Basketball update

Nagoya International School (NIS)

Kansai Christian School (KCS) Boys Basketball team is at the Small School Tourney this weekend in Nagoya.  (3 hours from our school).  Yesterday we won the games against Hiroshima and Hokkaido (pretty convincingly). The evening brought a game against NIS (Nagoya) Junior Varsity team.  We won.  Giving us 1st place in our pool which means we secured at least 4th place out of 8. 


Now there are games today (Saturday), In the other pool KIU (Kyoto) beat, NIS varsity (Nagoya).  So KCS will play NIS this morning. These are 2 of the top ranking teams in the division so it promises to be a tough game. If we win, we go to the Championship game later today.    


Our school is the smallest school in the tourney. Twelve of the 13 boys in our high school play on the team.  Six of them are seniors so this is a BIG year for Basketball at our school.  The coach, Mr. M. Dugan is an alumni from KCS too.  


Wishing I could be there in person to see history happen, to cheer everyone on and to help take stats. But I'm hosting a Jr. High Girl's Night at my house tonight so I'm cheering from afar and checking  frequently for updates.  I'll try to post updates when I receive them.


We received 4th place.


Updated 1/30/12  - Quoted from the KCS Athletic Director. . . 

"Yes, some of you have heard that KCS ended up with a 4th-place finish out  of 8 teams.

This doesn't sound so good, but the coaches and athletic directors agreed that the top 4 teams were so close.  One long-time basketball coach and principal of the Hokkaido team said that if any 2 teams played 10 games, they would likely win 5 each.

 

The final ranking was:

1.  NIS      We lost to NIS by 4 points  26-22, which is less points than over 10 points that KIU lost to NIS in the final.  We found out that this is the first basketball tournament, boys or girls, that Nagoya has won in its 50 its years.

2. KIU       KIU beat NIS by one point in overtime, but then the next game they lost to NIS by over 10.  During the season, we beat KIU 2 out of 3 times.  We didn't have a chance to play them in the tournament.

3.  Hokkaido   The first day, we beat Hokkaido 37-31, then today, they beat us, 34-31

4. KCS        

 

So, we can say that the teams have a mutual respect for one another and we had a good memorable time.  Also, Coach M took the opportunities given through the tournament by giving the players good, spiritual input not only applicable to the game, but also to life.  Thanks Coach and to all of you who helped and encouraged them along the way.

THANK YOU, Mr. H! For countless emails, phone calls and attention to details that set up the season's schedule, ensuring gyms were reserved, drivers arranged, and no student was left behind!