After two weeks of preparation, the annual ICB
basketball game began at the Auraria PE Center on October 12. Unlike the former
basketball activities, this year the ICB Club not only recruited ICB students,
but also invited Chinese students studying in the University of Denver to
participate in the tournament. Four teams signed up for the tournament: ICB
Juniors, ICB Seniors, and DU Teams 1 and 2. In addition to the Chinese
students, some American friends, such as Alex Hunter
Lee, a CU Denver student
who studied abroad at ICB/CAU last semester, joined the ICB Junior team.
The competition formally
began at 2 p.m. with the first round between ICB Seniors and DU Team 1.
Zhingqing Xu, the popular basketball player who performed aggressively in the spring basketball
game with faculty and staff, shot the first two points. Scores held steady
until to the end of the first half. DU
Team 1 started strong in the second half, scoring 5 points in the first two
minutes. The DU roll was interrupted,
however, with a three-point shot by Yuchen Ma. Then Xu took a perimeter shot to
put the ICB team in the lead. ICB Seniors took an effective defensive strategy,
preventing DU students from scoring. ICB Seniors eked out the first win 42-40
in an enthralling opening.
“The game is ours,”
Ziyang Wang, the team leader of ICB Juniors confidently stated while warming up
for their first game with DU students. The most noticeable team was the ICB
Juniors, an assembly of the most energetic players with great potential. Ziyang
Wang, Chang Liu, and Zhenjia Yu were the most formidable ICB basketball players
on the CAU campus. Shiqi Wang, a current Chinese graduate student in CU Denver,
is famous for his excellent breakthroughs and accurate shooting. In addition to
these Chinese excellent players, Hunter Lee helped the ICB Juniors ensure their victory over
DU Team 2 with a final score of 67-53.
The greatest part of the
tournament was the showdown between the ICB Juniors and ICB Seniors. At first,
the senior students effectively suppressed a series of intense drives from the ICB
Juniors, gaining a three-point lead in the first five minutes. However, junior
player, Zhenjia Yu, smartly caught a defense miss, and banked a shot, pulling
the Juniors ahead. Chang Liu drove to the hoop, ending the first half with a
small advantage of ICB Juniors 28-26.
At the beginning of the second
half, ICB Juniors offensively took control scoring three shots almost
immediately. Chang Liu made a
pick-and-roll, passed to Shiqi Wang who shot for two. Ziyang Wang scored
another two with a layup, extending the ICB Juniors lead 45-35. Finally, those
rising ICB basketball stars achieved the best student team performance ever when
they dethroned the last winner, ICB Seniors, with a final score of 70-46.
With the great success
in the end, a number of ICB Junior basketball players stepped up and made a
name for themselves by their memorable performances during the game. “We have already
applied to compete in the regular season game on campus with American teams,”
Shiqi Wang, the best three-pointer in the game excitedly exclaimed; “Though
American students have better physical agility, they cannot easily beat us.”
Ziyang Wang added, “Our
team is certain to be victorious!”
(Note from Joanne: Upon reading this article, the spring
faculty/staff vs. student competition will be changed to volleyball this year.)