Fantastic Results at Senior Games

Our Senior Boys and Girls Football and Basketball teams recently competed in the Senior Games. To say that we were competitive would be an understatement! With senior teams that also featured a large number of U15 players our teams performed well above expectations. In a very competitive international field the senior boys football team played with great tenacity to come 3rd overall. Mr Dusting has written match reports for the girls and boys basketball teams below.

Team GV Senior Girls basketball were handed a tough draw and an especially tough start against BISP who would eventually go on to win the tournament. True to form though the girls battled them for every point and made sure their defensive game was on point. Niki and Jiwon locked down the paint but offensively the Panthers just fell short. Next up was a thrilling encounter with local rivals ISE but again the girl's organised and aggressive defense held off a late fightback from ISE, Feem and Jade ensuring their guards could not fully drag them back into the game. The Panthers held on for a nail biting 14-13 win. The match unfortunately took too much out of them and St Stephens Bangkok capitalised on this for the win. The girls finished strongly by ensuring their dominance of the Eastern Seaboard schools continued by cruising past Garden and Regents. In the final two games Jade excelled in the front court and Panthers player of the tournament Feem dominated the midcourt as she did all day, never giving opposition teams an inch to play their game and making sure that she kept the Team GV motion offence flowing with effective passes. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to challenge for medal places in a very tight competition.

On Sunday the boys were full of confidence from their superb efforts on the football field. The first game was a tough prospect against a very tall and physical BISP team. The boys were incredible and were the embodiment of the basketball phrase 'heart over height' as John and Mike fearlessly drove through the Phuket defense. Wes at centre grabbed what felt like every rebound and comfortably scored over their towering forwards. Against the odds the boys had a lead going into the final minutes however luck and refereeing decisions swung the balance of play towards Phuket and the boys lost by a single point. Almost straight away the Panthers were up against eventual winners STA Bangkok. The physically draining previous game took its toll and they lost the match up. After the break Team GV had the chance to let younger players shine against Regents B and they grabbed the chance. Mads creating his own highlights reel with some great assists, blocks and lay ups. The boys just fell short of the semi finals but the core of the team remains for next year and promise to come back stronger and more experienced.