Match Day 1 — Australian International School

Images from Match Day 1

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Match Reports

Girls Football

Game 1 vs Hong Kong- Our girls football teams took the field on Day 1 of competition as defending champions from 2017. Our first fixture was a rematch between our finals opponent from last year Hong Kong. We came out a bit rusty and gave up an early goal to the opposition and went into the half down 0-1. Despite playing better football in the 2nd half, a couple of mental lapses cost us a further two goals and we eventually went down 0-3.

Game 2 vs Sharjah- Our girls came out determined to redeem themselves after first round loss. Our boys team arrived to cheer on the girls and the energy immediately lifted. We took the field vs Sharjah and came out firing scoring two early goals and went into the half fired up and up 2-0. We closed out the match by scoring one more goal and sealing the victory 3-0.

Game 3 vs VISS- We took the field in game 3 in the heat of the scorching desert sun. It took all our energy and resilience to play the game out. The only thing that kept us going was the drive to qualify for the Gold Medal game and with seconds remaining in the first half, we found that elusive goal. The second half was all about defending and maintaining possession. When the final whistle sounded, we were a combination of thrilled and exhausted, relieved in the knowledge we had done enough to make the final.

Girls playing in Gold Medal game vs Hong Kong at 11:10am

Girls Touch

Game 1 vs Malaysia- Our girls came out firing in game 1 against Malaysia also as defending champs from 2017. We took an an opponent in Malaysia who we didn't meet at last year's AIS Games. After a slow start due to most of our still digesting dinner from last night, we found our groove and put down a couple of tries and went into the half up 2-0. We defended well and picked up our game in the 2nd half by finding gaps in their defence and turning our defense into offense by reading the play and scoring off a couple of interceptions. We closed out the match winning 6-0.

Game 2 vs Hong Kong- With no time in between games, we match up with a familiar foe in Hong Kong. The game started brilliantly with an early intercept in the first 30 seconds putting us up 1-0. Fatigue got the better of us and the heat got to our heads and we gave up 4 tries to Hong Kong going down 4-1. We have two more games today knowing that we have a chance to redeem ourselves in the second half of the day.

Game 3 vs Hong Kong- An improved result from our first match with Hong Kong. Played much better going down 1-3 and feeling good about our chances when we meet next.

Game 4 vs Malaysia- Managed to keep it together and finish off Malaysia with a 6-1 win to seal a date with Hong Kong in the Gold Medal game!

Girls playing in Gold Medal game vs Hong Kong at 12:50pm

Boys Basketball

Game 1 vs VISS- We took on the home town school VISS in our first match of the AISA Games 2018. The first half started with us in control of the game. Our shots were falling, we dictated the play on the defensive end and took a commanding double digit lead at half time. In our second half, the communication died down resulting in a few turn overs and we definitely let our teammates down. VISS managed to mount a 6 point come back in the last few minutes and scored a heartbreaking layup in the last 5 seconds of the game to rip the game from our hearts. We have three more games today and are fired up to get our first win of the tournament.

Game 2 vs Hong Kong- After a disappointing loss in our first game, we couldn't quite get it together for round 2. Hong took the lead early and maintained it throughout. We got to within 2 points late in the piece but couldn't bridge the gap. 0-2 to start our campaign.

Game 3 vs Malaysia- We finally started playing the brand of basketball we knew we were capable of. A convincing 34-12 victory over Malaysia has kept our chances alive but we are now reliant on other results.

Game 4 vs Sharjah- With the cards falling the way they did, we had no way of qualifying for the gold medal game so we went at Sharjah who were both the host school and undefeated with a 3-0 card. We just clicked from the very start and our game plan was executed perfectly. We shut down their team's best player and put together a solid team effort. Singapore 52 defeat Sharjah 38. They were stunned but we were left wishing we could have that first game back.

Boys playing in Bronze Medal game vs Hong Kong at 11:50am

Swimming

We have one female athlete competing in the individual events at the games. Perle Kenderes entered the 200m free and managed to win her first race of the day. Next up was the 50m Breaststroke which was hotly contested by Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Perle finished 3rd in this race by just a few milliseconds. Her final race was a 50m backstroke which was just as close as the last one where Perle managed to snag 2nd place. Perle's last event of the session was the 100m Freestyle in which she came 1st. Perle had a large contingent of supporters mostly from the netball team. We also put together a relay team made up of Scar, Perle, Kaylee and Hannah.

Girls Basketball

We dominated the play and the opposition in every single one of our games. Each game was won by over 20 points and we are off to the Gold Medal game feeling great about our chances for back to back gold from Jakarta in 2017.

Girls playing in Gold Medal game vs Hong Kong at 11:50am

Boys Football

Game 1 vs VISS- After spending the morning supporting other teams, it was great to get onto the pitch and play our first game against the hometown school in VISS. After a cautious first half, we found our groove and managed to pull off a 2-0 victory

Game 2 vs Hong Kong- A very physical affair was always on the cards agains our rivals Hong Kong. After working our way to a somewhat comfortable 2-0 lead, our Northern neighbours scored one to make things tight. Our defense held firm and we move on to our last game 2-0.

Game 3 vs Sharjah- In what was the most crucial game of the tournament for us, we somehow pulled off a 2-1 come from behind victory over the host school. A brilliant set piece from an indirect free kick was followed by the winning goal from our Captain to seal our spot in the Gold Medal game and a date with destiny!

Boys playing in Gold Medal game vs Hong Kong at 2:10pm

Boys Touch

After supporting our fellow AIS Games Teammates for most of the day, it was our turn to take the pitch in the mid afternoon. We lost our first game to Hong Kong but managed to win our next two games vs Sharjah and Malaysia. We're feeling confident about chances agains Hong Kong who we met in the final last year.

Boys playing in Gold Medal game vs Hong Kong at 10:40am

Girls Netball

We arrived at the AIS Games in Sharjah as the defending champs from 2017 and we certainly put everyone on notice early on about our intentions for 2018. 20-30 + point wins agains VISS, Malaysia and Sharjah saw us head into our finals rematch from last year against Hong Kong in the very last game of the day. Hong Kong as they have in previous years, got the jump on us early on and we could never quite get past that 3 point spread. What has now happened is that it has set up a classic gold medal showdown for Saturday morning!

Girls playing in Gold Medal game vs Hong Kong at 10:00am