Week 3 Schedule.

Eusoffian of the Week (Week 2)

Eusoffian of the week- Week 2

IHG has officially crossed its halfway mark with CNY coming in to give all us (athletes and supporters alike) a much needed breather. This week was marked with stunning defeats, heart wrenching draws and of course breathtaking victories as well. There are of course many candidates worthy of being nominated for the Eusoffian of the Week but in the spirit of this festive season, we will celebrate not one individual but an entire team of wonderful athletes.

Our “Eusoffian of the Week” is none other than… *drumroll* The Road Relay Girls team! This week, no victory can be as sweet as the pole position finish that the Road Relay Girls achieved, surpassing all expectations that the hall or themselves have placed on them.

Way before the start of IHG, behind closed doors, our dear freshie captain Wan Yi had already doomed our team to at best, a second place finish. The Temasek Girls were supposedly in a league of their own and way out of reach. However, this did not dishearten her and her team from training extremely hard. They were seen battling the slopes in the mornings, evenings and even night times after various other trainings. Their relentless training even attracted comments from our neighbors that our girls trained so hard every day

Each and every one of them fought through injuries, sore throats and mysterious disappearances to push themselves beyond their limits. No one will know what went through their minds while they were training and during the grueling race itself. But we do know that their minds and bodies are made of steel. To see them collapse onto the ground at the end each lap, we know that they have truly contributed their 200% to Eusoff Hall and for that, we applaud them and officially knight them as our “EOTW”.

It has been a honor to watch you girls run, and we are very very proud of each and every one of you. Everyone embrace this spirit and the challenge shield will be ours to keep : )

180112: SQUASH (M) SEMIS EH V TH [2-3]

Today is a disappointing day for the Yellow Eagles as we lost three of our crucial matches. Luck was definitely not with us for the day as the male Squash team failed again to take down the Whites (last year also lost to Temasek in the finals). This was definitely the most exciting match of the whole Squash season this year, looking at the crowd gathered (which also includes some Oranjes and Blues). Unfortunately, Eusoff was beaten with a score of 2-3. It was noted that there were many problems with the referee calls during today’s game. As I am not familiar with the Squash rules, I will not comment much on that.

1^st Line-up: Daryl Kam 1-4

According the rules and regulations, IVP players are to play first before non-IVP players. Daryl, being our only IVP player is first faced with fellow IVP player from Temasek, the Captain-Attitude (the audience would know why). Both players displayed superb skills and were seen diving all over the place for the little black ball. The audience was totally mesmerized by their high-level plays. “OMG damn sick” was often heard among the crowd.

Daryl lost the first two sets with a tight score of 7-11 and 9-11. During the second set, the Temasek captain was seen very displeased with the referees as he threw his racket at the glass.

In the third set, the Temasek captain took a more offensive approach, slamming the little ball in all directions. Daryl remained calm and defended well. Soon, the offensive plays tired the White out and Daryl took the chance to win the set with a score of 11-9.

In the fourth set, The Temasek captain had a quick start, leading with a score of 6-1. Daryl quickly recovered and by winning 4 points straight to score of 5-6. It was a catch up game between the two players as each scored another three points to a score of 8-9. Finally, the White won the set with 11-8.

2^nd Line up: Jian Liang 0-3

Faced with another IVP player from Temasek, Jian Liang went up to him fearlessly and fought hard. Jian Liang pressurized the opponent well and played to his best. It was not an easy win by Temasek as many would have expected. The first two sets were finished with scores of 6-11 and 7-11. However, Jian Liang started to lose his cool against the referees in the third set. It cost him a third set with a score of 2-11.

At the point of time, Captain Malcolm is still confident of a win for Eusoff despite being 2 down. He was confident with his line-ups that the Yellow Eagles will get back in the last three players. As the saying goes, “save the best to the last”.

3^rd Line up: Justin 3-0

Justin is our secret weapon as he made his first appearance today in the semi-finals. It was a strategic move indeed as Justin thrashed Whites with scores of 11-2, 11-3 and 11-6. Justin had full control of the game, giving no chance to his opponent. There is really not much to say for this match as it all ended too quickly.

4^th Line up: Stanley 2-3

This is the most crucial match of the day and all eyes were on the players. The air was filled with tension at the squash court.

Stanley started well by winning the first two sets with scores of 11-5 and 11-6. The opponent was seen no match for him. Hopes were high for Eusoffians and we were so confident of a win that many of the supporters left for Handball semis.

HOWEVER, never did we expect that Temasek would made a miracle come-back against Stanley in the next three sets with scores of 11-9, 11-8 and 11-7.

There was silence among the Eusoffians as we were unable to believe what had just happened. It was the worst scenario that we would have expected. It was a nightmare, just like last year.

5^th Line up: Chin Ping 3-1

The two players continued to finish up the last match of the day even though most of the audience has left. It was a display of sportsmanship as both players played to their best despite the outcome.

Chin Ping played wisely by constantly changing directions of attacks and the opponent was soon tired out. The scores were 11-8, 9-11, 12-10 and 11-7.

210112: SOCCER (F) CARNIVAL

Today the soccer girls set out to retain their soccer, led by captain Clarissa Koh and returning star player Sim Min Li. An exciting day lay ahead of us as the girls will play 5 matches against each of the other halls. The weather is burning hot, but that does not affect the high spirits of the soccer girls.

190112: ROAD RELAY Male 4th, Females Champion!

Road Relay

Guys

The starting atmosphere was definitely a tense one as the runners from all the halls lined up at the starting line, readying themselves for the whistle to be blown. EH’s Jing Ho led the guys’ team as the first runner. As soon as the whistle was blown, TH’s runner quickly took the lead, and soon they were off. TH was consistently first throughout the entire race, as they were known as this year’s powerhouse in road relay. Despite knowing that other halls such as KR and RH had fast runners, our EH guys still gave it their very best and sprinted with all their might, and this could be seen especially at the last leg of each lap, when almost all of our runners stumbled upon his completion of his lap, due to the pure exhaustion and fatigue from running.

Jing Ho brought EH to fourth place, with a comfortable lead over the next hall, and handed it over to his teammate Raymond. As soon as Raymond was seen coming in from his lap, his teammate Marcus stood ready at the starting line. Not far from Raymond was the runner from SH, and the two runners from EH and SH never gave up till the very end, both putting in every ounce of effort they had. Soon, they passed the finishing line, and their teammates were off, with KE7’s runner coming in not long after that.

As Marcus ran the finishing 100m of the lap, KE7’s runner was right behind him, and SH trailing not too far behind. It seemed obvious that SH and KE7 refused to give EH a chance at fourth position, and were trying their utmost best to deny EH a chance at it! EH’s Yi Xuan quickly took over from Marcus, and did his best by maintaining the slight lead that EH had over the two halls.

Sadly, EH came in fifth for this lap, with SH overtaking us to come in fourth, and KE7 last. However, it was EH’s captain, Jackie’s turn to run, and the moment he tagged Yi Xuan and sprinted off, EH’s cheers were evidently the loudest amongst the entire crowd. Upon completing his lap, Jackie put at least a 20s gap between SH’s runner, and this allowed EH’s final runner, freshie Yi Shun, to comfortably bring EH to fourth position.

After the race, I interviewed Jackie, and he had this to say, “This year’s Road Relay team saw 5 freshmen out of 6 who competed in IHG for their very first time. As the captain of the team, no words could describe the amount of pride I have for them, not just for their great attitude in this difficult and unpopular sport but also for their courage in the face of other powerhouses. It has been a great season (and final semester in NUS). I would also like to extend my congratulations to the girls’ team and my heartfelt thanks for the supporters who came.”

Girls

Leading EH’s girls’ team as the first runner was Hui Min. When the command ‘Go’ was given, she took off immediately leaving the other four runners in her dust. She was eventually overtaken by KE7, but EH was not far behind. Hui Min quickly tagged our girls’ captain, Wan Yi, and off she went, chasing after the KE7 runner.

The next thing I knew, Wan Yi was in first place, and quickly passed it over to Lynette. I was then left waiting for the next runner…waiting…waiting…it seemed like a really long time before the next girl runner was in sight, and it turned out to be TH’s runner. I glanced at my watch, and realised that the gap between EH and TH was over 1 minute!

When Lynette returned still maintaining the lead, EH’s 4^th runner Charis took off at a comfortable pace. It seemed almost certain that EH was the victor of this race but the race was far from over. The race site atmosphere sizzled with tension and nervous energy as the supporters from the various halls peered and squinted into the distance hoping to catch sight of their respective runners. When Charis burst into sight, EH runners went crazy with cheers as EH’s lead was maintained. EH’s 5^th runner Evelyn aka Pao Ba Hai ZI (running child in Chinese) took off with a considerable lead on TH. Meanwhile Charis was lying on the grass in drunk stupor shouting incoherently half in pain half in joy while tears could be seen shinning in the eyes of our EH road relay female runners.

Our last runner, Lydia, ended the race with the supporters chanting her name. The moment she passed the finishing line, EH erupted into cheers, hugs and tears. It was obvious how much this victory meant to the girls’ team; the first female road relay gold in 7 years. However, even in their victory, the girls ran over to the finishing line to cheer the other halls on.

The amount of hard work and effort that everyone put in had definitely paid off, as it scored EH yet another gold medal! Once again, well done Eusoff, for showing each and every one of us what it means to really desire victory! Fight on, Eusoff!

Written by Jeryl

210112: BASKETBALL (M) EH V KR [30-38]

210112: BASKETBALL (M) EH V KR [30-38]

This morning, our Eagles faces off against last year’s Semi-finalist KR. Unknown to all, our Basketball guys trained hard last night hoping to have a great start for the first game of this season.

Our guys were already warming up when I got there. There were a few Die-hard Eusoffian supporters at the match, but maybe its’ due to the Chinese New Year weekend, the numbers were scarce compared to the weekday evening matches. The atmosphere was tense. Our guys were seriously warming up. In the final minute to the first quarter, I noticed Veteran Player No.1 JiaKai was pacing the ground, occasionally putting his hand out and looking at the sky (maybe he is checking the weather), Team Captain Scott, at one corner, silently looking at his team, one can sense the tension within. With a new team this season, Veterans, Comebacks and Newbies, no one knows how the match will turn out. 9am strikes, the referee blows the whistle. Both teams send their first line-up and the match begins.

Eusoff Started the 1^st Quarter with No. 1 – Jia Kai; No. 4 – Ryan LKK; No. 5 – Shan Chin; No. 20 – Jared Clark; and No. 23 – Lester Lim. Eusoff started with a great start, with Jared getting the first jump ball of the game, tapping the ball to Jia Kai. KR was quick at their defense and quickly closed down at Jia Kai. Jia Kai took the shot, missed. KR tried to do a fast break but our defenses was strong, Our Eagles managed to gain possession of the ball. 3 minutes into the game, KR made the first of the may fouls to come. 2 Free throw was awarded to Lester, missed. At the 2^nd free throw, KR took the rebound and had a successful fast break, taking the first blood of the game. This did not affect our Eagles. In the swing of events, Jared took a 3 pointer during our possession. Credited to our strong defenses, we manage to maintain our lead at 5-4 when Hon Chan called for a time-out at the 6^th Minute. A swap was made, substituting No. 25 – Fu Ginn for Jared. During the next 4 minutes, KR managed to capitalize the free throws awarded to them and eventually too the lead. Our eagles did now let their guard down, maintaining strong defense. The game ended with Ryan LKK taking an impressive layout to end the first quarter at 7-11, KR leading the game.

The  2^nd Quarter began with Eusoff placing their priority on the defense, sending in No. 1 – Jia Kai; No. 4 – Ryan LKK; No. 5 – Shan Chin; No. 11 – (Captain) Scott Lu; and No. 25 – Fu Ginn.  The possession rates of both teams were pretty even, however, our Eagles were unable to finish the run with a point after each defensive rebound. As with our strong defense, KR was unable to find space within our 3point lines. However, their strength in 3 points, they manage to pull of a couple of 3point shots that widened the gap between both teams. At the 4^th minute, Hon Chan felt that the team needed a direction and called for a timeout. The score then was 7-17. With a few shuffles in the team, No. 3 – Hon Chan; No. 5 – Shan Chin; No. 8 – Wen Qiang; No. 11 – (Captain) Scott Lu; and No. 20 – Jared Clark, our Eagles brace the court once again. Although our team managed to score a few points, equal numbers of mistakes were made. This was when Hon Chan shouting at the top of his voice “You all know what to do, it is whether you all want to do it or not!” The message did have an impact on the team, as our players were more speedy and made more successful interception. In the final seconds to the game, Hon Chan waiting for the count down, 5… 4… 3 he released the ball into the air from the 3 point line… 2… 1… the ball entered the basket in a single swoosh! What an end to the 2^nd Quarter! The score was 15-26.

The entire atmosphere at the Eusoff side was tense. A 11 points distance seems like a short but not so short point distance to catch-up, the kind of not here not there difference, you know what I mean. The kaypo me decided to overhear what the team was saying. As I was a distance away, all I could hear was something along this line “This is not what you guy are capable of, you all can be better than this!” – Unknown. With that, the cheered EUSOFF and we began our 3^rd Quarter.

No. 1 – Jia Kai; No. 3 – Hon Chan; No. 8 – Wen Qiang; No. 20 – Jared Clark; and No. 23 Lester Lim took the court. This time round, with reignited fire, the team displayed what they are made of with faster interceptions, greater pressure and more accuracy. This new energy startled KR and caused them to commit more fouls. However, with so much action, the scores remained at 15-26. A timeout was called. As the timeout ended, the morning sun began to scorch the court and both the players and supporters began to feel the heat. The heat however seems indifferent to our eagles, pulling off successful interceptions one after another. Jared pulls a fast interception and passed it to Hon Chan who managed a foul in. Immediately after, Jia Kia did another successful interception and Hon Chan swiftly took the ball into KR’s Basket without the defense behind him.  A timeout was called at the 8^th Minute into the quarter to regroup. The team managed to bring the score to 20 – 27. No. 1 – Jia Kai; No. 3 – Hon Chan; No. 4 – Ryan LKK; No. 20 – Jared Clark; and No. 23 Lester Lim finished off the remaining 2 minutes of the quarter with a few fouls and a successful defensive rebound taken by Jared. The score ended at 22-30 by the end of 3^rd quarter, leaving the Eagles with an 8point lead to clear.

In the final Quarter of the match, No. 3 – Hon Chan; No. 4 – Ryan LKK; No. 8 – Wen Qiang; No. 20 – Jared Clark; and No. 23 Lester Lim was the final line-up eusoff played. The match was packed with fast breaks on both sides evenly. Then, the most exciting point of the game was scored. While chasing fast break by KR, Hon Chan managed to sneak the ball from KR but falling in the process. Hastily, he too the dead ball from the ground and made a swift pass to Gang Yi. Sensing a KR player was on to him, he quickly back passed the ball to Ryan LKK and he tossed the ball to Lester who brought the ball into the KR basket all within a split second! The point was so spectacular that it would easily make it into the top 10 of IHG History! As time was trickling, KR began substituting players disrupting the flow of the game, and the score was more or less stagnant. The game ended with 30-38.

The game was filled with ups and downs, and plenty of excitement. No bored at any part of the game unlike lectures that we attend in the morning. This is what we can expect of a fantastic game play by 2 fantastic teams fighting head to head, point by point all the way to then end! No cause for worries! 2 more games before we hit for the semis and finals! Good luck guys!

Lastly, a message from Basketball (M) Team Captain, Scott Lu :“I would like to thank all the supporters who woke up early in the morning to support us and the basketball team is very sorry to disappoint them. We will push on and go on court on the 28th Jan against TH. We really hope to see Eusoffians down on court to cheer us on. Even though we may no deserve a second chance, the basketball team promise to come back stronger and we will fight HARDER THAN EVER!”

Written by: Tan Chong Ming

Eusoffian of the Week (Week1)

EOTW- Week 1

Week 1 of IHG saw action from every sporting arena at the SRC. Swimming boys and girls did us very proud by emerging 2^nd, kicking off week 1 on a high note. Our tennis teams fought their way into the semis before valiantly bowing out of the competition. Both Volleyball teams promptly finished off their opponents in record timings. Handball girls put their bodies on the line but narrowly lost out to a more experienced team. Softball and Touch Rugby toiled under the 100deg sun to finish off the week on a golden note (as usual). After so much action it was certainly hard to decide on this week’s Eusoffian of the Week.

After much consideration, we decided upon none other than a certain Lee Ren Ji.

He was undisputedly a key factor in bagging the 2 gold medals over the weekend. For those who don’t know, he was the pitcher for softball, a position requiring the utmost focus. Before each softball match he could be seen in a meditative state or even in deep prayer (?) And once the match started, he was consistently at the highest level of his game. Dubbed as the “Full Count Monster”, he had the ability to freak players out with his perfect pitching; each pitch getting better with each taunt from his opponents. He made crucial catches and runs at the speed of light, even overtaking the player at the base in front of him. All in all he was definitely a key factor in helping to bring this relatively new team to victory once again.

He also played a crucial role in Touch Rugby. Although his jersey number might reflect his age, he plays with the heart of a 16 yr old. The amount of hard running he puts in on the field puts most people to shame and the commitment he has towards the team is unmatchable. After every substitution, he comes off the field unable to speak properly and panting madly, showing how much he actually puts into the game when called upon. The calls and plays executed by him were pretty much perfect which usually resulted in a try or placed Eusoff in an advantageous situation. Many of the freshies in the team also commented that they felt inspired by him when they saw him giving his all on the field, and they themselves were equally motivated to give their all.

Lee Renji has shown plenty of character and commitment to the hall and has deservedly won the Eusoffian of the Week for Week 2 of IHG. We certainly hope that everybody would look towards this excellent example and follow suit in his footsteps.

200112: SOCCER (M) EH V RH [2-0]

Eusoff Soccer Guys kicked off their season with 2-0 win over 10 man Raffles Hall who had a man sent off midway through the second half. The result means that Raffles Hall is effectively out of the running for the semi-final berth, while Eusoff will fight it out with KE7 for top spot in the group.

The starting line-up for the game looked rather strong with Eusoff featuring 5 IVP players among the 11. The 11 are: Isa, Jasdeep, Eng Ping, Zenzel, Kenny, Kuo Loon, Dona, Renji, Hon Chan, Quang and Keith.

1^st half

Eusoff started the match looking a little cold but started to find their feet quickly and as early as the 4^TH minute there was a golden scoring opportunity for us. Kuo Loon won a free kick outside the box and Renji took it. Raffles’s defense seemed to momentarily go to sleep as Eng Ping managed to sneak in at the far post, only to glance the header wide. There were also plenty of neat exchanges down the left flank between Keith and Kuo Loon and that should have given Raffles a sneak preview of what was going to be in store for them. A teasing ball was sent into the box only for Raffles to clear it; however it only went as far as Kenny who then played Kuo Loon. He turned and from just outside the box, tried to curl one into the top corner but it was high. Kuo Loon continued to torment the Raffles defense, first he went on a mazy run, bamboozling the Raffles defenders only for one of them to get a last ditch tackle in. Next his quick feet then drew a foul from Raffles No. 27, who was then promptly shown the yellow card. Midway through the first half, Quang was released on the left flank after a quick throw in by Keith. Quang left the Raffles defender for dead and sent a low dangerous cross into the penalty box, unfortunately, no one was able to capitalize on that. As if to signal their intent, Raffles then embarked on a quick counter attack of their own. Our defense was slightly slow to react but luckily, the Raffles striker was called offside. At this moment, it seemed like Raffles Hall was finally getting into the game, a driving run through the center was saved by a last ditch tackle from Zenzel. Raffles then had a corner that somehow evaded the whole Eusoff defense, but lucky for us, the shot was scuffed. The excitement in the game wasn’t about to die off as Quang received a pinpoint crossfield ball from Kenny, he then cut in and shot, unfortunately it was miles off target. Quang then turned provider and he sent a ball over the Raffles defense for Kuo Loon to chase. But the shot was weak and it went straight at the keeper! Raffles then worked a short corner and the resulting shot from outside the box was palmed away by Isa. As the half drew to a close, both sides came close to scoring the first goal of the game with Keith delivering a delightful through pass to Hon Chan, who cut back just outside the penalty box but shot was blocked. Raffles that had their chance when a weak clearance by Jasdeep was sent back into our penalty box, the Raffles striker sent the ball narrowly wide with Isa closing him down. Just on the stroke of half time, Eusoff took the lead through Keith. Kuo Loon blazed down the right flank and passed a simple ball to Keith, he then cut the ball back and drilled a low shot into the keeper’s near post. 1-0 to Eusoff and half time.

2^nd Half

Donavan, nursing a slight injury came off for Guo Xing as the teams took to the field for the second half. It was a bright start as Renji promptly won a ball and sent one over the top for Keith, however the keeper got a touch to the ball. The resulting corner cumulated in a half volley from Kuo Loon but it was over the bar. A good interchange of passes between Renji, Kuo Loon and Keith then got the ball into the penalty box, however Keith was unable to get a shot off and Raffles managed to clear their lines. Only to see Guo Xing charging down the middle leaving most Raffles players in his wake, and earning a corner in the process. Hon Chan stepped up to take the corner, laying it short to Kenny, the cross was blocked but the ball fell to Hon Chan again who drilled a ball in. Eng Ping then pull a bicycle kick out of the hat, unfortunately, it was wide. In the 50^th minute, Raihan then came on for Hon Chan. Raihan was getting involved in the game immediately and injecting some urgency into the play. Ivan then went on for Quang. The match tempo dropped for a while and after a lull, Raffles suddenly shot from distance, luckily Isa was alert and palmed the ball away. Eusoff then had three corners in quick succession and this was where the Raffles defender inexplicably handled a goal bound header when he could have cleared it with his head. Keith then stepped up to take the penalty; however, it was over the bar. Eusoff then upped the tempo of the game with Kenny sending the ball down the line for Kuo Loon to chase. He managed to turn his defender but just couldn’t keep the ball in play. Then from a throw in, Renji dragged a shot just wide. Isa then displayed a moment of bravery where he rushed out to collect a ball and the Raffles striker catching him with his trailing foot. Luckily, Isa wasn’t down for too long and recovered enough to continue playing. At this point, Kuo Loon was replaced by Keevin. It was also interesting to note that Guo Xing was turning the Raffles players with such ease it might have been mistaken that he was dancing around them the whole night. As the match drew to a close, Renji laid the ball off the Raihan, who spotted Kenny free and the early cross was sent in, but yet again, it ball was headed just wide by Keevin this time. Guo Xing and Raihan had a neat exchange of passes near the corner flag and Guo Xing swung the ball into the box, the Raffles Goalkeeper then made a hash of the ball and it fell to Keevin, who headed it to Ivan. Ivan was then left with the simplest of tasks to just tap the ball into the open net. 2-0 and the game was won!

Written by: Darren Twan

180112: HANDBALL (M) FINALS EH V SH [19-29]

EH VS SH HANDBALL MALE FINALS!

The Handboys, we must first understand, have come a really long way. Though they had been beaten twice over, being able to even reach the finals showed very aptly how far they have come, from a one-point sport to actually being in the finals. For that, we have to give them credit for they have certainly come a long way.

Final Score: 19-29

Yes Eusoffians, the Handboys lost this one. But it wasn’t unexpected. It wasn’t so much of the Handboys didn’t try hard enough, it was more of the wide difference between both teams. For one, the Sheares players were mostly huge and rather big sized, which effective meant that clamp work could hardly work on them. Secondly, the ability of Sheares players being able to score at long-range effectively meant that no matter how much defense our Handboys put up, they would be unable to defend against such sudden and powerful shots hurled at a distance.

It was inconsequential that we lost for we had put up a good fight. Let us now see the remarkable individuals who had helped to curb the difference down to just ten points (I assure you, it could have been worse):

Chris “Always Saves the Day” Koh:  Now, all of us watching by the side had to admit: We wouldn’t want to be in his position would we? Other than the risk of being sent flying into oblivion by the incoming shots, his position as the goalkeeper was also extremely pressurizing. Every goal that the opponent scored could be blamed upon the inability of the goalkeeper. And yes, to some degree, we lost because he was unable to catch and deflect some of the balls that were shot. Yet, being only at ten goal difference when met with an opponent that could potentially thrashed us with a twenty goal differences showed how important and how capable Chris was in the game. There were so many times during the game that everyone almost wanted to cry when he caught a swift and deadly incoming ball. And it was with all these shots that he saved that we must credit.

69 Hon Chan: As a remarkable player, Hon Chan would always be remembered in his successful steals as well as his unorthodox method of jumping and rolling the ball in to the goal, and also a particular moment in the game whereby Wen Qiang’s score got deflected by the Sheares keeper which he then picked up the momentum of the rebound and scored the goal.

Andy “Dangerous and Fresh” Lwi: Being a freshie and being able to make it to the first team certainly showed a lot of potential in him and in his ability. Much of the success in closing the difference of the game to just 10 points also must lie in his ability for a swift counter. He would always be the one infiltrating within the ranks of the Sheares defenders, catches the ball and scores within one sweet motion. A miracle worker indeed.

Matthew “Sick Long Shot” Wan: As a result of the finals match, the author thereby decided to change a word in his middle name to call him the “Long Shot”. In the finals, his capability of prowess was no longer defined by his shots which were swift, deadly and in layman terms, sick. In this game, he was frequently seen shooting not just shots of the above adjectives but very précised long shots also which certainly caught the Sheares keeper offguard. He was probably the only player among the Handboys that was capable of shooting from the dotted line. Impeccable work!

Captain Darren “Machine” Twan: How could we not credit Darren who was after all the Captain of the team? The author had no idea what the hell Wave formation is, but it was with this Wave formation that Darren scored the most goals among the Handboys, attempting the most shot and scoring the most points for the team at 6 points. Good work Twan!

So this is it, the end of Handball for Eusoff Hall this season. The author has seen the Handboys in action and thereby congratulates them for their valiant gameplay. He also wishes them all the best in the Handball season for 12/13 but of course, this time he predicts victory. With upcoming players like Andy playing for Eusoff next year, it is without a doubt that we will meet Sheares in the battlefield of the finals once more next year, and this time, we will play without mercy and without inhibition.

Till then.

Written by: Koon Hui

Eusoffian of the Week (Week 0)

The first week of IHG saw action for our Tennis, Handball, Softball and Takraw teams. It was difficult to choose our Eusoffian of the Week after excellent displays on all fronts by all teams.

The first of which was Matthew Wan’s excellent ‘come from behind’ win against our ex Eusoffian Tennis captain Su Wei Qi. Trailing eight games to three, Matthew Wan never allowed Wei Qi to consolidate and end the match by rallying to an eventual tie break at 8-8 which Matthew Wan eventually won 9-6. It was a display of tenacity by our Eusoffian.

Our handball teams led by Darren Twan and Koh Ruiwen, achieved resounding victories over their opponents. Taking nothing for granted even though their opponents seemed lesser in comparison, both captains fielded their best to ensure a decisive and clinical victory over KE VII and Sheares Hall respectively.

The softball team was not to be outdone by their fellow Eusoffians. They secured their spot in the finals after the preliminaries on Saturday after a tireless display by the team over Temasek Hall and KE VII Hall. Led by captain Xavier Tong, the Softballers primed themselves to successfully defend their gold again this year.

In the midst of all these achievements in merely the first week of IHG, it seems hard to choose a winner and dub him Eusoffian of the Week. But I believe it was clear to all Eusoffians who stood out this week after the Takraw Prelims and Finals.

Clearly suffering from an injured ankle, Hooi Wai Hong rallied his team and personified leadership by improvising his line up as Eusoff faced KEVII and Temasek Hall in the preliminaries. Not in full condition, he took himself off the starting line ups in order to give Eusoff a better fighting chance. Despite the minute loss against Temasek in the preliminaries, Wai Hong rallied his team to a momentous win over Kent Ridge Hall in the Semi Finals despite facing the tougher semi final opponent on paper.

The final saw a repeat of the second prelim match up. This was where Hooi Wai Hong was undisputable as Eusoffian of the Week. Not to be outdone by our neighboring rivals once again, Wai Hong led where it mattered most.

Overcoming his ankle injury, Wai Hong placed himself back on the starting line up, and placed the pressure to win on himself as captain by opting for a bold swap of tactics against Temasek, making his first match as the first regu, basically a decider for who would win it all for Takraw. Despite the see-saw nature of the first two sets with points going to either side as each tried to cement their dominance on the match, it eventually went to a third set of fifteen points. The composure and determination showed by Chris Koh, Lee Renji and Wai Hong himself, was simply amazing, as they outplayed, outwitted and outlasted their Temasek counterparts and made it Eusoff’s Takraw Championship to lose.

Even after winning the first match, Wai Hong did not rest on his laurels but continued coaching on the sidelines as well as making the all important judgment call that eventually won Eusoff their first gold of the IHG campaign as Eusoff triumphed over Temasek with a score of 2-1.

Hooi Wai Hong overcame personal injury to lead Eusoff to their first Takraw gold in three years over bitter rivals Temasek. This was nothing short of a display of boldness, tenacity, tactics and eventually the ultimate desire for success. He is  indisputably, our Eusoffian of the Week.

Written by: Ivan Ngo