The middle school boys’ basketball traveled to Korea International School Jeju (KISJ) for the KISAC tournament from May 16 to 18. Six different schools contended for the gold: DIS, KISJ, Saint Johnsbury Academy Jeju (SJAJ), North London Collegiate School (NLCS), Busan Foreign School (BFS), and Fayston Preparatory School (FPS). Jeju schools’ physicality and rough style caused injuries, and DIS placed 5th in both divisions.

Varsity faced NLCS for their first game. Alex Seo (number 12) shined in the first half as he sank jumper after jumper. However, the Jets failed to pull through due to their lack of size and gave up the first game to the Orcas 16-36. 

Shortly after, they played their mainland rival, BFS. Standing at the brink of elimination, they needed a win. In the final seconds, both tied at 20-20, the Sharks chucked up a three-pointer and swished. 

“The game against BFS was really close. Lots of us were expecting an easy win, but the results came out different. However, even with the loss, we focused back on the games and tried to win the remaining games,” said Henry Kwak (number 25), 7th grade varsity shooting guard. 

Regardless of the outcome, they clashed with the Eagles to end day one. They trailed by five in the fourth quarter (23-18) when Alex Seo fouled out. With their key member gone, anxiety arose. Junsei Tsuchimoto, unfazed by the pressure, beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer that tied the game. 

In overtime, both teams initially fumbled. After long scoreless minutes with FPS up by a single point, Henry bottomed a corner mid-range with 6.5 seconds on the clock. They came out victorious as the scoreboard showed 25-24.

On day two, the boys stumbled against the SJA Hilltoppers (39-18) and KISJ Dragons (38-13) to finalize the round-robin. The huge 6-footers from Jeju towered over the Daegu athletes. Regardless, a new duo emerged. Like Kobe and Shaq, Jason Kim point guard swerved swiftly around the defense as big man William Seo snagged rebounds even with an ankle sprain. 

Ultimately, DIS ended up second to last and matched up for the fifth-place spot. Improved by miles just within a day, they ruled the Sharks with a blowout win (29-15).

“DIS was one of the teams that worked really hard, and even with their losses, they continued to try, and I really respected it. Number 8, the point guard of the team, really stood out for me, too,” said Wonjun Lee (number 22), the ace player from the champions KISJ. 

JV also dedicated themselves to their peak performance. With inexperienced youngsters, they sadly lost all their round-robin games. In the rematch against BFS for 5th, they came on top with scores of 17-7. The rising stars hope to come back next year.

In the end, the opportunities for the DIS players to play against diverse teams improved their tactics, experience, and teamwork. For the upcoming SKAC tourney on May 22. , the KISAC event serves as a strong foundation for a step up.