The Hong Kong team was burnin’ in Shanghai, showing two parts like the city. The Old Shanghai team on Saturday was pretty shaky, losing a close one to Beijing, getting romped by Singapore, and winning a hard fought battle against Korea. Shanghai B provided a breather, giving JUNK the chance to regain its stride.

The New Shanghai team showed up on Super Sunday, winning twice against a very tough Shanghai A team who was favoured to reach the finals. HK JUNK won the first game under intense heat, using a hard-nosed zone defense and quick passes to the middle and long passes to our deeps. The semi-final game against Shanghai A was a pure test of our wills as we fell behind by 4 or more points twice in the game, the toughest margin at 12-9 with HK’s back purely against the wall. Thwarting 3 potential-winning scores by Shanghai A, HK rallied to win 13-12 to make it to the finals. Again, our swarming defense, quick transition scores following a turnover, and our hard-nosed attitude to dig down when necessary were the keys to the rally.

The finals against Singapore showed some promise with HK rallying back to tie the game 3-3. Our troops, however, were simply outmatched by a more organized Singapore team as they pulled away to win 15-8. Although we lost in the finals, I can’t help imagine how we would have fared if we had fields to practice on in the run-up to the tournament. Kudos to JUNK for burnin’ it up in the Shanghai Ring of Fire tournament.

The Hong Kong team was a mixture of wily veterans and rookies. Stellar performances abounded on our team.

MOST MEMORABLE PLAYS

Sun Hing – made a wild catch against Singapore on Saturday, rallying the team to score 3 straight points to tie. He is also not afraid to lay out defensively, with several close plays. This guy is the future.

Myron –Made a hard clasping catch against Shanghai B and I’ve got the picture to prove it. Smiling Myron made a lot of great cuts and also looks good in a green bikini.

Del – This guy has more than 2 gigabytes of energy. Most memorable play was the diving ouching catch against Shanghai B on Sunday. Del also played extremely well against Shanghai A, as he kept getting open at will. I kept remarking to Steven Lee that this guy must be invisible.

Charmain – Did not win the MVP award for nothing. She was key to breaking open zone defences with her snappy flicks and getting our offence on gear.

Robert Halili – (by Steven Lee) Many players had outstanding moments, but if I had to pick a player who came the closest to playing flawlessly throughout the tournament my pick would be Robert Halili.  On offence he got open at will, caught everything near him and just didn’t throw the disc away.  While playing middle in the semi-final he busted deep, made a perfect read and brought down a tricky huck as it cleared the outstretched hands of defender Judd.  Robert fired up the entire team with some key D blocks and impressed spectators and players alike with his brilliant “stuff and score” against Korea.

Elaine – As Joel mentioned in his email, Elaine’s game is getting so great. You can feel the confidence that she has in her cuts, like she really wants the disc (hey Joel, you should write the next Halili Report).

Joel – This guy played all positions on offence - handler, middle, and deep. Also kept our zone defence intact, roaming the field for any threatening long throws. If I had to pick a player to watch, Joel is it as he plays super hard on each play and has fun doing it. Best play was his deep snatch in the end zone against Korea. The tough part about that play was the disc swirled left as he was running hard to the right corner. He adjusted accordingly, diving for the score. Awesome!

Shirley – Shirley showed good poise in the semi-finals, catching several difficult passes to keep our offence going. BTW, Happy Birthday!

Roberto – This guy should do the Energizer commercials as he keeps on going. He is the only player that I know that gets stronger in each successive game. Best play was his high vertical leaping snatch going backwards in the Finals. HUGE catch, HUGE play, HUGE player. Can’t say enough how good Roberto is. Good luck in Shanghai if you make the move. 

Paul B. – Paul not laying out in a tournament would be like the sun not rising. He added more to his collection, his best one was against Shanghai B when he dove for a catch near the sidelines. He then coolly converted that play into a 35-yard score to Del who responded accordingly by also diving hard for the disc. Paul’s best play was not a lay out though. The most memorable was his pass to Robert H. to the end zone in the Semis. He flicked the disc hard while falling backwards, ala Antonio Banderas in Desperado.

Jonathan Fritz – had several huge plays on defence, especially against Shanghai A. He played a key role in shutting down the opponents with his well-anticipated plays on D while in the Cup. His best plays – his hammers to Roberto - were thrown with cool intensity.  He showed off his legs in the finals with a long sprint for a field-length huck that came in directly overhead for a score.

Wilkie – made a fine showing in his first tournament. Threw several silky flicks, played tough D on the Cup, and showed great poise in the middle. Watch out for Wilkie the Beautiful as he is still improving.

Apple – The Tai Chi master was at it again in Shanghai. Her energy was overflowing on O and D. Her best play was that diving catch in the end zone in the Semis. Apple winning the Hustle award was an understatement.

Melissa – Hong Kong has been very lucky to have energetic fun players such as Natalie, Yuka, Noemie, and Kate. In Shanghai, we had Melissa Bellisima. Melissa was not only fun, but she also played well in the middle. Thanks for bailing us out numerous times in tough offensive situations. As for the party, you were the Carnival Queen.

Steven Lee – What can I say about Hong Kong's most ubiquitous player. He was simply all over the place – in the toilet, in the fields, in the toilet, and back to the fields. Despite his food poisioning, Mr. Lee was able to gather the energy to play at a very high level. In fact, he was the most feared player in the play-offs. His backhand was even better than that old guy who is kinda retired Tom Nunan's as they were long, sharp, and accurate. After his early hucks in the final I kept hearing the Singapore bench yelling ‘don't let him throw backhand’. Mr. Lee obliged by throwing 15-yard flicks to our middles. Awesome tournament and great stamina. You will also be regarded as Tianping Hotel's most memorable guest.

Kirk Perris – (by Steven Lee) As usually happens with tournaments, Kirk had a mishap and couldn’t play.  In this case he wrecked his knee a few days before the tournament.  Still, he showed up on Sunday and did a great job as waterboy – even better than the guy in the movie.  He actively helped the team by stalking the opposite sideline to coach our zone defenders and by offering wise council to players during water breaks.

Jerry – Yoon the goon couldn't find the fields and missed the Saturday events but he put up a good showing Sunday morning. His first play – a deep catch for the score. Awesome!  Too bad he had to leave early.

C.J. – C.J. played well on Saturday, he made some good

That's it. I hope ya'll had a great time. I certainly did. Let's get ready for more memorable moments in Singapore next month.

BTW, I have given awards to each player based on their Ultimate performance. My daughter Erika has painstakingly made laminated certificates for each player with tournament pictures. We will present the awards at practice this weekend. For those that cannot make it to the beach on Saturday, please email me and I will send to you by mail.

Awards

Myron – No Matter What

Sung Hin – Lay-out Monster

Del – Pentium Overdrive

Charmain – Starbucks

Elaine – One More Inch

Joel – Super Sky

Shirley – Party

Roberto – 24/7

Paul B. – Making the Play

Jonathan Fritz – Getting Down

Wilkie – Am I Beautiful?

Melissa – Carnival Queen

Apple – Big Watermelon

C.J. – Halftime

Steven Lee – Flushing the Enemy

Til the next Halili Report.

Regards;

Robert Halili

to Shanghai photos