By Lee Hwee Cheng

 © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School

ACS(I), Monday, March 19, 2007 – Here’s a quick score update from the first round of the Nationals ‘B’ Boys Water Polo National Championships.

Game One:  ACS(I) beat ACS(BR) 7-6
Game Two:  Hwa Chong beat SAS 28-0
Game Three:  RI beat Outram 20-3

On a warm, humid afternoon that was marred by rain for a moment, all six teams that proceeded directly into the National ‘B’ Boys Water Polo Championships fought their first battles of the season in the pool of the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) at Dover Road.

Some victories came easy, others not.

In the very first match-up that incidentally pitted the two water polo giants against each other, ACS(I) needed all 24 minutes of the game to edge out their brother school Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) with a hard-fought 7-6 win.

The ACS(I) boys in blue caps looked, most times, the more aggressive and confident team.  Displaying better teamwork and morale, the boys executed faster and more accurate passes, making more confident plays that sent more shots on target toward the goal.  There was never any hesitation in their hand-eye execution. What impressed was that despite the fierce defence that would have sent any one of us struggling just to stay afloat, never mind whatever tackles that took place underwater, the blue-capped ACS(I) boys answered with a fiercer attack.  It was not much of an issue that the boys hardly verbally communicate during the play – they just seemed to know where to find one another. By half-time, ACS(I) were leading 4-1.

The Barker boys in white, on the other hand, started out looking a little overpowered in the aggression stakes initially. Putting up a strong defence in the first half, with many saves from their goalkeeper, the ACS(BR) boys managed to stop many more ACS(I) shots from being converted into goals. 

Ironically, it was the downpour that started during the third quarter that seemed to finally warm the ACS(BR) boys up.  After a quick opening goal from the opposition that caused them to trail 5-1 for a short moment, something seemed to have pressed their “Power” buttons.  The ACS(BR) boys took over centre stage in the remaining minutes of Quarter 3, proving they possessed equal, if not more, confidence and capability to make powerful, quick passes and shots.

Keeping the opponents to another mere goal while scoring four impressive goals themselves, the ACS(BR) fought back to a 6-5 score by the end of the third quarter.

Raoul of ACS (BR) in action against ACS (I). © Leslie Tan

As the final six minutes of the game proceeded, ACS(I) continued to face fierce opposition from the ACS(BR) defence compounded by a sudden stroke of poor luck when they mised three shots in a row. Their luck turned however when their no.9 executed an unexpected skip shot that caught the goalie by surprise and made its way into the net to increase their lead by two goals.

As the minutes wore down to the last second, it became a game of defence for ACS(I) as they fought to maintain their lead.  Defenders stuck to their men, pounced on every ball in their opposition’s possession, and made many foul calls in the process.  The ACS(BR) boys never let up in their fight, swimming up and down, keeping up their defence and then going for another goal at the opposite end.  Their efforts eventually paid off when their no.2 found an open shot and made an unexpected yet spectacular lob over the stunned ACS(I) goalie.  With only about a minute left in the game, the Barker Road boys chased their opponents down to only a one-goal deficit.

The final minute of the game was probably the most exhausting moment for both teams.  Time was perhaps the only factor that could have changed the result of the game, and it unfortunately was not in ACS(BR)’s favor. 

The first game for the day and the most exciting one, ended with ACS(I) taking the game with a close 7-6 win.

ACS(BR) get ready to resume play. © Leslie Tan

If the ACS boys exemplified the extremely gruelling demands of strength and stamina required of water polo players, then the other teams went on to exemplify the other remarkable winning trait of water polo – that the ability to handle and pass the ball flawlessly distinguishes the good teams from the great ones.

In the second game of the day, Hwa Chong Institution (in white caps) strutted their stuff and trounced St Andrew’s Secondary (in blue) in an astounding 28-0 win.  In a game that pitted not only skills but also attitude between the two teams, the HCI boys showed why they were deserving of the win with a very disciplined and confident display of teamwork, making effective passes and showing no sign of complacency at any point of the game.  The SAS boys, with their poor show of physical form and team spirit, could not maintain possession or effect any convincing shot against the opposition.



Saints (in blue cap) were outclassed 28-0 by Hwa Chong Institution. © Leslie Tan, Red Sports

In the third game, Raffles Institution (in white caps) put up an equally strong performance of excellent skills and confidence when they beat Outram Secondary (in blue) 20-3/ The Outram boys, putting up a good fight but lacking in stamina and a more rounded line-up, displayed a commendable fight, never lacking in spirit or determination towards the goal.

It was probably a rhetorical question but both HCI’s captain Davin (no.3) and RI’s captain and top-scorer Brandon (no.7) unanimously regard the Anglo-Chinese boys as the strongest contenders for the tournament when asked whom they thought would win the water polo title.

Needless to say too, all our eyes are on these Big Four.

The next game for all teams takes place Wednesday, 21 March 2007 at ACS(I).

Hwa Chong Institution face Raffles Institution. ACS(I) will meet SAS while ACS(BR) will play Outram.



  Outram’s no. 9 Nathanael Tan fights for possession of the ball.  © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School




  Outram’s Sebastian Tay attempts to make a pass.  © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School




  © Kennie Pan, student photographer from New Town Secondary School



HCI vs Saints. © Leslie Tan, Red Sports



© Leslie Tan, Red Sports

If you recognise yourself or your team mates, please tell us your name. We realised that in every game, everybody wore the same two sets of coloured caps and we couldn’t figure out who was who after awhile