Hong Kong ROCKED at the Boracay International tournament. The group of 6 women - 5 men put in a very gutsy performance that left the crowds at Asia's best beach excited about Ultimate. Led by team captains Annika Walters and Joel 'Dr. Jones' Melanson, our team went on a 4-0 run in the first day. Hong Kong got an early scare from the North America Showtime in Game 1, down by 6-2 in the first half but came back to win 11-6. An early sign that Hong Kong was going to do well in the tournament was Sue Tonin's 'toes dragging in the end zone' catch for our first score, also breaking her Oakleys in the process. Everyone's reaction to the catch - WOWWWW!

Game 2 was against Boracay Internationals (Breeze), the team that was favoured to reach the finals due to their mix of tall and very athletic players. They quickly fell to earth on their first game, losing to HK 11-1 with their first score coming in after our 10th point. Game 3 against Korea B was tough in the early going but our team took control and won easily. Game 4 against Manila A was also tough in the first half but we wore them down with our consistent play to win 11-5.

Then came Super Sunday. I mean 'Super' because our team lived up to the challenge to what were the toughest games of the tournament. The Quarter and Semi-finals were the games from HELL. Bangkok in the Quarters and Korea A (El Gwapos) in the Semis led almost the entire game. Our players, however, did not panick, sticking to our strategy of working up the field with a lot of give and gos and short passes. Great defensive plays and timely cuts wore these 2 teams down in the end. Against the El Gwapos we scored 7 straight points to win it 11-9.

Then came the Finals against the feared Boracay Dragons, the team that had handlers that moved like the Road Runner and receivers that ran 'downfield' and 'sidefield' like Speedy Gonzales. HK devised a special 2-1-1 zone for the game but was quickly dumped after the Dragons scored 2 easy points. We then stuck to our old game plan of just laying off our man to prevent the give and go and look out for the long huck. We also forced them flick the entire game, which basically eliminated their long game. Although the final score was 13-8, it took a lot of careful D to keep that deadly team from scoring. The home crowd was also heavily into it. The final catch by Robert H. from Dr. Jones permanently deflated the noisy crowd.

Some thoughts about the tournament:

Bart Edes before the tournament reminded his team mates to watch the HK players, especially the women, as the girls from Manila Vice think they cannot play as well as men because they are stronger and faster. Here are some of the comments about our team that I heard from some of the players after the tournament:

1) Although it was tempting to go for the quick score via the huck, HK went for the patient short game. Our handlers also knew how to fake, driving their defenders down field and then going back to the disc. We also kept the end zone clear on offence, sending only 1 player to the end zone to score.

2) Our defense was consistent. Gutsy D (especially from Chris Jensen despite being under the weather and Shirley with the old injury), staying behind fast people to prevent the huck, calling the ups and helping out on D helped us win the tournament.

3) They were surprised to see us play a 2-2 line instead of the 3 men-1 woman line up. This showed that our women can play anyone. We did the 2-2 line-up 90% of the time. We even had a 4-woman line-up that scored against the athletic Boracay Breeze. Our women can also play solid defense against the men. Sue Tonin swatted so many potential scores in the end zone through great positioning. Annika also chased the speedsters down the beach. Apple, Shirley, Elaine, Kathy all played effective D.

Player Reviews

Annika - was voted the Female MVP to no surprise. Annika was huge on both offense and D. A lot of players in HK think Elbert Lin was the best at laying out, which is why they call him SUPER FLY. He just lost that title to Annika last weekend as she did the most awesome lay-out D in the end zone against one of the fastest Boracay MALE players. Not only did she lay out and prevent the score, she swatted the disc 15 feet clear off the beach and into the water. Best lay out I have ever seen, even better than Tom Nunan's lay out defensive play against Taipei at the HK tournament a few years ago (sorry Tom but Annika is the Real Deal).

Sue Tonin - Sue played like she did in Singapore last year - AWESOME. 'stonin' made the most amazing catch against the N.A. Showtime, breaking her beloved Oakleys in the process. That was perhaps the sign that HK was going to do well in the tournament. Good luck in Italy Sue.

Apple - One of our most aggressive defenders, it did not matter whether she checked a girl or a guy. She basically hung in there in the heat, went step by step and shut them down. Apple also had great hands, getting several scores (some memorable lay-outs). This girl is in shape and she looks it.

Shirley - an old foot injury did not keep her from playing solid O and D. Her flick was definitely on, especially that 30-yrd score against N.A. Showtime. Also had an some excellent lay out catches in the sidelines.

Kathy - Kathy was a force in the end zone, making a lot of really tight üöcatches for the score. The thing I love about K's game is that she looks like she's having fun, which is very contagious. Great spirit and great hands, a deadly combination.

Elaine - played extremely well in only her 2nd tournament. I was most impressed by her calm presence on the field, rarely throwing the disc away and making some tough catches. Most memorable play was the hammer she caught from Ryan for the score against Korea A.

Ryan 'Mathew Perry' Grimes - Ryan was HUGE in the tournament, as he kept getting open in the middle. There was no one that could check him as he continuously drove his man down field and then quickly came back to the disc. Ryan also had a ton of scores off HAMMERS, which is becoming his trademark throw. He was also big in the end zone, preventing a lot of hucks especially in the finals. To be honest, I was one of the players that voted against Ryan in the selection of the HK A team for the HK tournament last year due to his lack of experience. He made a believer out of me after Boracay as I definitely think he should be in the A team this year. Overall an excellent tournament.

Chris 'no nickname' Jensen - Gutsiest player in the tournament. Although he was feeling under the weather, Chris played his normal EXCELLENT D and O. I thought Chris was wiped out after the quarter-finals due to his condition but he sucked it up and played awesome in the remaining two games. Most Deletememorable plays were his give and gos with Joel. His defense against the long hucks also helped our team win the tournament.

Joel 'Dr. Jones' Melanson - I thought this guy should have been the MVP in the tournament. Joel's lay-out D's in the Qtr, Semi and Finals were awesome. He also used his height to his advantage, swatting or catching the disc for the score. His field vision was also excellent, kept his cool at all times and was very effective with the give and gos. Boracay is definitely one of his best tournaments to date. Looking forward to seeing you ROCK in Shanghai.

Jamie - Jamie had two consecutive memorable lay-outs, not bad for a guy that has only played once before the tournament. Jamie was very effective in the middle. He bailed me out numerous times when the count was 4 and he simply cut in and I passed him the disc. Most memorable play was his 'conservation of greatness' lay-out catch against Manila A.

Robert - I was so tired in what was the final play of the tournament, I let Chris Jensen cut first into the corner end zone which sucked all the defenders to him. I quietly snuck behind him and caught the winning pass from Joel. I learned that from Steven Lee - work less but get all the glory. My most memorable play was my armpit catch off the pull against Korea A - really stunk!

LABAL

That's it. Hope you guys can make it again to the Boracay 2004 tournament.
MANANA!

Regards;

Robert Halili
HK Boracay Team Coordinator

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