so close yet so far

as a member of the jv bball team, i went to a bball tournament in hangzhou which lasted from 14-15 of Nov 08.
i would say, this year was a year of amends. last year, our team missed out on qualifying for the top bracket by losing out to SCIS in overtime by 1 point.
this year, with new blood in our team, we were determined to make amends.
14th Nov 08
first match: HIS
we were up against the host, and we had 15 minutes to warm up after a 4 hour bus ride. it was crazy. however, we were up 18-12 with 2 minutes to go before the end. a series of good teamplay and crazy defense saw us rising up against the physically taller, stronger opponents. nothing is impossible. they started fighting back as we started slacking. the score was 18-16 to us with 30 seconds to go. with 20 more seconds to go, the point guard scored an unbelivable fade away jumpshot from zero degrees.
we went to overtime. and during overtime, all i know was that the team morale was so low, that we gave up. we lost by 4 points i think, 20-24? im not sure, but holy shit, this was exactly like our game last year against SCIS. everyone was so depressed. we had it, so close yet so far.
throughout the match, i was given the most time to play, and it was obvious that the coach really believed in me, and was really impressed with my defending. i played 3 quarters straight, rested 2 minutes, then played the remaining of the 4th quarter, and most of the overtime.
dinner was mcdonalds...it was actually not bad...considering how long i havent ate mcdonalds.
the night we found out that if we won our next 2 matches, we would still be able to reach the finals. HIS has won 2 matches, and they need one more to qualify. the idea of meeting HIS in the finals really motivated us. frankly, i thought i was unbelivable later while we were having serious 3v3 at night. me, oscar and luke against coach lee, seong hoon and another person i forgot -.- i had to guard coach lee, and i have no idea how many times he scored in my face. but the truth is, i scored a few in his face too XD aiyooo
shower was a nightmare. the water was so freaking coldddddd! and there was no doors, only curtains. while i was waiting to shower, a guy just pulled open the curtain of a shower only to see a guy naked showering. i believe that was my fastest shower ever, trying to get our of the coldddd water and people pulling the curtains -.-
i called some1 later and i had a good time as the conversation was aiyooo...hahaha. except that shin and ken were acting like a bunch of perverts following me around making weird sounds and comments -.-
slping on the gym floor started out fun as everyone was high. but then things started to get outta hands. i got raped like 3 times by shin while on the phone, and i raped him back aiyooo. then coach hawkes came down and basically ask us to stfu or he will be the one that rapes us.
15th Nov 08
omfg...my whole body is damnnnnn sore. how the hell am i gonna play like that -.-
after more mcdonalds for breakfast...i kinda got sick of it -.-
second match: SUIS
we were all pumped up to kick this team's ass because we wanted to progress to the finals soo bad. turns out we did. 40-20. i scored 8 points, all layups =) i played 1st and 2nd quarter before getting much needed rest and then starting the fourth before we starters are given more rest for the next game.
3rd match:
right after SUIS, we were up against AIAN. the team looks pretty easy to beat, and whilst walking to the match, we were kinda happy that we are playing against such an 'easy' team. their team consists of 1 tall guy, and short guys. turns out we were wrong totally.
the tall guy, no.33 raped us so bad. our big men had such a tough time against him. the score was 12-20 as we enter the fourth quarter. although we did manage to pull it to 20-24, we lost 22-28
i guess my really good layup was my personal highlight. i dribbled past like 2 guys and scored over the tall guy. with a really nice fake at zero degrees. but other than that, it was damn embarrassing. we lost to a team that we thought we could beat due to our cockiness.
lunch came, and the school was selling burgers, hotdogs and stuff. the burger actually tasted good, but it was 20rmb for a small beef burger -.-
and whilst we were half way eating, we kinda found out that our next match is starting in 10 minutes -.- tats just crazy
4th match: FIS
it was freaking scary to play against this team. this team came really close against HIS as well, and they were physically way stronger and bigger than us. their guards were so accurate during warm ups. and their point guard, no.2 was really tricky. throughout the game, our team's really tough defense were able to shut their guards down totally, and they were limited to 7 points. At half time, the score was 11-7 to us. the starters took a rest, and things started to change. no.2 is now introduced to their team, and he was way too much for our second team to handle. they got to as close as 11-10, but then paul's 3 pointer got us up again. at 14-10 and 3 minutes to go, their team started fighting back. our big men, due to fatigue, started letting up rebounds. our guards (me too) started getting tired after playing 3 games straight, and letting their guards getting free shots. we lost by 2 points. 18-20. my god...our team really sucks at keeping a lead. so close yet so far. i scored a really nice layup, the nicest of all i believe. cant describe it but i was fouled whilst scoring. i missed the free throw though -.-
playoff for 3rd and 4th place: FIS
holy shit. we are up against the guys we just played! this match proved to be worse than the previous. we never led, and it was so obvious our team was a team of cripples. the starters and regular subs were dying. seonghoon was so tired that he nearly puked, oscar was dead, paul's left hand is broken, ken's foot is really painful, my ankle is really hurting. we didnt have the energy to fight against them, as they have a wealth of subs, whilst we dont. we lost 13-20? i think.
wat can i say. we came to make amends, but we ended up with more learning. i guess we know that our physical endurance needs to buckle up. i can see from my coaches eyes that they were really proud of us though. we fought towards the end and truth to be told, we were so close yet so far.