The DIS middle school boys’ basketball teams traveled to Fayston Preparatory of Suji (FPS) and Saint Johnsbury Academy (SJA) for the Korea International Schools Activities Conference (KISAC) tournament on May 14 to 16. They competed against various international schools including Busan Foreign School (BFS), Korea International School Jeju (KISJ), Fayston Preparatory of Suji (FPS), North London Collegiate School Jeju (NLCS) and Saint Johnsbury Academy (SJA) and entered the weekend determined to showcase the growth they developed throughout the season.

While varsity traveled to FPS to compete for the championship title, the junior varsity team flew to Jeju to gain tournament experience and to develop as a unit. Despite facing difficult opponents, both teams consistently displayed resilience, teamwork and determination.

Leading up to the tournament, the boys honed a range of skill sets to strengthen team cohesion.“Our training focused heavily on defensive communication, such as shell drills where players need to move in different positions for defense,” student coach Joseph Yoon said. “On the offensive side, we really focused on team passing and cutting strategies such as five-out and four-out-one-in. We tried hard to break through the Jeju school’s bigger defense.”

The Jets opened tournament play with a tough match against KISJ, falling 11-43 despite their defensive efforts early in the game. As the tournament continued, DIS rebounded quickly and later earned an impressive 40-12 victory over SJA through a refined strategy coupled with quick offensive transitions.

Even though DIS took more losses against NLCS (18-37) and FPS, they remained competitive by consistently pressuring the ball and battling for rebounds against taller players. “I learned the importance of resilience and teamwork as we prepared for our game with KISJ,” eighth grader varsity starter Sean Kim said. “Despite lagging through most parts of the game, we kept our determination firm and it ended up as a close game.”

On day 2, the boys continued to keep up their energy while battling through hard competition against BFS, NLCS and SJA. Although DIS suffered losses on day 1, the team maintained high energy and continued encouraging one another throughout the day. Their persistence paid off in one of their final matchups, where DIS ended strong with a 38-16 victory over SJA. 

The varsity tourney concluded with KISJ claiming first place after an undefeated bracket win. Despite not advancing to the championship rounds and concluding the season in the last seed, DIS demonstrated consistent growth. 

Meanwhile, JV competed in Jeju against difficult early matchups but steadily improved throughout the tournament. One of the team’s highlights came in a dominant 42-2 victory match against BFS, where the Jets controlled the pace from the opening whistle and continued to display strong passing and shooting accuracy through the game. 

The JV squad also earned a competitive 35-30 victory against KISJ in a crossover play and continued to battle closely against FPS and SJA. With the opportunity to step up and learn, players remained eager to keep on playing. Despite the Jets’ effort, JV just fell short of the semifinals and finished in fourth place. 

“The team stayed passionate and determined toward the ball even though we lost most of the games,” junior varsity player Paul Marechal said. However, the losses also provided valuable lessons for the crew to build on “One lesson I learned from the tournament was not to get overconfident. We lost some games because we lost concentration at the end,” Marechal said.

Players from opposing schools also reflected on the tournament atmosphere and DIS’s performance throughout the weekend. “The DIS team is very good and they have the best offense out of all the teams,” BFS captain Brandon Chung said. 

Beyond the competition itself, the tournament also emphasized sportsmanship and collaboration between international schools. FPS Athletic Director Yujin Shin reflected on the positive atmosphere throughout the event. “The purpose of this KISAC tournament is to have an interschool tournament so we can communicate and collaborate with other schools and compete with each other as well. Compared to other schools, team foul was similar or less than other schools, so I think your sportsmanship was quite decent,” Shin said. 

Beyond wins and losses, the tournament provided valuable opportunities for both teams to grow together and play in a competitive environment. “The players learned not to blame each other and focus on the ongoing game,” student coach Ryan Chae said. “The players started to focus more on the game, leaving a strong impression.”

The tourney marked an important milestone of the season for the growth of the DIS middle school basketball program. Although the competition posed challenges, both the varsity and junior varsity teams now look to redeem themselves at the upcoming South Korea Association of International Schools (SKAIS) tournament on May 21.