SUniG 2016: NTU scores two titles so far

By Ignatius Koh, Sports Editor

BREAKING THE DUCK: NTU’s Kan Wei Huat dribbles past a Singapore Management University opponent en route to a first title in four years. PHOTO: WONG FOO LAM

NTU’s sports teams have secured two championships and three second-place finishes at the ongoing Singapore University Games (SUniG), with the women’s basketball team bringing home the title for the eighth consecutive year.

The women’s basketball team trounced the Singapore Institute of Technology 71-27 at National University of Singapore (NUS) on 13 Sep.

Despite several players having national team commitments that forced them to miss trainings, team captain Yukie Yoshida, 26, said the team managed to retain their title by improving their on-field communication.

“In the beginning we lacked chemistry but it got better throughout the campaign as we talked things out after each game, which helped our plays,” said the final-year Sport Science and Management (SSM) student.

Sharing the limelight was the men’s basketball team, who won their first title in four years after beating Singapore Management University 80-69 at NUS on 15 Sep.

“The toughest challenge was picking ourselves up after losing our first match (against Singapore Institute of Management),” said team captain Sean Hoo, 22, a third-year SSM student. “But we showed mental fortitude to come back, and we trusted each other to play as a team in the subsequent games.”

NTU finished first runner-up in cross country, and men’s and women’s handball.

The cross country team finished behind NUS in the overall standings for the second straight year on 10 Sep despite the men’s team closing the gap from 20 to two points.

Overall team captain Lester Tan, 22, praised his team’s determination in the competition.

“I think it was a job well done on the women’s part to come in first and second – one of them sprained her hip in the last hundred metres but managed to finish – and the men, who bridged the gap between us and NUS,” said Tan, a second-year School of Humanities and Social Sciences student.

Both the men’s and women’s handball teams lost to home side NUS 35-22 and 26-20 respectively on 13 Sep.

“We were trying to retain the title but we couldn’t handle the pressure. I guess that it can be down to having poor chemistry and panicking during the final game against NUS,” said women’s team captain Zhong Xin Jing, 22, a final-year student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

The SUniG started on 31 Aug and will last till 14 Oct.