This year Northbridge International School, Cambodia welcomed 7 other international schools from across South East Asia to compete in the annual Nord Anglia Games 2018.
The participating schools were;
24 students (12 boys, 12 girls) represented each school team and competed in a two-day tournament of non-stop teeball and basketball games.
These 12 girls trained extremely hard, four times a week for 3 months, developing their knowledge and practical skills in teeball and basketball ready for the NA Games 2018 tournament. The majority of these girls had never played these two sports before, however, this did not stop them! They chose to step out of their comfort zone, take on a challenge and try something new and along this journey they became stronger, fitter, wiser and formed some great friendships!
BIS HCMC played a total of 5 games. After 4 consecutive victories, the girls team were on a winning streak and straight in to the final. In the final, BIS HCMC were up against STA. The girls played a challenging but successful game – some fantastic teeballing skills were displayed, particularly BIS HCMC’s fielding skills – they were scoring single and double outs! STA were also very strong at fielding and batting. Unfortunately for BIS HCMC, the final score was 14-11 to STA. Nevertheless, BIS HCMC were Silver Medallists – an amazing achievement.
The basketball tournament was physically and mentally tough. The games consisted of non-stop action! The score of each game was grippingly close.
The results from these 5 games meant that BIS HCMC finished in 3rd place and were awarded the Bronze medal for basketball!
Congratulations girls, you should all be so proud of yourselves!
Ngoc was our Captain for basketball – the play maker of each game. When Ngoc was on top form, there was no stopping her. The opposition were intimidated by her strength, power and skill, particularly her dribbling and shooting skills! When Ngoc was on the court, the team were at ease as she played with passion and confidence, creating endless attacking opportunities, as well as working tirelessly and bravely on defence!
As the Catcher for teeball, Ngoc proved herself to be one of the top teeball performers on the field, often catching challenging balls from the in and out fielders and stopping the opposition from running ‘home’!
Before the training started for this tournament, Lulu had never played basketball and teeball before. During the competition, you would never have believed this! In basketball, Lulu’s strength was running in to space under the basket and reaching up to receive high passes from the team. Due to her height being a massive advantage, Lulu was able to shoot the ball comfortably into the basket on numerous occasions, as well as frequently win rebounds! Well done for stepping out of your comfort zone and working so hard Lulu!
Suri was feisty and fierce on the teeball pitch and basketball court. When long, hard balls were hit off the tee, Suri would approach the ball at speed, stop the ball and accurately throw it to the infield players, often preventing the other team from scoring runs!
On the basketball court, Suri was agile, versatile and never ever gave up. Suri was an inspiration to this team!
Ella has been a huge asset to this team. Her athleticism has shined through in both sports. She is without doubt the fastest girl on the team which was an essential benefit when running a Home Run on the teeball pitch and leaping up high and fast in the air to win rebounds on the basketball court. Ella proved it was difficult for her opponents to defend her in basketball due to her speedy agility skills.
Gia Han was a focused and calm sportsperson throughout the whole competition. Under extreme pressure Gia Han proved that she could consistently perform well both on the teeball pitch and on the basketball court. Because Gia Han had the ability to remain attentive during competition, Mr Lamech and I chose her to be the last batter for teeball. Many of the teeball games were close in score and if it wasn’t for Gia Han remaining calm and composed, hitting the ball with control, accuracy and power, the team would not have scored as highly! Super effort Gia Han.
Sara has performed incredibly well in both teeball and basketball. Sara was competitive and always eager to try her absolute best! Despite how big and strong the opposition were, Sara gave it her all and was fearless!
Sara’s strength of the tournament was basketball – her defence skills were strong and aggressive, she often won the ball by stealing it from the opponents’ hands. Her dribbling skills were brilliant – driving in to space confidently before passing the ball well, creating shooting opportunities for the team. An amazing effort Sara!
Kyuin was the team’s 2nd base fielder in teeball – an active and pressured position to play! Kyuin was able to stop and catch the ball efficiently which demonstrated superb reaction and hand-eye coordination skills. Kyuin connected with her team players extremely well and also showed fantastic teeball knowledge throughout the tournament. Due to her great fielding skills, she was able to stump out many of her opponents at 2nd base! Brilliant job done Kyuin!
Sabrina was chosen to be the teeball Captain as she demonstrated great leadership, knowledge and skill throughout the 3 months of training. Playing the Pitcher position required a clear understanding of the game, confidence, rapid reaction skills and the ability to throw and catch the ball consistently well. Sabrina often managed to step up to this expectation and achieve her goal on the teeball pitch!
On the basketball court Sabrina was able to move effectively in to space with speed, receive the ball under the basket and attempt to shoot, occasionally scoring! A valued team player – well done Sabrina!
Celina was already an experienced teeball player, however she had never played basketball before. Celina chose to step out of her comfort zone and take on a new challenge of learning and practising a new sport. Mr Lamech and I were most impressed with Celina’s accurate and effective passing skills on the basketball court. Moreover, in teeball, Celina’s consistent ability to field the ball successfully and stop runners from progressing on to the base she was in charge of – 3rd base, was outstanding! Excellent effort Celina!
April has shown passion and determination throughout training and at the NA Games tournament. This is the first basketball and teeball tournament that April has ever played and it has been amazing to see her develop her knowledge and practical skills in both sports to a good level. April has progressed well due to her love for enquiring, discovering and persevering with new challenges. Congratulations April.
Sarah was our 1st base fielder for teeball – a crucial and pressured position to play. Sarah’s ability to consistently catch the ball at various heights and speed was excellent! Being able to accomplish this skill in training is one thing but to apply these skills effectively in a real game under real pressure was astonishing!
Sarah was also a huge asset on the basketball court. She was able to discreetly create space and freely shoot at the basket. The ball may not have always gone in, however chances were created! A superb effort Sarah!
Casi’s enthusiasm and love for sport has constantly been displayed over the past 3 months. Due to her determination, Casi has progressed amazingly in both teeball and basketball, making her coaches very proud!
Casi played as an outfielder in teeball as she demonstrated strength, control, accuracy and power when throwing the ball far, back to the infielders, not to mention her fast reactive skills when stopping the ball from being hit past her!
On the basketball court, Casi was always the most vocal player which undoubtedly encouraged the team to keep moving in to space, persevere and remain confident on the ball. A fantastic effort Casi!
Ms Lindsey and Mr Lamech, PE Teachers
Prepared to withstand all eventualities in the game, trained in their positions and set plays, our BIS Boys squad had the belief and understanding that only working as a unified team, would we progress through this tournament.
The British School Yangon was the first team to face us. They proved a tougher opposition than was expected. However, our boys took the lead, and held it throughout, eventually winning 12-6.
Game 2 pitted us against our ‘cousins’ in the north BVIS Hanoi. A rock solid organised defence saw us edge comfortably past them 12-2.
Our final group game had us drawn against the host school, Northbridge. A big crowd of home supporters boosted the intensity of the game, giving our boys team their first real test. Scores swung to and fro, but as the game wore on and the crowd and players became tired, our team stayed strong to pull away and win 15-6.
And so to the semi-finals and BIS Hanoi! This proved to be a nervy cautious game as both teams knew all was at stake. Chances were few and mistakes were plenty, but slowly our well organised squad of players ground out a much deserved win 8-0.
The Grand Final proved a mammoth game! One they will talk about for many days to come. The final hurdle was St. Andrews School, Bangkok. They too were a very organised outfit, with many players able to screen, block, and rough up our pattern of play. Whilst previous results showed that STA were a high scoring team, they suddenly found it much tougher against us and they were visibly shaken. They took the lead, and held it. We pegged them slowly back, and with the help of an ‘own-basket’, we had dramatically held them to an 8-8 draw by the final whistle! Extra time ensued, and finally STA’s experience proved stronger than our resolute teamwork and our boys went down 10-13. But the reaction from the crowd said it all. As the STA parents celebrated from the sidelines, the remaining supporters from the 6 other schools, and our own contingent of vocal and loyal parents came wave after wave onto the court to commiserate and congratulate our 12 warriors who had battled the odds and come away with pride and dignity.
Dare I say, a more relaxed day!?
Again, the boys had put in a huge amount of training for this tournament. Fielding looked sharp, batting was consistent with a handful of big hitters. Bring it on!
Our first three group games witnessed our boys repeatedly demonstrate strong batting, big hits, calm and accurate fielding, and outstanding knowledge of the game with timely tagging and double plays.
The semi-final saw us play against Regents School, Pattaya, and as always a tougher affair. However, some fantastic fielding from the BIS boys in the first innings only required us to get one Regents player out on their second innings to guarantee victory. This was easily accomplished by their second batter, and our boys (and supporters) could then relax and enjoy the rest of the game.
Once again the Grand Final matched us with St Andrews, Bangkok. We knew this would be a tough one.
Both teams demonstrated some exceptional fielding with clean, crisp pickup and throws, and jaw-dropping catches, which reduced the runs to a low scoring game. The tension and pressure was building… again BIS kept STA’s score down in the second innings requiring only half our team to score to win. And once again the STA team produced a fine display of fielding, resulting in our last batter to have to hit a home run. Pressure.. tension.. drama.. nerves.. this game had it all. And with many of these children experiencing this in such an environment, emotions were high, leading to three strikes and a very, very narrow 12-13 loss.
These Games had it all. It was an emotional rollercoaster for children, coaches and supporters alike!
Wins, draws, and losses… highs and lows… but the most memorable thing was the way our 24 athletes represented our school. They performed with teamwork and passion, they won with dignity, they lost with grace.
We are very proud of every single one of them.
Mr Simon and Mr Richard, PE Teachers
101 Thao Dien Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Junior Campus
225 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Secondary Campus
246 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
