Story by Iman Hashim/Red Sports. Photos by Ryan Lim/Red Sports

St. Hilda's Secondary Team A beat Shuqun Secondary in straight sets (25-18, 25-21) to finish unbeaten over eight games. (Photo 1 © Ryan Lim/Red Sports)

St. Hilda’s Secondary Team A beat Shuqun Secondary in straight sets (25-18, 25-21) to finish unbeaten over eight games. (Photo 1 © Ryan Lim/Red Sports)

Jurong West Sports Centre, Sunday, June 26, 2016 — Two days of volleyball competition saw VolleySports and St. Hilda’s Secondary Team A emerge champions in the under-18 and u-14 categories respectively at the Singapore Youth Olympic Festival (SYOF).

Volleyball is one of a record 11 sports making up the SYOF this year. The other sports are athletics, 3-on-3 basketball, badminton, fencing, football 7s, rugby 7s, sailing, shooting, table tennis, and taekwondo.

A total of 12 teams took part in the u-18 boys category while eight teams fought it out in the u-14 category.

VolleySports retained their u-18 title after defeating Presbyterian High School Team A 2-0 (25-20, 25-16) in the final, ending the competition with a perfect 6-0 win-loss record.

The VolleySports team is made up of 16 to 18-year-olds from various schools, which include Shuqun, Evergreen, Queensway and Anderson Secondary.

Said VolleySports captain Terry Chua, 17, a Secondary Five student in Shuqun Secondary, “We basically just formed this team three weeks ago – we only trained for three weeks – so I think we are satisfied with the result. We targeted to be champions, but I didn’t really expect it, so in the end I’m happy.”

When asked about the level of competition at SYOF, he continued, “It was quite competitive, still can play like those in schools. Because I’m in Sec 5 already, never play volleyball already, so it’s good that I can still play competitively.”

Terry played for Shuqun’s B Division team earlier this year, coming in second in the West Zone and making the top eight in the Nationals.

In the u-14 boys’ final, St. Hilda’s Secondary Team A beat Shuqun Secondary in straight sets (25-18, 25-21) to finish unbeaten over eight games.

Said St. Hilda’s captain Maximilian Chua, 14, “We did quite well, and we expected the gold because we put in our best in training and in every game, no matter what opponents we faced.”

The St. Hilda’s team was using the SYOF tournament as preparation leading up to the C Division season starting the following week. Last year, the St. Hilda’s C Division team emerged champions in East Zone and came in third in the Nationals.

On his hopes for the upcoming C Division competition, Maximilian remarked, “We will work hard in our trainings, and we hope that we will play well in all our games.”

U-18 Boys VolleySports Roster
Sansalian John Harinel Sion, Terry Chua, Gordon Chuang, Tan Long Jun, Darren Ng, Brandon Chng, Espinal Louise Cyrille Alger, Chua Wei Hong, Teo Kok Chun, Yeo Jia Liang, Chew Min Feng, Tan Le Ye, Julian Teo, Lim Pin Xian, Donovan Seah, Tan Yu Xuan

U-14 Boys St. Hilda’s Team A Roster
Maximilian Chua, Lester Chua, Avan Cheah, Ryan Tan, Jaron Lee, Chen Jian Xin, Christoph Chan, Kanzen Ong

More photos next page