This article is brought to you by Benedikt and Duc, members of the GESS Wildcats 19U boys’ basketball team.
Maks, Daniel, Benedikt, Heathe, Filip, Coach Calvyn Campbell
Front row, left to right:
Tristan (graduated), Rohan, Jonas, Duc
Not pictured:
Lorenz, Lucas
Over the course of the AY2023/24 GESS Wildcats sports season, one team particularly stood out. During a stretch lasting from December to May, our Wildcats’ senior boys basketball squad went on a 15-game unbeaten run, capturing three separate championship trophies in the process. This included the Athletic Conference of Singapore International Schools (ACSIS) 19U Division 3 – with a team featuring just three true 19U players, while the rest were part of the successful 16U Division 1 season. In May 2024, the team crowned their year with the 3rd Annual GESS Invitational Tournament trophy.
We spoke with some of our team members to learn more about their experiences on the court, while donning the Wildcats jersey!
Describe the past season in three words.
Benedikt (Position: Centre) – “Fun, exciting, exhausting”
Daniel (Position: Forward) – “Dominant, professional, unprecedented”
What was your most memorable moment of the season?
Filip (Position: Guard) – “I feel like our best moment this year was definitely winning both gold in 16U and 19U, as well as it being one of our final years with the core players we’ve known for quite a while now. It feels like a great send-off for us before most of us move up to 19U this upcoming season.”
Daniel (Position: Forward) – “Our second-to-last 19U game was very cool actually. It was originally supposed to be just another average home game, against DCIS on a Wednesday afternoon, as expected, the spectator crowd is usually thin! But that game went perfectly for us, we ended up breaking the 100-point barrier with a couple of minutes left – something that really doesn’t happen that much outside of professional basketball. I think we finished with exactly 101…”
What was your personal highlight of the basketball year?
Maks (Position: Guard) – “My personal highlight of the basketball season was having over 20 points in a game as a 13-year-old playing in an age division several above my own. I am very happy with the process I have made, especially having the chance to play at a higher level, that being U16 and U19, with my older brother!”
Heathe (Position: Forward) – “I feel like my favourite moment of the season was when I had to make a bet with my dad where if I got over 25 points, I would get $50, but if I got under, I would get a buzz cut hairstyle. I had the 25 points by half time, if you were wondering!”
What was the biggest challenge of the season in your opinion?
Benedikt (Position: Centre) – “Our toughest opponents during most of the season weren’t really our actual opposing teams, but more so ourselves at times. With team sport, there was definitely conflict during games and practices, that made some of the guys question the team. However, our coach made sure those moments didn’t last long, and if he felt someone wasn’t focused on the game that was going on, he would make sure the whole team would stay longer and do some extra push-ups or another exercise to make us re-focus!”
What is something you learned over the course of the season?
Lorenz (Position: Forward) – “This was my first year playing real, organised basketball, so there were some things I had to get used to. While people had always told me I was athletic and talented enough for this game, there were a lot of different moves, drills, and gameplans I had to learn before being able to really contribute to the whole team. As someone with a background in individual sports, I also had to understand that you can be a very important part of team sport even while off the court or not actually playing much. That was something that definitely took a while to get into my head.”
As a higher-grade student-athlete, how do you manage to balance your school and sports life without them affecting each other?
Filip (Position: Guard) – “As an IBDP student, my schedule is quite heavy anyway, so I make sure I start with properly organising myself. I have extra practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends, so this adds on a lot to my schedule. One tactic I use – FOCUS – when I study, I put my complete focus onto studying for however long it takes, and when I play basketball, my head is only focused on basketball, nothing else. Usually, before school practice on Wednesdays and Fridays, I have a 1-and-a-half hour time slot where I finish all my work to make sure I’m not behind.”
Duc (Position: Guard) – “This is my first year as a DP student, and my schedule has gotten tougher. Even from last year, I started feeling like I had quite a bit of work to do. I managed my school life and sports life by creating a plan for myself, to follow and finish certain tasks in a certain amount of time, and to give myself time for other things as well. Obviously, basketball did sometimes get in the way of my studies, but my grades turned out quite decent, so not too bad!”
Which teammate do you think was the most instrumental to the success the team had?
Frederick (Position: Guard) – “Definitely Heathe, because as soon as he gets the ball, he’s able to drive to the basket or get an open shot. If he can’t, he won’t try to force it and will just pass the ball with his pretty insane court vision to the most open team member. That’s also really the reason why he’s our captain.”
Why or how did you choose the jersey number you wear?
Duc (Position: Guard) – “I chose the number two due to a part of it being my birthday, but also as a homage to two players that I have looked up to, being Sharife Cooper and Kyrie Irving from the NBA. I try to model my playstyle after Sharife, inspired by him being an undersized point guard like me, having to find crafty ways to get to the rim and score, as well as finding my teammates to give them wide open shots.”
What are you looking forward to achieving with the team next season?
Heathe (Position: Forward) – “I am looking forward to leading my team to hopefully win U19D1 this season, as we have finally been able to rise the ranks to the highest division. We’ve been working hard towards this goal ever since ACSIS competition resumed post-Covid, so it’s good to finally be in the position to fulfil this goal.”
How do you think the basketball programme at GESS can collaborate with Proform Basketball Academy to continue and expand, towards long-term success?
Jonas (Position: Guard) – “I feel GESS and Proform will continue to have a very successful partnership in the years to come. Proform has definitely played a big part in strengthening basketball culture here at GESS, even going so far as to guide talented, young student-athletes towards joining our school. I fully believe that this partnership and collaborative relationship can continue to win accolades for GESS and make our programme even more dominant into the future.”
The new school year 2024/25’s Wildcats senior boys’ basketball season started with the GESS ALBA Berlin 3×3 Basketball Tournament on 14 and 15 November, followed by the start of regular season in December and a special international tournament in Thailand in January 2025. The team is constantly looking forward to welcoming new fans checking out our home games at GESS Sports Hall, and we strive to deliver spectacular, fast-paced sports action. Follow GESS social media for regular updates!
