Looking Back

December 29 2008
JEVON SEE 

It has been an arduous journey for the basketball team. Trainings scheduled at 8am during the holidays when everyone is sound asleep. Short jogs to SRC from hall with our eyes still barely opened. Cruel runs that take half our lives away. As the captain and also on behalf of the manager, Dennis, I would like to thank the players for their commitment and efforts to the team, especially enduring the long journey back to hall just to train.

Hall 4 came up against Hall 3, runner-ups of Group A in the Quarterfinals of the IH competition. It looked set to be a tough battle, with the physique of the Hall 3 team looking superior. Our consistent 3-point shooter and manager, Dennis, was also out of the country.

It spelt trouble right from the jumpball as our team looked way different from the one that won the qualifying matches. Hall 3 showed more aggression and energy as they outmuscled and outplayed us in the first quarter. Hall 4’s starting 5 (Lucas, Weilong, Jevon, Hanlong, Zhenxing) played sloppily and were unable to score a single point in the first quarter and it ended 12-0 in favour of Hall 3.

Morale dropped even further when many of the decisions of the referee went against us. We managed to break the scoring duck at the start of the second quarter but were still unable to match Hall 3’s energy and stability. As our usual manager was absent, we had some problems tactically and made the error of not substituting anyone until later in the game.

Indeed, with substitutions made, the new 5 players (Yewhan, Walter, David, Yang Jie, Jevon) on court looked more energetic. Raymond also impressed with his 3 point shooting. Chunrong frustruated his opponents with his aggressive defence and Gary made slick runs down the court. If we had played like we did in the fourth quarter, I am sure it would have been a totally different ball game.

Hall 4 played their hearts out to make the final scoreline respectable as Hall 4 lost 55-33 to a fitter and bigger Hall 3 team.

Next year, we would definitely come back fitter, stronger and better. Stay tuned!

IHG Update – Soccer (v Hall 5)

DECEMBER 27 2008
- Qinwei 

Team Hall 4 soccer team scored an early victory in the competition, beating local rivals Hall 5 1-0.

With the game scheduled in the afternoon, the team had to battle the blistering sun in the opening game.

Hall 5 had the first chance of the game with its left winger skipping past two players, carrying the ball into the penalty box. However, the finishing touch was poor and the ball was easily collected by the goalkeeper. Gradually, Team Hall 4 were in control of the game, and attacking midfielder Jayden, saw the ball crashed off the woodwork with a cracking effort from outside the box. Then, Hall 4’s striker, Zhong Leong, gave the team a well deserved lead. Collecting a through pass from midfield, he shrugged off a defender and sent the ball into the bottom corner with a left foot finish, leaving the goalkeeper no chance. Hall 5 fought back in search of an equalizer, but lacked the finishing touches in the penalty area. Team Hall 4 held on to go 1-nil up into the second half.

With the opponent looking for an equalizer, Team Hall 4 was held back for prolonged period. Despite being under pressure, Team Hall 4 still managed to get the ball up front and Jayden sent in another shot from 25 yards out that flew past the wrong side of the upright. The game soon changed into a tussle for ball in the midfield and clear chances were far and few between. Eventually, Team Hall 4 grind out the victory it wanted, finishing 1-0.

IHG Update – Squash LP v Hall 3

DECEMBER 26 2008
- Qinwei 

In the second round of competition, Team Hall 4 squash team put up a brave fight against a better opponent despite losing the tie. Having lost the in the previous round, Team Hall 4 need to secure a win against Hall 3 to stand a chance to progress. Despite being the underdogs of the tie, Team Hall 4 started off brightly. Hall 4’s senior hall fellow Prof. Yap and his wife, Mrs. Yap put the team 2-0 up after beating their opponents 9-1, 9-1 and 9-0, 9-0.

However, Hall 3’s strength in depth proved to be the difference in the end. Hall 3 won the remaining 3 sets to complete the comeback and took the tie, winning it 3-2.

Although Team Hall 4 was drawn into a tough group, the team showed no fear in the presence of better opponents and did their best for the hall. Kudos to the team!

Happy Holidays!

The IHG season is taking a two-day hiatus from December 24th to December 25th.

Watch out for more updates from December 26th onwards!

Hall IV match schedules can be found on the Hall IV weblog at http://webx.ntu.edu.sg/hall4/

Till then, MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

IHG Update – Hockey/M (Hall 4 v Hall 13)

DECEMBER 23 2008
- Melvin 

The Hall 4 male hockey team met Hall 13 at the NIE Hockey Field this afternoon for some intense hockey action in the preliminary Group D Match this IHG season.

With a line-up boasting experienced players such as Daniel, Yi Yong, Jevon, David, Ken Yee, Praga and Gary (who substituted Ken Yee during the first half), as well as freshmen such as Hau Kim and Kelvin, Hall IV looked poised for a victory this match.

Unfortunately, despite a good showing by our team, Hall 13 won the match 2-0 after an exciting 20 minutes.

The Group D loser pool match will be played on Friday, 26/12/2008 from 1230-1300hrs.

Sepak Takraw Hall4 vs Hall11 (Winner Pool Match)

DECEMBER 22, 2008
- Jevon

Hall 4 overcame hot favourites Hall 11 to advance from Group A Inter-Hall Sepak Takraw competition as the top team.

Hall 4 took the match with a score of 2 games to 1.

In the first game, Zhongliang, Yonghwa and David secured the win with a nailbiting finish to the set. It was a close victory of 2 points.

The second game looked tight at first with Praga, Chunxiang and Jevon holding the front. As the game continued, the opponents’ skills and experience wore the trio out as Hall 11 pulled away with a convincing win.

The final and crucial game was an entertaining one, with Weisheng, James and Daniel surprising everyone with their skills and touch of finesse. The supporters also broke out in laughter as Daniel’s reactions were unexpected.

Good Luck to Hall 4 in the quarter finals!!

Good Spirit by Ohmers!

DECEMBER 22, 2008
- Chun Xiang

Hall IV 1 – 4 Hall VI
Senior Hall Fellow Assoc. Prof. Yap gave Hall IV a bright start to the match by dealing a surprise blow to Hall VI’s title hopes, claiming an easy victory in the first men’s singles. His wealth of experience in squash was clearly evident as his drop – shots and deep lobs hardly gave the opponent any chance of retaliation.

Despite taking the lead through the first set, it proved a false dawn as Hall VI leveled in the second men’s singles when their ace player overwhelmed us with a series of aggressive plays and fine volleys.

The end of second set proved to be the deciding point of the match as the difference in technique and experience between the two teams was far too great. Nevertheless, Hall IV players persevered and put on their best effort in good spirit. The third and fourth female singles saw Hall VI run out with two comfortable victories.

In all, it was a fine match and a valuable learning experience for Hall IV’s squash team and a well-deserved 1-4 victory for Hall VI.

Plenty of IH Action Today!

DECEMBER 22, 2008
- Tiong Hwee 

Volleyball (F) QF v Hall 7

Held early this morning at the National Institute of Education (NIE) indoor volleyball court, Hall IV unfortunately lost to Hall 7 in the IHG Volleyball Female Quarter-Finals in a one and a half-hr match, with the scorelines of 7-25, 11-25 respectively in 2 sets.

In the first set, despite an equal showing, a lapse in concentration by our volleyball team earned points for the opponents, allowing them to garner a huge lead. As a result, our team had difficulty mounting a comeback as the score margin was quite huge to overcome. While our team countered the opponent’s strong attacks with rigid defence and long rallies, the first set was brought to an end with a score of 7-25.

Both teams changed sides for the second set. This was a crucial game for our team as it will determine whether our female volleyball team will have a chance to progress into the semi-finals. Knowing that winning this set will progress, the Hall 7 girls played with more aggression, increasing their counter-attacks. It was regrettable that our team was unable to deal with the long shots by our opponent. Despite forcing the tally back a few times, Hall 4 succumbed and lost the second set 11-25.

Having lost to Hall 7 with an overall score of 0-2, Hall 4 is now out of the female volleyball competition this IHG season. Yet, our girls have done us proud by displaying strength of steel to overcome numerous strong opponents to reach this juncture of the competition, and will certainly come back stronger next season. Well done, Ohmers! 

Hockey (F) v Hall 11

In the first IHG Hockey Female Group A match this IHG season, held at the NIE Hockey Field, our girls hockey team managed to clinch a win over their opponents, Hall 11, relatively with ease. The final scoreline read 3-0.

Hall 4’s female players played well as a team, mounting constant pressure on their opponents. In the first half of the game, the more agile team of Hall 4 managed to force Hall 11 into committing errors in their game, resulting in numerous shots at goal. Yet, we were unable to capitalise on the situation and convert the chances into goals, and entered the break with a slender lead of 1-0.

At the start of the second half, Hall 4’s game plan was to defend and extend their lead on the break.  Eyeing an opportunity, we managed to break through the opponent’s defence line and scored a goal a few minutes after the commencement of the second half.

Despite doubling the scoreline, our players continued hitting shots on goal, and only some skillful defending by the Hall 11 goalkeeper prevented the defeat from being a larger one. The game ended with the final score 3-0, with Hall IV progressing into the Winner Pool match of the competition.

IHRG Update – Darts

DECEMBER 22, 2008
- Kelvin 

The Hall IV Darts team played a total of four matches today, namely against the Darts team from Hall 5, Hall 6, Hall 7 and Hall 16.

Despite an afternoon of intense competition, lady luck was certainly not smiling on Hall 4 as the Darts team failed to overcome all four of their opponents. Hall 4 was close to winning a couple of matches, though our opponents were certainly much luckier than us today.

In spite of the defeat, the spirit of the Hall IV darts team was high, with all our players enjoying themselves in the first day of the Darts competition. Even though Hall 4 failed to perform well today, we believe that the team will strive for better results during the second day of the tournament, despite qualification for the semi-finals looking like a long shot.

The second day of the Darts competition will feature three more preliminary rounds, and will commence at 1200hrs at the Hall 8 Multi-Purpose Court.

A Good Field Day for Hall IV!

DECEMBER 20, 2008
- Qinwei 

Saturday was a good field day for Team Hall 4, as the female volleyball and male softball team won against their respective opponents. The ladies beat local rivals Hall 5 two sets to one, while the men edged out Hall 14 with a score line of 12-7.

 

With quarterfinals berth at stake, the teams battled long and hard. After losing to Team Hall 4 in the opening round, Hall 5 ladies were seeking revenge. Facing a determined opponent, Team Hall 4 displayed great composure to win the first set 25-10. Not to be outdone and to get back into the game, Hall 5 fought back in the second set. Hall 5 dealt out some powerful serves, leaving Team Hall 4 with little chances and eventually prevailed, winning the set 25-15. The third was a close fight between the two and the teams rarely separated by more than two points. At 24-23, Team Hall 4 seeks to finish the game off, but Hall 5 managed to tie the game 24-24. Team Hall 4 constantly pulled in front, but fails to finish the game on multiple occasions. Ultimately, the ladies showed nerves of steel to end it 32-30, after Hall 5’s return ball went wide. It was a great all round performance by the team to secure a place in the next round.

 

Similarly for the men, much is also at stake. A loss would have meant the end of the road in the competition for the team. It will turns out to be an epic battle that stretched over four innings and two tie breakers, and lasted more than two hours. After losing the toss, the team batted first in the opening inning. They didn’t have the best of starts, scoring zero runs, and the opposition scored two. Following a poor start, Team Hall 4 found their batting form and score three runs in the second inning to take the lead. But Hall 14 answered back to take back the lead. The score would continue to be see-sawed between the two sides before it came down to the second tie breaker with the score leveled at 6 all. Team Hall 4 started the tie break by scoring a run, before two superb bats by the players allowed the team to score runs in quick succession. At the changeover, Hall 4 led by 11-6. The pressure is now on the opponent to match the number of runs. Fantastic pitching by Team Hall 4 pitcher, David, struck out the opposing player, to leave them with two outs. More good pitching, forced them to bat the ball. Eventually a fly-ball catch by third baseman James, ended any hopes of a fight back and sent the Hall 4 supporters on the sidelines wild. Following the win, the team now look forward to the game against Hall 8 with quarterfinal place in sight.