·     The first day went well; after the athletes settled themselves in their lodges we all attended the opening ceremony. As many others, the ceremony brought back some old memories. With no time to spare the basketball competition was soon on its way, with the Lancers claiming two victories straight away; the boys team came out on top 69x16 against the EAB Bulls, while the girls, also playing against the Bulls clenched the game at 36x22. Even with everyone tired from the trip, both teams put on a show and put the Lancers ahead of the competition right from the start.

 

·         Day 2 started off early, the boys and girls had their opening game against the EAB Bulls in soccer. The boys played well, they compacted the defense throughout the game, minimizing the chances the other team had. Regardless of how well the team played, the Bulls managed to get two lucky shots that went in, taking the final score to 0x2 for the EAB Bulls. On the girls side we had a different story. Right from the get go, the girls team was on fire basically scoring at will; they played splendidly. The Bulls were defeated, and the final whistle brought upon a staggering score; 6x0 for the Lancers. At night the basketball games descended on the camp once more, with the Lancers facing long time regional rivals EARJ Panthers. The teams were pumped by the previous victory against the EAB Bulls and brought everything they had into the court. The boys out on a show, with alley oops, three pointers, in the paint J shots and so on. The boys wrath was too much for the Panthers to handle, rendering the score 70x26 for the Lancers. The girls team also went in confident, they played really well, working the ball constantly, and trying to get certain shots. However the Panthers took the best of us in the game and came out on top by 15 points. The girls played really well overall, but luck didn’t go their way.

 

·         Day 3: Rise and shine. Everyone is tired, sore, and sick, but we push on, we don’t make excuses to not play at our best. The boys were up first, against the EARJ Panthers, this time on the soccer pitch. The game started off well, with lots of chances and a head to head equal matchup. Half time came about with the Panthers up front 2x1, and both teams still feeling confident that the game could go either way. The second half however wasn’t to our liking. Despite the Lancers best efforts, the Panthers attack simply couldn’t be matched and full time brought a score of 6x1 for the EARJ Panthers. The girls’ team played immediately after the boys, also against the Panthers. The girls had to fight twice as hard as they normally would, as the first 15 minutes of the game brought bad luck, injuring several main players of the team. With the team having to fight twice as hard, and nearly no substitutes on the bench the Panthers grew on the game, taking the win at a final score of 5x0 in their favor. After the soccer games, came the first day of cheerleading presentations. Day 1 of the presentations was based on classic cheerleading, with the Lancers and Warriors standing out amongst the other squads. Round 3 of basketball started early, with our final game in the group stage being against Chapel Trojans. The boys’ game was incredible. Through out the first two quarters the game was head to head, with either team taking the win. On the third quarter though, the Lancers managed to secure a 10-point lead, and rendering Chapel’s attack useless. The win locked the boys’ team in first place of the East division, qualifying for the semifinals. The girls game was even more emotional, with a so needed win in order to qualify for the semis the girls team gave their hearts out on the court. The girls put up a good fight, with the game being tied up until the last 30 seconds, where with 4 fouls, Chapel managed to secure the win by 2 points. This sent the girls to dispute 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th place.  After the game the Lancers had their pizza day, a good way to end the day.

 

·         Day 4 came about; everyone tired, and injured players, all teams getting motivation and energy from wherever they could. The boys had an incredibly early game, having to wake up at 7:30 AM. This time it was against the Chapel Trojans, the team that was fighting for first place of the East division. Even though the boys were already disqualified, they fought hard, trying to manage a win. The game was hard, and physically demanding, taking a toll on many of the players. Once more the team played incredibly well, but mistakes here and there gave the win to Chapel by 6x1. This locked the team on the 4th and last spot of the East division, sending the team to fight for at most 5th place. The girls also played against Chapel, and with one win in their belts, they were still alive in the competition, all they needed to qualify was win this last game in the group stage. However the team suffered many losses during the game, and with Chapel growing more confident as the minutes went by, it became inevitable, the Trojans won 4x1, disqualifying the girls, and locking them in at the 3rd position of the East division. Semi finals, the place where dreams are realized or destroyed. The boys team came in with pride and joy, for the first time in 4 years, we had reached the semis, and if we won, we would go into the finals for the first time in 11 years. We played against the PACA Warriors, a team that wasn’t expected to go very far on the competition, but that so far had won against ASA Gators, and EAC Giants, only losing to the favorites: Graded Eagles. Naturally both teams were pumped up and ready for a head to head game throughout all the four quarters. With Alex Rast and Stephan Neptune the Warriors managed to secure a lead throughout the first half, leaving everyone to wonder if the Lancers could climb back. During half time coach Waldeir tried to put some sense into us, trying to show that we were capable of winning this game, but that it was up to us, and no one else. During the third quarter we fought back, with three quick counter attacks we managed to end the third quarter tied at 24x24. With the final eight minutes arriving it was uncertain who would take the win. This was it, all cards on the table, regardless of pain, fear, or respect, this was it. Both coaches sent out their best players, not taking any risks. Unfortunately the Warriors came out on top, using the size and strength to climb back up to a 12-point lead. With 20 seconds on the clock both teams agreed that it was over, and ended the game right there. We fought like it was our final charge, as if this was the only game left. We put our heart, blood and sweat on that court, but it wasn’t enough. This game defined that the PACA Warriors would go onto the finals for 1st and second place and the OLM Lancers would play for 3rd and 4th place. The girls game was also hard, playing for their dignity they pushed on as hard as they could. In the end it also wasn’t enough, and the girls were sent to dispute 7th and 8th place.

 

·         Day 5: Second to last day, and it started early. On what could only be described as a really cold morning the girls went out to the pitch really early to face the PACA Warriors. Both teams played well, with our girls coming out on top. Final score 2x0. The boys had their toughest game yet, last years champions Graded Eagles. The Eagles lived up to their reputation, even if that was somewhat of a weak year for them. We fought as hard as we could, to the best of our abilities, but the Eagles took the win at 6x1. At night came the last of the basketball games, the boys fighting for 3rd and the girls for 7th. The girls were once again playing against the EAB Bulls, however this time round, with a finessed strategy they came out on top. The girls finished their season: 8th place. The boys came up next, once again against Chapel. Chapel was on a mission; the Trojans lived up to their name, keeping a close gap the entire game. Throughout the first 3 quarters the lead kept changing constantly, and on the 4th quarter it was still impossible to see who would win. With less than a minute to go the game was tied 36x36; overtime was in sight, something that wasn’t favorable for both teams. In a quick counter attack the team performed a perfect play, leaving our shooting guard André to shoot from the three-point line. With seconds remaining he made the shot, 39x36, we were in front. The game was over and for the first time in 4 years the boys were once again locked in 3rd place, bronze medal.

 

·         Day 6: Final day. Juniors and sophomores were already thinking of next year, and how they would come back stronger. Seniors were saying their goodbyes on the pitch, their last day of their last Big 8 of their lives. The soccer teams had one last charge, one last hurrah. The boys came in determined to leave with the win, doing whatever they had to do. The game was once more against the EAB Bulls, fighting for 7th place. Everyone gave their maximum on the pitch, we managed to have more shots than the entire championship, and managed to dominate the mid field, making it extremely hard for the Bulls to form an attack. Bulls managed to force a foul near the box, and with mere luck the ball hit the post and went in. After this we only sought the tie even more. Unfortunately the Bulls managed to score once more, and with time against us it ran away fast. The boys season came to a close: 8th place. The girls now had their last game, seeking 5th place against the EAC Giants. The Giants, like the Lancers, were determined to get that 5th place, so the game was tight. Through yellow cards and mistakes by the referee the girls persevered, never giving up throughout the game. Unfortunately the Giants won, however they never managed to fully grow on the game, as our girls fought to the very last second. The girls season was finally over: 6th place. In the afternoon before we left, the teams attended the award ceremony. The boys basketball team went onto that podium, proud to call themselves Lancers and bring home that bronze medal. Pedro Pompeu and Juliana Souza also went up on the podium, rewarded with the Green Card award. Big 8 championship came to an end, and the Lancers finished 7th overall.