Seahawks win back-to-back-to-back championships at both ISB invitational and AISAA league tournaments
It’s been three years since the host Panthers from the International School Bangkok (ISB) has won its own tournament, beating Wells in 2016 in the Seahawk’s debut in the championship match. Since then, Wells has reached AND won the championship match each year, against two different international schools from Singapore – United World College East (UWCE) in 2017 and Stamford American International School (SAIS) in 2018.
However, after ISB went undefeated in their pool, and earned a spot in the finals after a win against Bangkok Pattana School (BPS) in the semi-finals, urged on by a boisterous crowd screaming, “This is OUR house!” — the hungry Panthers were poised to reclaim the throne.
But our Seahawks would have NO SUCH THING!
With just one senior, the young Seahawks showed the mental maturity and emotional fortitude to stave off stiff challenges in pool play, beating ICS Bangkok, 2-0 (25-20, 25-10); SAIS, 2-1 (25-13, 24-26, 17-15); and BPS, 2-1 (23-25, 25-18, 15-11). They then survived a tough semi-final match-up against another Singapore school, United World College Dover (UWCD), beating them 2-1 (18-25, 25-23, 15-13).
In the end, Wells had just a bit more energy, a bit more depth on the bench, and a bit more heart to outlast ISB, winning 2-0 (26-24, 27-25) in two nail-biting, overtime sets, to complete the “three-peat” championship run.
The Seahawks were led by tri-captains Insee Akarapan (c/o 2020), Corey Beer (c/o 2021), and Perth Vichitchoti (c/o 2021). Other members of the squad include Pat Pinsrisirirath, Kohyo Miyajima, Ronnie Kwok, Justin Omland, and Phurin Kosumapinun (c/o 2021); and MJ Caunan, Jr., Kendrick Acda, Herb Udompholvanich, Gabriel Xumsai Na Ayudhaya, Shiva Chandnani, and Time Phatigulsate (c/o 2022). Head Coach – Ray de la Pena and Asst. Coach – Rhyll Catangcatang.
AISAA Champions
In the second tournament, held all day Sunday, a condensed version of the varsity boys squad took on other AISAA teams, as well as a few visiting teams. Pool play turned out to be a cakewalk as Wells easily beat Berkeley International School, 2-0 (25-22, 25-12); King Mongkut International Demonstration School (KMIDS), 2-0 (25-9, 25-10); KIS, 2-0 (25-16, 25-23); and the International School of the Eastern Seaboard (ISE), 2-0 (25-17, 25-14). In the knock-out matches, Wells beat Ekamai International School (EIS), 2-0 (25-12, 25-14) and, finally, KIS, 2-0 (25-14, 25-9) to repeat as champions. Wells also won the AISAA Tournament championships in 2017 and 2018.
Lady Seahawks also in action over weekend
Also, playing in the tournaments were the Wells varsity girls who played hard and showed much improvement since the beginning of the season. In pool play of the ISB tournament, the Lady Seahawks won two matches; first to ICS Bangkok, 2-1; then International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC) from Vietnam. The girls ended the tournament in 4th place.
At the AISAA tournament, the girls went 3-1 in pool play, but fell in the semi-finals to Concordian. The girls ended in 3rd place.
Both teams now have over a month to prepare for their final tournaments of the season against member schools of the ASEAN Schools Athletic Conference (ASAC), coming up at the beginning in November.
