| James Kon |
ST ANDREW’S School basketball team got off to a winning start after crushing Menglait Secondary School 59-21 in the Easyway Inter-School Basketball Cup Championship yesterday. Seri Mulia Sarjana School were humbled by International School Brunei (ISB) 82-70.
Seventeen secondary schools’ basketball teams are vying to become the best basketball team among secondary schools in the country through the competition.
Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman yesterday officiated the launch of the basketball championship. Also in attendance were Kwang Ming Heng, Chairman of the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) and other members of the association as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Education.
The six-day tournament is jointly organised by the Department of Co-Curriculum Education of the Ministry of Education and BBA, and Jamalul Alam Secondary School (SMJA) as the host school for this year. The tournament will see two categories (boys and girls) with the boy’s category split into two groups.
Group ‘A’ comprised SMJA, Chung Ching Secondary School, Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College (MSPSBS), Sultan Sharif Ali Secondary School, Sengkurong Sixth Form Centre (PTES), and Meragang Sixth Form Centre (PTEM).
Yayasan School, ISB, Seri Mulia Sarjana School, Maktab Duli, St Andrew’s School and Menglait Secondary School make up Group ‘B’. The girl’s category include SMJA, Maktab Duli, PTEM, PTES and ISB.
Brendon Chen, Chairman of the organising committee in his opening address highlighted the benefits of sports and education quoting John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basic dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”
He added, “The fact is when a person is physically active, their body goes into a flight mode. This response releases endorphins called Brain Derived Neurotropic factor which can give you the ability to think more clearly. I am not saying playing basketball will make you smarter, but most of my former players have gone on to have successful careers.”
Brendon Chen also stressed the benefits of playing basketball as a motivational tool, building discipline, respect and accountability.
The Minister of Education received a token of appreciation from the Chairman of BBA, and tossed the ball in the middle of the court marking the first tip off for the game between ISB and Seri Mulia Sarjana School.
Meanwhile, in the girls’ category, SMJA were crushed by Maktab Duli 65-8. PTEM managed a win by two points against PTES with 16-14, and ISB edged Maktab Duli 29-22.
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