Exceeding expectations; Black Kites basketballers soar at ACAMIS
By Oscar So and Matthew Liu
RCHK’s resident basketball teams have been working hard to conquer their rivals at ACAMIS
From the 16th to the 18th of February, the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) basketball tournament was held at various schools around Hong Kong. Three RCHK teams competed in the tournament: the U16 boys, the U20 girls, and the U20 boys. The teams performed well, finishing in second, sixth, and fourth place, respectively.
The U16 boys team won their first two matches on the first day, beating Yew Chung International School, and American International School. On day two, they beat Discovery College, lost to the older and more experienced U20s men’s RCHK team in a friendly match, and advanced to the knockout stage.
The U20 boys team, meanwhile, defeated DC and lost to YCIS. On day two, they won against the U16 RCHK team and defeated Hong Kong Academy to go into the knockout stages.
The U20 girls' team lost to the Chinese International School but beat the Bauhinia team, comprising players from other schools who were not on their schools’ team. On day two, they defeated the Australian International School but lost in the Cup quarter-finals to HKA, ending up in the plate event, which was for teams who lost in the first round of the knockout stages, on the final day.
On the 3rd day, the U20 boys lost a close match to Discovery College, 41-45, while the U20 girls, who were in the plate event, defeated YCIS in a blowout, 39-5. The U16 boys defeated CIS 45-29 to make the final.
All 3 RCHK teams lost their final games. The U16 boys lost to Discovery College 63-65 in the tournament finals, the U20 boys lost 30-43 to Chinese International in the 3rd place match, and the U20 girls lost 19-26 to YCIS in the plate finals.
Asked about her experience at this tournament, Lorraine Ng, a member of the U20 girls, said, “Overall, the experience was second to none. All players enjoyed the opportunity to play at a large-scale basketball tournament across various schools in Hong Kong.”
Matthew Liu, a member of the U16 boys, agreed. He said, “We played very well, and definitely exceeded expectations. We definitely learned a lot throughout this tournament”. He especially emphasized the age difference between them and their competitors, as they were “two to three years younger than the other team”.
Mr. Chiang, the coach for the U16 team, echoed a similar sentiment. “Facing older teams was difficult but I think once we started playing, we realized that basketball is just basketball, it doesn't matter who the opponent is. If we stick to our game plan and work together, we should feel confident that we can compete against any team.”
He also noted that while “Winning is always nice, it's the ultimate reward for the hard work you put in at practice. While winning is important and a part of competitive sports, it's not the only thing that matters. I'd rather lose a close match than win a blowout game because there is more to learn from these difficult experiences. However, I always hold my players to a high standard. We'll never be perfect but we're going to execute to the best of our ability. As a coach, I measure our success not by wins and losses, but rather by how we performed as a team.” Through the losses and wins, all 3 RCHK teams have fought considerably hard for their place in the tournament. Through the losses, they gained a competitive drive to become champions.
In response to a question about the most memorable moment in the tournament, Liu quickly said that “[It was] the finals, because there’s always that special feeling when you make the finals. All the other matches matter, sure, but the finals have that different atmosphere that makes it special.”
Although all three RCHK teams lost, the strong performance that they showed throughout the entire tournament, will assuredly lead to success in the years to come.