Page 51 - QARANC Vol 14 No 10 2015

09 – 10 Oct 14
It is always maintained that ‘If you cannot beat them, join them’. However in some circumstances it is equally fair that if you cannot beat them, you arrange and get them beaten. Both scenarios end with victory and that is the premium objective of every sportsman/woman. The later was what the Department of Healthcare Education (DHE) opted for to compete in the AMS Inter Unit Basketball Championship.
The tournament was held on 09- 10 Oct 14 at the Aldershot Garrison Sports Centre (AGSC) and was aimed at building a stronger team that can represent the AMS to reclaim the Inter Corps Basketball Trophy in Grantham. The implication was that while teams were grafting together to win the ultimate trophy of the event, individual players were also justifying their inclusion in the AMS team. In effect, they were two competitions in one event.
With the competitive nature of the event, the DHE in BCU had to join forces with our colleagues from Withington Barracks to create a formidable team to rise to the occasion. With the new stream of students and the changes
in the training programme, the DHE is gradually becoming more influential and showing its superiority in current sports events, and to win the basketball competition was only to maintain the momentum.
DHE took on 4 Medical Regiment in a fiercely contested encounter in the opening game. In the end stamina became a factor and it was DHE that registered their presence by becoming victorious with a comfortable score line of 24:10. The team went on to secure two convincing wins against 2 Medical Regiments and 3 Medical Regiment to top group ‘A’ and hence qualified automatically for the finals.
At this point victory was looming but 1 Medical Regiment was a hard nut to crack. We were conscious of the capabilities of our opponents so we had to discipline leaving no room for complacency. Our quest to kill the game off in the first quarter was utterly overambitious and counterproductive. It drained all our energy. 1 medical regiment quickly took full advantage over their numerical strength and took a considerable lead in the 2nd quarter. It was not time to give up. The third quarter was a perfect game of give and
take that maintained 1 Med in the lead. That left us the last quarter as the last opportunity to turn over the odds. The tempo of the game peaked. The noise from the spectators who have almost equally divided in support of the two teams was epic. As the clock ticked DHE closed the gap and went on to clench yet another victory before the final whistle with a score of 22:12.
Winning the Gold medal was not the only victory DHE secured in the championship but all our players were considered for selection into the AMS basketball team. Undoubtedly, it has been a good year for DHE sports. We are also counting on all our sports men and women to boost our prospects in the forthcoming years.
LCpl S Menri
BSc Student Nurse
Cohort 0114
Department of Healthcare Education Defence School of Healthcare Education
THE GAZETTE QARANC 49
AMS Inter Unit Basketball Championships