Sepak Takraw - Hall 6 vs Hall 12

Published by Publications Team | Filed under Sepak Takraw

Score: 22-20, 19-21, 21-14 (Hall 12 Wins)

Sepak Takraw Preliminary Round (Winners’ Bracket)

Lost 1-2

Heading into the match-up against hall 12 without several key players, Hall 6 knew that this was going to be touch and go. On paper though, the line-ups did look promising. But alas, it was not our night.

1^st Regu (set) (Juffry, Liu Chang, Lv Xing)

This was pretty much a done deal. Hall 12 clearly lacked the bite the needed to inflict damage upon us. And Juffry, as usual, was in electrifying form. He almost single-handedly took down the entire set on his own. This is not to say that Liu Chang and Lv Xing sat back and watched the show. Indeed, they did their part by popping a couple of good returns to keep the game alive and made some good saves. Credit however, must still go to Juffry, who controlled the tempo of the game to perfection and claimed point after point with his headers to the far corners. Hall 12 did manage a last minute rally when they were down 20-16, and forced the game to be decided by a deuce. But it was too little too late, and Hall 6 won the first regu, 22-20.

2^nd Regu (Naim, Dino, Najib)

Dino was oozing in style clad in a shorts over tights ensemble. And with his long legs, he made the perfect choice for a Tekong (person in the centre who starts the serve). The well coordinated trio excited the crowd with their precise shots and teamwork. It certainly looked like we were through to the quarters seeing them on the court. The left and right insides, Najib and Naim were full of tricky headers that just skimmed past the net to the near corners earning valuable points to give Hall 6 a good lead at the start 11-7. Hall 12 again lacked the killer instinct and opted to hang on by just getting the ball over the net and hoping for our guys to make unforced errors. Dreadfully though, that tactic worked. And Hall 12 caught up to even the score at 13-13. That served as a wake-up call to the guys who rallied on and gained a good 5 point lead to make the score 18-15. Just three more points to the quarters! And then it happened again. Our lads lost focus and gave up the lead in unceremonious fashion. With their occasional potshots, Hall 12 had yet again tied the score. This time it was 19-19. And before they knew what hit them, after 2 poor attempts to save the serves from Hall 12, our lads dropped 2 more points to concede the set. Final score 19-21.

3^rd Regu (KaiJian, Paul, PingXing)

This was the tie-breaker. The deciding round. Both teams kept it simple and started off by producing just enough to keep the ball in the air. It was a close match in the beginning with not more than 3 points separating both teams. At 7-7, Hall 12 took a commanding lead. Our guys couldn’t take the pelting by the Hall 12 team and dropped 8 points to make the score 8-15 in favor of Hall 12. It was evident that our lads ware rather outclassed in this match-up. What they lacked in showmanship, however, they made up with the typical Hall 6 pit-bull mentality of never giving up even when the chips were down. Our guys erased the score from their heads and fought on. When the score was 8-20, with one more point before Hall 12 ended the encounter, the Hall 6 faithful rallied behind our guys and egged them on. “One point by one point!”, “Keep it steady!”. Our lads heeded our cries and did frustrate the opponents with their dogged attitude and gave them a run for their money. But it just wasn’t our night. The set ended 14-21.

Well, Its not over for the Takraw team. There is still one more match that will decide if we can qualify for the quarters. Good luck guys.

Comments :
Hall 12 has shrieking girls. Actually its this one girl in particular who has a very high-pitched voice and exceptionally irritating. Yannick took photos of her after being asked to do so. If it is uploaded, I shall post it on the forum for all to see.

Also, the support for Takraw was paltry. So sad. Where is everyone? Do come on down guys. Especially for such crucial games. Fans do make a difference. You make a difference. Make the difference.

Story By: Norman