Size does not matter; unity conquers all!

A unity team comprising pupils of SJKC Manong and SK Manong emerged as champions in a district-level basketball tournament for the boys, and runners-up for the girls.

It was the first time a unity team comprising Chinese, Malay and Indian pupils win big in a basketball tournament at the Kuala Kangsar district tournament.

It was also the first time SK Manong pupils learned basketball from scratch and then won the district championship.

It takes an innovative approach to overcome shortage of players and a visionary headmaster to seize the opportunity for national integration through collaboration to win big as a unity team.

It started with coach Tan Hao Long, a former basketball player at Kerian district level, who requested headmaster Beh Chaw Hong to approach SK Manong for basketball players, as the Chinese primary school of only 46 pupils could not put up a basketball team.

The underpopulated Chinese school is made up of 46 pupils, including 22 Malays, one Indian and one foreigner.

“I thought the idea of ‘borrowing players’ was a bit too bold, as the national school pupils had never played basketball before and were going straight to the tournament. But the coach and the pupils were very keen. So, I approached headmaster Ismail Dzlan Yahaya for players,” said Beh.

Ismail Dzlan agreed immediately without giving the idea a second thought, saying it would be good for the pupils to interact for national integration, as the two schools are only separated with a fence.

Due to shortage of time, the training started at 7 a.m. for half an hour during school days and the basketball court was open in the evening for the pupils to practice. The team also practiced on the weekends.

When the weather was bad, the team would instead learn the strategy by watching videos indoors.

Ismail Dzlan also helped pacify the parents who complained about the rigorous training as early as 7 a.m.

Tan said he did not set any target for the team to win but told them every team was strong and that they would have to deliver their best using the strategy they had been taught.

As an underpopulated school, SJKC Manong had never excelled in sports. The basketball team was formed after Tan was posted to the school.

“It is the chemical effect of the unity team formed in a few months to reach all the way to the finals. The players did not know each other before the training and the pupils from SK Manong had never played basketball,” said Tan.

The achievement has motivated 16 Chinese primary schools in Kuala Kangsar district to work together in training pupils for basketball.