Basketball Beyond Basketball..

it happened yesterday..at the east wing basketball court..
while we were having our usual training session in the evening..a perdana executive came by and stopped near the court. a man dressed in a light red checkers casual shirt came out of the car..he didn't introduced himself at first, but we knew who he is..he is Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, the Dep. Minister of Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development..he was indeed a nice gentleman..he talked with Mr. Liew to discuss about things regarding the team for about half an hour while watching us perform our practice..

at the end of the session, Mr. Liew introduced him to us..from that..we knew that he was the head prefect of MCKK and was the best speaker for the PPM during his years of debating..he was of Mohd Shah House and also ran the MCKK Editorial Board when he was in kolet (1976-1980)..he was so kind to personally sponsor our PHT shoes for the first 15 players..

Basketball Beyond Basketball

that was his philosophy..and I personally think that it's true..basketball is more than just dribbling the ball and putting it into the basket..especially if you are a Cager, then you can get many things from basketball..you'll have to learn to manage your team..how to handle the fights between your teammates..how to listen and follow to instructions..and there's more..discipline..brotherhood..bond between the coach and players..how to cope with pressure, inside and outside the court. it is a great philosophy that we all should follow..hopefully, our team can be more than just a team, a family I mean..we will..and I'm sure of it..

PHT North Zone 2009 Tournament

On 9th of March 2009, MCKK sent the Cagers to defend their PHT North Zone Championship which was held at SMS Tun Syed Sheh Shahabudin, Bukit Mertajam. The team went along with a team of Malay debaters and a team English debaters. The basketball team comprises of 3 form 5s, 6 form 4s and 3 form 3s. Ajim was supposed to play in the tournament but due to the sudden fever attack that he had the morning we were going to play, he was replaced by Hijazi.

First Match

Our first match was against SBPI Gopeng. We were fired up with the game and so we beat our opponent 48-13.

Second Match

Our second match was at 12.30 pm although we were supposed to play at 11.45 am due to 2 overtimes made by the previous match. Our opponent was SMS Muhammad Jiwa and we beat them 33-8.

Third Match

It was our last match of the day and we were up against SMS Sultan Abdul Halim. It was..for me..our worst game of the tournament..though, we did trashed them 32-14.

Fourth Match

That morning..Mr. Liew change his strategy from critics, critics and critics..to praises, motivations and confidence. " Today..there'll be no negative comments on y'all..only positive comments will be said ", he said. And on that match, we played well, in fact it was our best game for the tournament. We trashed SBPI Gopeng 49-9.

Fifth Match

We had our match with our traditional rival that evening, STAR. We won..40-12.

Semi Final

SMS Tuanku Syed Putra was our next opponent in the semi-final game the next morning..
We beat them, 46-14.

Final

The PHT North Zone Championship 2009 witnessed the battle between Cagers and STAR, again..in the Final. Of course, as predicted, the Cagers won but with less score than usual, 27-10.
And so, the championship is back in the hands of Cagers.

We won the championshipand will be heading to SSP, Cyberjaya to play in the National PHT Tournament. It is scheduled to be held in the end of May and early of June.

I think the man bahind all this really deserves the credit, our coach, Mr. Liew for guiding us to victory. Abg Ise and Aunty Ana for giving up their whole week to prepare the Cagers for their Championship. They sacrificed their time, money and energy just to see the trophy back in MCKK. Abg Azran, his wife, and their two children, Hafiz and Irfan for their supports and 100 Plus for the Cagers. Supporters namely Izzat, Farid and Zaki for their cheer for the team.

Thank you all see ya in Cyberjaya!

Cagers-Dynamites December Camp

After the long month of holidays..which was filled with trainings and practice at our respective homes..the Cagers were called back to MCKK for their central training along with the STF Dynamites. It was supposed to be on the 23rd of Dec, but due to the problems created by the admins, we had to postpone it to 27th Dec. Even Cagers 08 came to help out their juniors. Uncle Beck and Kuchai was there, Rahmat 07 was also there but went back early because he sprained his ankle on the first day..poor guy..

So we had our trainings and practice. Our coach had introduced to us something new to help us with our speed and stamina like the 3-6-3 full court run. We waited for a few physical tests like routeworks and swith sides, but Mr. Liew didn't really trust our stamina condition, though we think we were above average at that time..:P

And then there's the PMR Result Day. All of us pass the exam with flying colours and so did the Dynamites. We all celebrated over cakes and ice-cream (sponsored by Aunty and Casem 06) that night. Mr. Liew was also proud of us for our excellence in the exam.

Day by day..night by night..the camp came to an end on Saturday..that night, the Dynamites head off to JB to get prepared for school on Monday. We were very sad that our old boys will be going back also on that day. Only Jae 08 was left with us till Sunday. Our bonds were too strong to let them go away. The court would be different this year not to see the laughs of Syahmi and Jae, the voice of Ammar and Justin, the guidance of Mokri and Luqman and the face of Starmai and Iwan. This year is going to be a hell of different cause we are the seniors now. Now we know how big and heavy are the responsibilities.

Well, I guess that's all about the Dec Camp we attended last year. For more detail, please refer to Abg Ise's Blog..Haha!

Of MCKK U-15, Cameron Highlands Trip and Prebysterian High

Wow..it's the year 2009 already! Another year, another dream for the Cagers to win the Hamdan Tahir Trophy and join the 13 previous Cagers team who had been the Champion. As for this year, Malaysia's former national coach, Mr. Liew Yong Choon had plan something interesting for us to play in the national-level tournament.

Well..here's a story on what happened last year while Abg Ise and Aunty Ana were on Hajj..
Malay College hosted its 2nd invitation tournament and as like the year before..it is still the champion. It started on the 5th till the 8th of November 2008. It was rather short this year as the school had allocated a small budget for us to host the tournament.

MCKK sent 2 teams last year which were Cagers A and Cagers B. The players of the A team were mostly from the top players of each form. Every team had 2 form 4s with Syai and Ajim in the team A and Mat Noor and Amir in team B..

Many schools received and accepted the invitation namely SDAR, STAR, SAS, SEMASHUR, SMS Dungun and SESMA despite the lameness throughout the tournament. Last year's tournament had to be combined with the Debate Four Corners Match. So, a lot of things can't go our way. Everything must be considered cause it's not just the Cagers tournament, it's the debaters' also.

So, back to the tournament, basically, as we all had guess, Cagers A won the cup, with the 2nd placing went to SESMA. SEMASHUR won the 3rd and 4th placing beating Cagers B. SDAR, who was expected to be in the finals lost in the 2nd round after after losing to Cagers B (well..Ghazali didn't play because of his injury a day before the match..lucky us!!). It was truly a great experience to play with other teams and to know their style of plays..Like SEMASHUR, we now know their skills as well as SMS Dungun.

1st Place : CAGERS A
2nd Place : SESMA
3rd Place : SEMASHUR
4th Place : CAGERS B

Oh yeah..there were no MVP for last year's tournament as no one could play up to the standard that an MVP would play.

After a short while of relaxing and postmorterm..Mr. Liew had brought us all up to Cameron Highlands for a holiday trip though we still played a few games. We had many sponsors that paid for our stay, there. All of them were old boys. Although we were trashed by the home team, Mr. Liew didn't take it seriously cause the games were just to expose us to a much better team. All we did was enjoy the scenery, the strwaberries, the ice-creams and the cool-windy air. All of us enjoyed the trip very much as it reduced our tenses.

But one thing we forgot was that we were going to have a match with the Prebysterian School from Singapore the day after we came back. We had no stamina, no strength, and gained a lot of weight too..they have a few national youth players aand all of them are big size!! Their tallest player is 194 cm! At the end of the game, we lost..but we didn't get to play the full game..since it was raining that very evening. And so..we head back home..to enjoy our holiday filled with trainings..

Selamat Hari Raya..

Wow! without realising, we're only 2 days away from Hari Raya which will mark the end of Ramadhan. It's sad to leave this holy month but hey..you'll have it next year again, InsyaAllah.

The Emperors would like to wish the Muslims including those who play basketball Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri..Maaf Zahir Batin.

This goes especially to Teachers and Freinds.Abg Ise, Aunty Ana and family.Cikgu Jimmy and family.Old Boys.Old Cagers.Cagers 08.Juniors.

And also a bid of shall I say good luck to those who are taking PMR (including the Emperors). Hopefully, you'll achieve what you wished for.

"Hari Raya is a day where you should forgive and forget. Forgive those bad things that were done to you and forget those sad memories. It's a time to be happy and not cry upon those who are not around. I surely hope that the American army and Israel regime would give chances to the Muslims to celebrate this meaningful event. Selamat Hari Raya I wish to all..and Maaf Zahir Batin."

-Muhammad Zulikhram,captain

Assalamualaikum..

emperors

Q4G...it's a SUCCESS!

Another year, another victory for Cagers...this years PPM witnessed the achievement of MC Cagers in bringing home the PHT cup for 5 years in a row...another great success. Congratulations to the winning team led by Mokri Misren and his teammates. Special thanks to Mr. Liew, Abg Ise, Aunty Ana, old boys, MCKK Admins and to all budak koleqs out there..

Q4G was proven to be a great success...

Quest 4 Glory or Q4G was created in 2003 to revive MC Cager’s victory and put the trophy to where it belongs, the college ground. It was a mission or shall I say target by the old boys led by En. Ihsan Ismail. He was helped by his wife and considered a mother to the new generations of Cagers, Aunty Ana. But there can be no winnings if it wasn't for Mr. Liew Yong Choon, the heart and soul of the Cagers.

The aim of this mission is to win the PHT for 5 consecutive years starting from 2004 till 2008. Actually, it planned to win its first trophy in 2005, the year that is considered a very historic year when MCKK turned 100. But the trainings finally paid off...they won the trophy in 2004 and carried on their legacy till 2008.

This year's PPM officially wrapped up Quest 4 Glory. With tears of joy and sadness on the face of almost everyone. It was a sad story with a very happy ending. The team had three main players injured. The injuries were so bad; they couldn't train for weeks. Their conditions really worried us- the supporters. Will they be able to win the cup? That was the main question.

I for one think that the Cagers felt so much tense when playing their game. Never did they play smoothly. Sometimes they lead till 20 points ahead, but sometimes they trailed 2 or 3 points. Despite the pressure given to them in their games, they still manage to win with big margins. And now I know the secret to every Cager’s victories. Supporters. Supporters are I think the biggest and the most important element in pressurized games...

You see, when almost everyone around you is putting you into pressure, that is where cheers come around and comfort you. Imagine having the whole court mocking you, jeering you, and teasing your every move. But there will be a group of students shouting 'Come on Cagers!', 'Sharp!' and 'Nice one Cagers!' to comfort you. And this is I think the most important element when you are on the court.

Well...officially...Q4G is now over. It has achieved its target and the whole 'crew' is satisfied with their achievement. And now starts Quest 4 Glory 2 with no official targets. We see how far we can go. But for sure we'll target victory every year.

..Thank You..

Abg Ise - for organising and coordinate Cager's Q4G..

Aunty Ana - a mother to Cagers of the 21st century

Mr. Liew - a coach, a father and a friend who guided us to victory

Cikgu Jimmy - he who helped us to victory

Tai Chek - a friend who helped the Cagers a lot

Old Boys and Old Cagers - being the supporting backbone of this project

Cagers of 04, 05, 06, 07 and 08 - for winning the PHT 5 years in a row.

Present and junior Cagers - being the most important element in the game - supporters