SINGAPORE – Bukit Panjang Government High School had a roller-coaster day at the National School Games’ B Division volleyball finals on April 16 to emerge with the girls’ title at Our Tampines Hub.
While their boys’ team succumbed to St Hilda’s Secondary School in a tight 22-25, 25-19, 25-22 final loss, the girls came back from the brink of defeat to subdue defending champions Nanyang Girls’ High School.
Bukit Panjang had to dig deep in the girls’ final, after losing the first set and with the score tied at 23-23 in the second, before prevailing 18-25, 25-23, 25-17.
Captain Samantha Khor, who was proud of the fightback, said she tried to maintain her composure as the team faced the prospect of losing in straight sets.
“I knew that I had to be calm... because if I’m not, then we are all gone.”
On facing the defending champions, she added: “No pressure, it is the last match of my secondary school volleyball journey, so I just wanted to play my best and enjoy it with the team.”
Her coach Ng Peng Cheow credited her resilience, as the 16-year-old played through ankle and neck injuries suffered over the past month.
“Mentally she’s very strong, the team improved and worked really hard,” he said.
Samantha added: “It’s really worth it (when) you play with an injury to become the champion. And when I’m on the court, the pain just goes away.”
Nanyang coach Yap Ah Kuan praised their rivals, saying: “Credit to our opponents, they were daring and we were apprehensive. They deserved their win.”
His captain Lin Kailuo was disappointed at losing their title.
She said: “It’s quite sad but we can’t do anything now. I don’t know why I’m not crying but maybe I’m tearing inside.”
While the Bukit Panjang boys failed at the final hurdle, Ng was full of praise for his players.
“For this batch of boys, they fought hard, and went through a rough time. They started playing well only from the quarter-finals. Previously they lost to St Hilda’s 2-0 and now they are even closer at 2-1. I know they are disappointed but we will come back again. They were mentally strong and sometimes, it really is luck,” he said.
St Hilda’s co-captain Keshon Chiang, 15, admitted that his team had felt nervous in the beginning. He said: “We had a really rocky start. We didn’t work very well together but as the game went on, our mindset changed and we just wanted to win.
“One of our key players was injured before the final, but the other players rose to the challenge and we went forward together.”
His co-captain Jaryl Wong, 16, shared his sentiments: “Our fighting spirit today was really good, how we lost (the first set) and came back together and in the end, we succeeded.”
