playing style of the rest of the team, he is trying and training hard to be up there with us. He isn’t the most confident of players as his finishing lets himself down at times, but we are all trying to be patient with him.

Zheng Feng
A very very special player.
“I think the only way to put into perspective how you’ve progressed is to think back to the days when I saw you in P6. I saw a superstar walking around during a match when he was not playing (2Q), looked quite detached from the team (and obviously team spirit was not a high priority on that team). Incredible individual player, but I was really not sure whether I could even rein him in and harness his incredible potential to fit into a team.“
Zheng Feng has proved himself to be an importanat asset to us. He’s the heart of our team, like what Zinedine Zidane is to France. He’s the fire for our victories, he’s the desire for our comebacks. Zheng Feng is an amazing player, I don’t think I will come across another one like him in my life. Off the court, Zheng Feng is into gaming!

Reflection

"What to do with a mistake - recognise it, admit it, learn from it, and forget it."

Dean Smith

Reflection Questions for C Div 2007

1) What would be the ONE thing that we did well for the season? what did we achieve that was most worthwhile?

2) If we had a chance to do this all over again, what we would be ONE thing that you will do differently?

C Div 2007: RI vs Jurong

Final Score
RI 47-50 Jurong

This was the last match of the group stage, and we had to win in order to qualify for the second round of the nationals.

We started off pretty tense, missing lots of free throws and executing our offense poorly, ending the quarter at 15-6. The second quarter was where we gained back our confidence, making timely interceptions and converting offensive rebounds and fastbreaks, going on a huge streak to lead 23-17. In the third quarter, Jurong managed to fight back, and led us by 6 points going into the last quarter. We fought hard, and down by 1 with 6 seconds to go, we misjudged their out of bounds play and allowed them to score an open basket, With 1 second left on the clock, Ravins tried a long range attempt which went in and out, marking the end of a really close game.

So, we're out of the nationals.

But we'll learn from our mistakes and do much better next time.

It Happened Before.

Hi C boys, I just want to have my say before you all go into your game. (please read coach's post, below mine)

2004: When I was Secondary 1, Raffles Basketball C division was nothing, no one expected us to make the nationals, or even the Top 4.

Nationals 1st Round: We had to beat either Rivervalley (Zone 2nd) or Woodlands Ring (Zone 1st) to qualify. We beat WRS by 8 points and lost to Rivervalley by 7. But we still qualified on a +1 point difference, we beat WRS and erased the 21 points pre-season thrashing by them.

Nationals 2nd Round: We had to beat either Maris Stella (Zone 3rd but expected to beat us) or Unity to qualify. We lost to Unity by 21 points. We entered the Maris game as underdogs. We were down by 10 at one point but we blitzed past them and won by 16. We qualified.

Nationals 3rd/4th placing: We lost to CCHSM in the semis by 7. So we played Woodgrove (Zone 2nd, and we were expected to lose). We stopped their superstar and we won by about 10+ points. So 2004 concluded RI C'div 2004: Zone 3rd, Nationals 3rd.

That year, our circumstance was even more impossible that what you'll are at now. So, its definitely possible.

2006:

Zone 2nd Round: We lost to Queensway by 1 unexpectedly, unplanned, unnecessarily. We dug ourselves into a hole and we had to find a way out by beating Newtown and Queenstown, both whom were seemingly good enough to beat us well. We beat Newtown by 17 we beat the Queenstown team (that we lost to by 20, 10, 5 points during a friendly, zone 1st round match, and semi final match respectively in 2004 during C Division) 21 points. We qualified.

So its your turn guys. Its never impossible. We did it, we weren't supposed to, but we intended to. We don't need you to emulate any success. Write your own story and beat Jurong on Monday. If its anything we have that the others don't have, its Dream Team FIGHT Win.

Winning Starts with a Compelling Vision

Every moment, even when the splitting headaches come, I think of winning. On the bed, before the computer, before and after I discovered I had chicken pox.

• I think of RI beating Jurong and going crazy when the whistle goes.
• I dream of the frozen faces of the Jurong players and fierce determination of the RI boys.
• I dream of the opponents missing layups and giving up offensive rebounds.
• I dream of them committing defensive fouls as we let loose and attack.

(heck I even think of beating them by 54 and knocking them out)

Doesn't matter whether I can be there or not, I can see that reality in my eyes.

Jonathan will do well, in training and even in matches. There are many blind spots that he has helped me correct. Every training session is a result of discussion between us. To coach the team all the way and hand it over to JW for last 2 sessions will help more than it impedes.

Take for example the jump stop instruction - I would never have thought about that.

So pick yourselvs up and go - stop emo-ing and prove yourselves worthy of wearing that jersey. For all your skills and ability, you have proven nothing yet.

Every batch has gone through severe setbacks and prevailed. You have gone through setbacks. But I've not seen you prevail. Wake up and prove yourselves!

Everybody thinks you will lose - are you guys in such a pathetic state that you think the same?

Gryphons Cup 2007: Review

Champions: RI 05

Runners Up: RI 95

MVP: Yao Zhen

Court Run Champion: Jaron Lee

3 on 3 Champions: David, Ricky, Shawn

Seen through my eyes...

Gryphons Cup 2007 surely must be the most memorable for RI 05 (Ray Wen, Kenneth, Aaron, Yao Zhen, Wei Quan, Jing Wei, Qing Yuan, Sun Ning, Yi Qing). This is the batch that have never played in any National competition before (with exception of Ray Wen in his sec 1 year). Even their highly anticipated final year in Raffles colours was also disappointing as they crashed out in the 1st round to eventual champion and runners up Hwa Chong & Innova JC.

This championship is indeed a first (in more ways than one) for the boys. Facing the dominating RI 95 with Low Jia Ren anchoring the post, I went in to coach them with no pressure and no expectations, just looking to push them as much as possible.

As anticipated, RI 95 started the game firing on all cylinders. Long range bombs, turnaround scoop shots, conversions off offensive rebounds, the juniors soon found themselves trailing by 10 and this extended to about 16 points by the 3rd quarter.

That was when Jia Ren came off for a breather and to avoid foul trouble. Sensing a chance to strike back, the Juniors turned on the 221 zone press and the full court man to man. With an amazing sequence of forced turnovers and breakaway layups, they quickly made up for the lead that RI 95 enjoyed. By the time Jiaren came back into the game, the momentum was way too strong and even the key players on RI 95 could not stop the J2s.

RI 05 ran out winners by 2 points (I think).

A Salute to RI 95...

I found you guys very gracious in defeat - it reminds me of the classics and the pioneers, for whom victory is important, but secondary to sportsmanship + celebration of the younger Rafflesians' success.

Perhaps it is age, perhaps it is maturity - In any case I just thank you for making this such a memorable experience for the J2s.

A Word for the Organisers
Thanks to Jaron, Daniel, Shawn & gang for organising - I do not think we take this for granted, that every batch will step up to play their part. I am just proud and excited that another batch has value-added to the legacy of Raffles Basketball.