Heep Yunn extended their winningInterschool basketball giant Heep Yunn School emerged as the girls’ champion yet again at the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Interschool Basketball Competition (Division One) held on Wednesday, extending their winning streak to the 15th consecutive year.
Heep Yunn went head to head with Po Kok Secondary School in the final, and it was clear the defending champion had the upper hand in the entire match. While the team had lost a few tall players since last year, such as Yannie Chan Yan-man and Karen Lau Fong-ying who graduated in the summer, their defence remained solid, making it difficult for Po Kok to catch them off-guard. The dream team was able to establish a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and ended the first half 28-11.
Although Po Kok worked hard to narrow the gap in the second half, Heep Yunn’s dominance remained unshaken, with team captain Ng Yan-tung scoring six points in a row to further stretch the lead to 43-25.
With the champion’s trophy pretty much in their grasp, the team sent out an all-Form-Six lineup in the last three minutes, allowing the final-year students to enjoy their last time playing for Heep Yunn on the interschool stage. They eventually achieved a landslide victory of 58-31 over Po Kok, reasserting their place as the unbeatable champion in school-level basketball.
Ng Yan-tung of Heep Yunn scored the most points in the match, adding 18 points to the scoreboard. She told the media after the match that leading the team interschool glory was a big relief, as she had felt under pressure to measure up to the team’s high expectations.
“As the team captain, I felt like I had a lot of weight on my shoulders. But I’m very happy that the new defence strategies worked well, and we were able to win with speed, rather than rely purely on the advantage of height,” Yan-tung said.
The 17-year-old described playing alongside other Form Six players in the last quarter as a “special moment”, and one that would become a fond memory.
She added that she was particularly proud of the performance of fellow Form Six player Leung Ho-suet, who tore her cruciate ligament two years ago and has since been plagued by injuries. Ho-suet scored an incredible three-pointer in the last quarter that pushed the Heep Yunn crowd to a fever pitch.
“I was very nervous and scared before the match. I really wanted to play, but I didn’t want to let my injury affect the match result,” Ho-suet said. “I must thank my teammates, coaches, the physiotherapist and our fans for their support. I couldn’t have made it without their encouragement.”