The middle school girls’ basketball teams traveled to Busan Foreign School (BFS) to participate in the South Korea Association of International Schools (SKAIS) tournament against their longtime opponents, International School of Busan (ISB) and BFS, on May 21.

With Coach Crewe set to depart the program after the 2025-26 season, the girls entered the tournament determined to send him off with a gold medal. Although varsity showcased relentless effort, they finished last while junior varsity fell short of championship with a narrow finish in finals.

Varsity opened the day with a late morning matchup against ISB. Early in the game, the Jets started strong and competed on equal footing with the opponents. The girls carried out the 2-3 zone defense and shut down shot attempts to compensate for offensive struggles. In spite of their efforts to take the lead, they faced physical exhaustion midway through the first half after ISB’s change in tactics.

“ISB started playing fast breaks and put pressure. They threw very long passes where one player was up at the goal and put in layups every time, so we had to sprint very fast,” Captain Minju Koo (99) said. 

The lopsided scoreboard served as a wake-up call. After a halftime recovery and a rotation in the starting lineup, the team returned to the court with renewed energy, but they came up empty as ISB relied on fast breaks for additional baskets. The squad trailed behind throughout the second half and the match wrapped up with a score of 22:4. 

In the aftermath of the defeat, DIS bounced back by reviewing its performance and using the tough loss as motivation for its next matchup against a familiar Korean International Schools Activities Conference (KISAC) opponent, BFS.

The crew began with possession for their second round-robin game. Still settling into the match, the Jets started out with a low intensity and yielded multiple turnovers early in the game. Their mistakes cost them several baskets that only widened the point gap.

After the halftime regroup, the second half unfolded more smoothly. They battled through the point differential through fast-paced game play and matched their scoring output. Even though the girls took control of the momentum and finished strong, they ultimately fell short on the scoreboard.

“They’ve got one really good star player, but again, we just couldn’t finish around the basket. The game was closer and we lost the first half, won the second half. But our point difference was too large and we just couldn’t make it up,” Coach Crewe said.

Although the back-to-back loss secured the Jets’ bronze-medal finish in the tourney, DIS squared off with the BFS JV team to ensure each team played three games regardless of final placement. Matched up against a younger BFS squad made up of sixth and seventh graders, the Jets leaned on their experience and teamwork to cruise to a commanding victory. The win lifted the team’s spirits and closed out the tournament on a positive note. (26:3)

On the other side of the gym, the girls’ JV team found their rhythm much sooner. Their first match got underway shortly after the varsity game with a matchup against ISB. Despite losing the opening basket, they quickly took the lead as they circulated the ball around the perimeter to create open looks on offense. The girls pushed through the physical contact and finished with clean layups each time.

On the defensive end, the team shut down driving lanes and guarded the paint to maintain the lead. Although the Jets adapted a more defensive approach in the second half, they continued to pressure their opponents and converted scoring chances to baskets. They closed out a 9:6 victory over ISB and carried the momentum into their next game. 

After a brief recovery time, the team regrouped for their matchup with BFS to secure a spot in the finals. Despite the high energy early in the match, the girls struggled to finish at the basket throughout the first half and allowed the opponents to build a comfortable lead.

Even though they fell behind on the scoreboard, Coach Crewe’s encouragement boosted the girls confidence and they turned the tables. The team put together a strong stretch of play and their solid offense yielded several two-pointers throughout the half. Unfortunately, the point differential from the first half proved insurmountable and the match closed with only four points to go. (12:16)

Fortunately, each team finished pool play with one win and one loss. The round-robin system placed the Jets on the second seat by the margin of victory and they advanced to finals to face ISB once more. The opponents built the momentum at the opening whistle to gain an early advantage. (5:1) In response, Coach Crewe called a timeout for a review of their game plan in hopes to invigorate the players. 

Coming off a brief break, the girls went on a run to recover the lost points. They positioned around the paint with aggressive defense to shut down ISB’s scoring run and switched into offense. The girls’ off-the-ball movement allowed for a breach into the opponent’s defense. Despite the fast pace, the scoreboard remained unchanged.

“We just couldn’t finish. They played good defense and had a lot of very tall players which helped them get rebounds. We could not get close to the basket to get some shots and couldn’t finish when we had the opportunity,” Coach Crewe said.

With one minute remaining, the team cut the deficit to one point with ISB still in the lead. (6:7) Although the girls pressured the defense for the winning basket, neither team scored in the final minutes. With only twenty seconds left, Coach Crewe called his final timeout and drew up a set play for a potential game-winning buzzer beater. Though the squad executed the play as planned, they couldn’t finish and the girls secured second.

Although Coach Crewe leaves DIS with this season after years of dedication to the middle school basketball team, he leaves the girls with a reminder and encouragement for the future. “They’ve grown so much and learned a lot as young basketball players and as athletes. And remember, at lunchtime you should be playing basketball, not volleyball,” Coach Crewe said.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Andy Kang

Olivia Park (17) fine-tunes her shots as she knocks down baskets from all around the court. Park solid stance leads to a clean layup to maintain enthusiasm on the bench and the court.