Perfect ending for CHIJ

Perfect ending for CHIJ

SCHOOL SPORTS

CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) concluded a dominant schools netball season, clinching both the Schools National B and C Division titles at the Jurong East Sports and Cultural Centre yesterday.

Winning every of their zonal and national games this year, CHIJ came into the finals full of confidence, having already defeated their finals opponents in earlier rounds.

And there were no upsets, as their C Division girls' team duly trounced Dunman Secondary School 34-15 to retain their title.

The B division side had a tougher time against the Singapore Sports School, and were leading by only 19-14 after three quarters.

Coach Kok Mun Wai said after the win that, before the fourth quarter began, she told her team of largely Secondary 4 students: "This is the last 10 minutes of your netball journey with CHIJ, you have to leave the court with no regrets."

That stirring team talk spurred the girls to a brilliant fourth quarter, as they won 31-16 to regain the trophy which they lost last year to Methodist Girls' School.

It was not always so smooth-sailing for the CHIJ girls.

The C Division team, for instance, were a bickering side early in the season, as team-mates made their displeasure vocal whenever passes and runs went awry. But with captain Claudia Yip encouraging them to clear up all misunderstandings before the end of each training, the team eventually overcame their differences.

The B Division girls had to do without captain Tay Hui Hoon, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear last year.

Still, she attended every training session and match, saying: "I wanted the team to know that I am always there for them, and will support them all the way."


This article was first published on April 22, 2015.
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