National Finals

National Netball Final (Juniors)

TKP vs CHIJ Kellock

30-25

What a day! An exhausting event has happened today. Supporters, have you lost your voice? Players, are your arms and legs sore? The netballers were excited. In the bus, they were moving around (when the bus stopped) painting the word TK in each other’s faces and hands. None of them looked very nervous or anxious, but who knows how they will react on court? TKP Juniors is by far the best team in TKP, but also the most unpredictable. They have beaten CHIJ Kellock before, so why can’t they do it again? WE MUST WE CAN WE WILL- these are the words which were repeating in the netballer’s minds. The seniors played well but will the juniors play a good game too?

Before the game started they did their quick warm-ups and started the first quarter. Mr Njoo also told the girls to finish the job. First to score-TK! Unfortunately, we still made a few errors. Jamie (GD) had to look before she passed, Rukmini,(C) did not make the right decision in her center pass and was asked to get the ball back when our opponent’s took the ball. GD made good interceptions but we lost the lead. Seak Im missed a attempt but caught the rebound and successfully the ball went in in the next attempt. When the first quarter ended, Mr Njoo was furious with the score. 5-9! The reason was because the aggression was not there and Jeraldine (GK) had to stick to the GS as if they were glued together.

Time for the second quarter… No! CHIJ shot in before TK could. And when our players managed to get the ball to the goal post, Corrine (GS) was not going out of the semi-circle when she was supposed to so her teammates could pass it to her. It seemed like Kellock was stronger than ever. Surprisingly, Kellock’s coach was not as fierce as before at the Kallang Netball Center! With the clock ticking down every second, TK finally managed a shot. WHOOSH! Nothing but net.. During this quarter, we missed a few chances to score ‘’Make it count girls, make it count!’’ the reserves, seniors and Mr Njoo would often shout when we were attempting to shoot. Also, our opponent’s GA was not being guarded by anyone so we let in a shot by them. We got the rhythm quick, but lost it. Our defence was slacking a little though luckily for us, one of Kellock’s player threw a lob which no one caught and went out. Yes! Our ball! Though it was not much use because when we got the opportunity to shoot, Corrine (GS)’s head was not in the game. At one stage of the quarter, we were 6-15, down by 9 points!

Third Quarter- After a good reprimanding, the netballers played with lots of determination. Xing Hui was standing right outside the semi-circle and when the ball bounced pass her, she did not catch it! TK Seniors were franticly shouting at their voice, yelling out good advices but did it really make a difference? Maybe. Soon enough, we started to play a bit better. GK made a good tip on the ball. A good catch was from our GA, Seak Im too. ‘’Good play, girls!’’ Mr Njoo shouted. We made it a good fight against Kellock during this quarter. It was like watching a horror movie, you were scared, but you had to watch it even so. Juniors were not complacent and had played their game, which paid off- 22-22! We caught up with them! It seemed impossible to claw back from a 9 point deficit. But they did it! The last quarter would tell them whether or not they were going to be the national champs. Let’s just hope they played with their will.

BEEP! The final and last quarter had started! I must say, the Juniors really played with their will and heart. It seemed like the longest quarter ever, but the best! The supporters were cheering loudly. Jamie(GD) made a good interception at the start, Corrine’s accuracy for shooting was good- from a far distance! We were first to score. A very risky position, only leading by 1 point, but they did not give up. Come on TK! Our defence was much better than the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter. Rukmini(C) was playing how she was supposed to be playing and when we were shooting, we caught the rebound when the ball went off the rim and shot in the next attempt. The ball went to the next team because our GA contact but our opponent did not get a chance to try an attempt because of our best GK! We got the rhythm and did not lose it. We slowed down the game a little and everyone gave their 110%. There was 1minute left and we were up by 5. And for the first time, Kellock’s GS missed an attempt! Score 30-25! The quarter was over and we won! We are the National CHAMPIONS! Everyone was hugging each other and our GA was near to tears. Even I was laughing! For the first time in TKP history, our juniors had won the nationals. Job well done, job accomplished! None of us could have won this game if there was not team spirit. TK Juniors certainly had that- WE MUST WE CAN WE WILL and WE WON!