WRITTEN BY Stockton Quinn

The ACAMIS boys team wound up taking home silver for the second year straight as they fell to the home team, the Discovery College (DC) Cobras. The game was highly anticipated as it was a showdown between the two strongest teams in the tournament. KAS has been a division power for well over a decade now, as this final was the ninth final appearance in the many years of participation. DC on the other hand is a newcomer to the Green Division, being just promoted from the silver division this year. Proving the general assumption of their limited experience wrong, they went undefeated entering the finals, with the only close game being a 3 point win against KAS.

In the final game, our Dragons fell behind early in the game allowing for a 16 – 4 run by the Cobras before we could respond with a 6-0 run ourselves. Despite the rough battle, the Dragons were not able to close the gap, leading to the eventual 56 to 42 loss. A loss in score does not represent a loss in spirit; throughout the game, our players never ceased fighting, demonstrating what eventually won us the Sportsmanship Award.

Despite being without two starters, Hayashi Shun and Jeremy Wu, the boys team dominated the opposition in the preliminary rounds, winning by an average of 10+ points per game. This tournament was the last for seniors and longtime members of the team Audi Liu, Christian Furness, and Kevin Chu. The latter two later accepted all tournament honours for putting forth great veteran leadership and presence throughout the tournament.

On the girls’ side, the Dragons struggled during the first few games of the tournament, losing to strong, highly experienced opposing teams. Though the core of the team was composed of mainly new, younger members, their learning process showed as they became increasingly confident, bravely slashed through the defenders, and coordinated better as a team. In the 5th – 6th place game, the girls played their best basketball of the season. Holding a slim lead in the final minutes, they used their enhanced experience to bring them to a win. Led by freshman point guard Alice Wang, veteran senior Cindy Kao, and team captain Ericka Wang, the Dragons went on to win their final outing of the season in resounding fashion. Cindy Kao ended up as the leading scorer of the team, with an average of 9 points per game.