Middle of the table battles

> Men’s basketball fights to climb up the table

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

ie been a tough restart to the year for
the men’s basketball team at Douglas
College. Since the second semester has
started, the Royals have gone 1-3. This
week offered the Royals yet another
challenge, with a match against a top
three team in the Langara Falcons and
a team biting at the Royals’ back in the
Quest Kermodes.

First up to bat was the Falcons. With
a game plan specialized for the Falcons,
the Royals came out of the gates with
a strong performance. Buckets from
multiple Royals saw them start with 27
points compared to the Falcons’ 18. But
the Langara team are in the top three for
a reason, and they found a way to adapt
to the Royals game plan in the second.
They put up 21 of their own points, while
the Royals could only answer with 13. It
couldn't have been tighter going into the
break. The Royals held a one point lead,
40-39.

Going into the second half, not much
changed. The Falcons fell a bit behind, as
the Royals managed their turnovers well
and rebounded to capitalize on a couple of
buckets. Going into the fourth, the Royals
lead the game by five points. But as the
season has shown us so far, holding a lead
is much more challenging than it looks.

In this case, things just fell apart for the
Royals. The Falcons stormed the fourth
quarter and snagged the game back with
22 points. The Royals could only muster 8
on the quarter, and ended up falling to the
Falcons 79-70. As a wise man once said,
the Royals were winning, until they lost.

  

Photo by Davie Wong

The consolation for the Royals would
have to be the strong performance from

their starting line-up. Everyone that

started had 10 or more points on the
night, with Sheldon Derton leading the

team with 15.

That loss pushed the Royals to four

losses in a row with an all-important
match against the Quest Kermodes up
next. The Kermodes were coming into the
match onan even record with the Royals
and were looking to jump ahead of them.

With potential playoff seeding on the
line, the Kermodes looked determined
to get a win. A tough first quarter saw
the Royals drop behind by a four-point
margin. However, the second quarter
more than made up for it, with the Royals
running up the scoreboard for 19 points.
The Quest squad were kept to 9 points
in the quarter, and went into half time
trailing the Royals 30-24.

Coming out of halftime, there was
a sort of all or nothing aura in the air.
Pushing defence to the wayside, both
squads put on a frenzy on the box score.
The Kermodes came ahead of the quarter,
scoring 22 points, while the Royals
drained 21 points of their own. The last
frame of the game was just as tense as the
rest of the match, and was just as close as
well. It came down to the final seconds,
but the Royals were able to hold on and
secure their win, 70-61.

While no one on the Royals squad
had a particularly huge game, everyone
on the starting line-up found ways to
contribute on the score sheet. The five
starting Royals ended up with at least 10
points each, with Grant Campbell leading
the charge with 16.

Sports Around the World: Sepak Takraw

> What could be called Ninja Volleyball

Carlos Bilan
Staff Writer

 

D o you love volleyball? Well, imagine
a sport like that, except you can’t
use your hands and arms to hit the ball.
Youre only allowed to use your feet, legs,
chest, and head to kick or hit the ball. It
does sound kind of like a sport played by
ninjas, right?

Sepak Takraw is a sport that
originated in Southeast Asia. Each
country has its own name for the sport,
which all signify the verb “kick.” According
to Sepak Takraw’s official website, it is
unclear from which country it originated,
making it a topic of historical debate.
However, it is clear that the sport evokes
Southeast Asian cultural traditions, and
throughout the early centuries, people
living in the Philippines, Malaysia,
Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and
Brunei have been engaging in this activity.
In the early ’6os, the nations came to an
agreement, codifying this activity and
turning it into a sport. In this way Sepak
Takraw has been a sport that symbolizes
unity for the Southeast Asian nations.

According to the ISTAF law of
the game, the ball is traditionally
made of rattan, having 12 holes and 20
intersections. It has a circumference of
41-43 centimetres and weighs 170-180
grams for men, and is 42-44 centimetres
and 150-160 grams for women.

The rules are fairly simple, but the
way it is played is the real challenge. The
court design is like volleyball, where there
is a net that divides opposing teams. The

a VOT

  

traditional and popular format is the Regu
format, wherein each team will have five
players; two will be substitutes, and three
will be on the court.

The three players on court
representing their team each play distinct
roles. A team must have a server, a
striker, and a feeder, and all three possess
different skill sets.

The first role is the server, who stands
on the centre with one foot in the serving
circle and the other foot ready to kick the
rattan ball when it’s tossed to them by one
of their teammates. At the service phase,

Photo by Analyn Cuarto

the teammate who tosses the ball to the
server can use their hand, so they toss
strategically to help the server kick a serve
that will be hard for the opposing team
to block. After serving, the server usually
stands at the back and tries to block,
execute volleys, and set the ball for the
other teammates.

The second role is the striker—
also called the killer—who attacks and
counterattacks, blocks incoming spikes
when not in possession of the ball, and
executes killer strikes or smashes.

The third is the feeder, whose role

is to have maximum control of the ball,
which is why the role is given to the most
responsive, agile player in the team. The
feeder’s goal is to set the ball and give
the striker the opportunity to exert their
maximum potential to strike the ball hard
over the net. The feeder should also be
skilled enough to spike the ball as well
when there’s an opportunity for them to
score. Both the feeder and striker usually
stand at the front left side and front right
side of the court near the net.

By this time, the rules of volleyball
apply, because both teams now have to
execute volleys and block using either
feet, legs, chest, and head—yes, you really
can’t use your arms and hands! Scoring in
the Regu format is similar to volleyball, as
a maximum of three touches—not using
the hands of course—is allowed on your
side of the court without the ball hitting
the ground. A match follows the best of
three format, so the first team to win two
sets of 21 points wins the game.

If you watch the most viewed games
on YouTube—usually of recordings in
tournaments at the Asian Games—you
will think that the players are defying
gravity because they do somersaults and
kicks while in the air.

There actually has been an ongoing
effort by the ISTAF to try to make it an
Olympic sport, but it is a requirement
that an Olympic sport must be popular
and played in at least 75 countries around
the world. However, in Canada we have
the Sepak Takraw Association of Canada
and America, so the sport is on course to
attain that goal with growing recognition
overseas.