In late January of this year, the Sport Houses of PTEM had their first meeting to decide which of their members will participate in the upcoming Sport’s Day this June. In the previous years, most Sport Houses usually let members participate in the events of their choosing by signing up for tournaments during the meeting. This year, however, we have a Sports House that has dedicated an entire website just to do so.
Indera Putra, one of the Sports Houses of PTEM which sports blue as their primary colour, has set up website https://www.inderaputra.com/ which lets their members sign up for events online. Each member was encouraged to join at least one event during the meeting, but could sign in during their free time, even at home.
Several members have described using the website as very quick and convenient as opposed to signing in using paper. One member even said the website makes them feel ‘special’ as they claim it is a rather unique feature. Aside from signing up for events, the Indera Putra website allows members to join the group for the Sports House in WhatsApp through a link found in the website so they can be updated at any time. Also, the official Putra Sports House T-shirt is available to be bought from the website for anyone, even other members.
The other Sports Houses, however, were more traditional in their approach. They had their members sign up for events on paper at the meeting, which is a tried and tested methods from previous years. Participants lined up to put their name in their desired sports’ tournaments. And for all the other Sports Houses, as usual, no big issues were faced by members when they were required to do so.
Putra may not be alone on using modern media for their members. Wijaya, the green Sports House, gave their members the option to send messages via WhatsApp to join events. However, one member has stated the instructions to do so were “not very clear.”
On 21st April , PTEM’s frisbee team, The Discorder, participated in the Crossover Ultimate Challenge tournament which took place at Jerudong Sport Complex from 7am to 6pm. It was held by YPateraco. The competition was joined by different institutions and colleges. Although members of the team are mainly of the upper 6th students, the lower 6th students from the frisbee CCA club were also invited to participate in their first ever frisbee tournament. Not only did they beat other sixth form schools such as Maktab Duli, they have also managed to win a spot in the finals, winning second place against Politeknik Brunei.
One of the juniors, Nazirul, said “It was really intense and we get to learn how to be most experienced in playing.” The team noted that team spirit and chemistry are the most important part for winning. Nazirul continued, “We need to work together as a team, but we also have our own responsibilty during the game.”
One of the senior players, Aliah, shared her enthusiasm, “Even though we played under the sun, it is still fun.” The team members also mentioned that they were trained by their super seniors. They are really proud of the fact that, this year the proud Discorder team are the first Discorder batch to get into the finals. With this win, they have also undoubtedly pushed PTEM’s name up among colleges and institutions.
The biggest hope for Discorder is to make it as an official Frisbee team. There are 21 members in Discorder, led by Muiz Iskandar a super senior of PTEM.
The best from Brunei reigned supreme in two hard-fought wins at ONE Warrior Series 5 on Thursday, at Singapore. The event featured a diverse number of unique and talented athletes across the globe who were given the opportunity to fight under the premier banner of ONE Championship.
This isn’t the first time that Brunei has tasted victory on the growing international stage before, either. Not too long ago, Adib Sulaiman demonstrated Brunei’s technical skills to the world, and it would seem that history would repeat itself once more, this time in the forms of local strawweight Mohamad Norhidayat and lightweight Ahmed ‘Easy’ Faez who both won by submissions in the first and second rounds respectively.
Mohamad Norhidayat
Ahmed ‘Easy’ Faez
Norhidayat brought the end to the first round with a smooth transition to a head and arm triangle choke, while Faez found an armbar against his heavy-hitting opponent in the second round of his bout, with both fighters displaying stunning submission skills.
Demetrious Johnson, former 11 time UFC Champion. Photo credit to: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting
All this was possible thanks to ONE Championship, one of the largest mixed martial arts organisations based in Asia, but open to the world. Notable fighters including world’s most feared muay thai fighter test their fists in ONE, along with a pound-for-pound former UFC Champion who was considered to be the greatest of all time.
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class at Khalifa MMA
It’s safe to say that if one of Brunei’s own made their way onto the already stacked stable of absolute greats, the little country would forever cement itself within the minds of the world as not only being an ‘Abode of Peace’ but also an ‘Abode of Peace & Potential’.
So what’s next? Only time will tell. Small steps first. It isn’t just MMA that’s growing, but also kickboxing and boxing bouts that have provided local fighters with opportunities and experience that have proven invaluable in the development of fighters as hopeful symbols of Brunei’s progress as a budding nation.
Brunei has always been responsible for nurturing potential fighters, and the fruits of these efforts are finally beginning to command attention. Whether on the local or the world stage, the following statement should be taken note of: Brunei breeds brawlers.
Resident gold medalist Fiona Hii Wee Ting has done nothing but bring our school’s name justice as of late. Fiona from A1 has successfully added to her award collection (a collection of currently 26 golds 12 Silver and 11 bronze medals) and name 2 more gold medals after riding a winning streak of a total of 5 wins in the Brunei Junior Cadet Table Tennis Championship 2019.
The Equinox decided to have a sit down with Fiona and get to know more about her and her table tennis experiences. She has played table tennis for almost 10 years, initially embarking on her table tennis journey around the end of 2009. Fiona draws her inspiration from that of her own father and cousins, who were frequent and passionate players themselves. The multiple gold medalist simply said; “I thought of trying (after seeing her cousins play) and I started loving it.”
Fiona is also one of the national athletes for table tennis who has often had opportunities to go overseas and compete in various table tennis competitions, with her most frequent visits being to the country members of the ASEAN. Fiona was scouted for the national team after winning 1st place at an inter-school competition in 2010 leading to her first international competition in the ASEAN PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORTS OLYMPIAD, where some of her first contenders were players from Thailand and Vietnam.
As a Sixth Form student, The Equinox were quite curious as to how Fiona juggles her double life between being a full time student and national athlete. Fiona has mentioned in her interview that she has training at least thrice a week, with all of them being at night. However, she also goes on to mention the following; “I do not want to prioritize sports over studies.” Even though Fiona has had an eternal love for sports as sports has a tendency to make her “happy and relieves my (her) stress” she aims to take her love for sports to yet another level, with her dreams and aspirations of wanting to become a physiotherapist.
Lastly, we have asked Fiona on her parents’ views regarding her being a national athlete.
“At first they were extremely happy and proud but now they have just gotten used to it (her frequent absence from home). My mom used to cry at first but now its just byes and see you(s). However, it is fun to travel with your friends and do what you love.”
The Equinox would like to congratulate Fiona on her recent win and wish her all the best for her next competition happening this Sunday, at the Brunei Open. We also hope that Fiona can be an inspiration to other students to always do what they love and to never give up on their dreams. Not only that, but we also hope that Fiona can be an inspiration to all Bruneians and make everyone more aware on fitness and health.
Find more about Fiona on her Instagram page, @fionahwt. and read her interview with Borneo Bulletin here.
Although you can do it in so very few places, surfing is a sport that is quickly growing in popularity among the Bruneian youth. No, you did not just read that wrong, people DO surf in Brunei! Yeah, it was kind of unexpected for me too, if I’m being totally honest.
Tungku Beach, otherwise known as KM26 is an exposed beach break that only favors the surfer when conditions are just right. It wouldn’t technically be like hitting the waves in Malibu or catching some high tides Wakiki, but its still a fun activity that’s worth giving a try. The best conditions for surfing is during the cyclone season, where the best wind direction according to the surf forecast website is from the Southeast. Brunei has also held its first ever Surf Fest early last year as an act to raise money for much-needed lifesaving equipment at both Tungku and Berakas beach. It had a great turnout, with a huge amount of people signing up for surf lessons. It is a festival that they plan to make annually.
So, if you’re anything like me, and surfing is definitely somewhere on your list of things to do before you die, then I suggest to stop waiting and just do it, because life is too short to just “plan to do it in the future”. When the opportunity waves at you, grab a board and ride it.
Mystic represented PTEM in the IAW NETBALL CHARITY TOURNAMENT on the 17th of March, lead by their team captain Zahidah and their netball tutors, Ms Memie, Ms Sarina and Ms Zuliana.
Team Mystic scored 6-5 on their first match up against Singastar and 12-8 against the SyahadahLions, as they then moved forward to the semi finals where the team unfortunately suffered their first loss. However, their hearts and passions burned strong as they pushed through their last match against Rimba Royals, where they won and were then crowned Third place in the whole tournament.
“Netball is part of our life, a sport where we all have, and still can gain new experiences and trust amongst players, both as rivals and friends. It’s something we’ll never give up, never let go and never stop doing. This is who we are and what we do” says team Mystic with as much pride as they had both before stepped on the court and after they stepped off the court.
Sports is one of the best ways to make PTEM known to others and showing others how PTEM is progressive AND proactive in extra curricular activities. Thus, we hope that team Mystic can represent PTEM in other tournaments as well and make PTEM shine!
PTEM has emerged victorious in their friendly match at the Royal Brunei Recreational Club’s field against Maktab Duli, and with a remarkable four-nil victory we would like to congratulate the representatives of PTEM in making the school proud with such a dominant amazing win over their rivals!
PTEM left their mark at the end of the first forty-five minutes with a three-nil lead thanks in no small part to PTEM’s sons, Syafiq Asran, who scored two goals, along with Nizam who also fantastically scored another goal. The blazing performance hadn’t ended yet though, as Syafiq Asran fired with pride of PTEM, sealed the victory with an impressive hat-trick that brought the win right back home to PTEM.
Putting this victory aside for now, PTEM will soon be having yet another friendly match against Maktab Sains in the near future. On paper, these two schools’ rivalry are often referred to as the battle of intellectuals! We can only hope that the best team prevails.
As a last note, the Equinox would like to point out to the every student of PTEM that having the weight of representing the school is no easy task, thus, this is a great achievement!
The softball showcase was held on the 11th of March 2019, where the PTEM Softball club touched regarding softball development.
The event was a collaborative effort between MoE ( JPKK and SCHOOL ), JBS, BASBA, associate members, PTEM’S CCA SECTION and PTEM’S SOFTBALL CLUB.
Major (R) Wan Tambrin bin Haji Suhaili, The vice-president of the Brunei Amateur Baseball and Softball Club (BASBA) officiated the event with a short speech introducing the sport. The students were then brought to PTEM’s field where they were shown a demonstration.
Not only that, but the students were then grouped for the activities, the activities included batting, pitching, throwing and a mini demonstration of the game. They were even treated to a live friendly match between the ladies and men of the national team.
We at The Equinox hope that students enjoyed the amazing experience as this sport is not able to be experienced by a lot of the Bruneian youths. We also hope, that through this showcase that the softball team will get closer to achieving their aim in finding potential new members for the national team and that these players would make Brunei proud, one day!
SINGAPORE– EQUINOX Editor-In-Chief Wira.Ggives you the LIVE play-by-of the heart of Brunei Darussalam’s MMA pride, Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman as he goes head to head against his opponent, Rungrot Posi from Thailand in the Strawweight division on the 28th of February 2019 in the 6th bout of former champion and MMA legend Rich Franklin’s Warrior Series under the banner of Asia’s most renowned and prestigious proving grounds: ONE Championship.
ROUND 1: As the bell sounds off for the first round, we see Brunei’s Adib “Deep” Sulaiman and Thailand’s Rungrot Posi coming out tentatively with Orthodox and Southpaw stances respectively, with both fighters attempting to establish the range and pace of the fight, with Posi advancing forward with leg kicks and snapping front kicks, Sulaiman is calmly able to counter with a straight right. Inching forward in a linear fashion with an open stance while pawing out the jab, (as tradition for most fighters from Thailand), we see Sulaiman’s response being composed, stepping in and out of range while occasionally using angles to avoid being propped up against the ropes. The rest of the round consisted of Posi attempting to assert himself by occupying the center of the ring as a base to begin swinging for the fences with combinations often set up with a right hook or a left uppercut feint. Sulaiman continues to confidently stay out of range and throw occasional strikes which are set up off of Posi’s strikes. A break from the flurry of strikes came up as both fighters meet once more in the center of the ring.
Like lightning, Posi catches Sulaiman with an overhand left that pushes him back against the ropes,
swarming him with strikes and head kicks
as the bell brings an end to the round soon after.
Wira’s Scorecard: 10-9 in favor of Rungrot Posi.
ROUND 2: With the confidence gained in the first round, Posi once more attempts to set the pace, but is stopped by a solid right body kick followed up by a step in left hook by Sulaiman. Posi’s began to start swinging in response, triggering Sulaiman to nimbly step out of range again as the pace dies down once more. Not long after, the fight gets shifted into second gear, a brawl breaks out, with Sulaiman firing a straight right, Posi firing back in the form of a counter by Posi, while in the midst of all this, Sulaiman clips Posi with an accurate overhand right
followed by a left hook cross, but is countered with pinpoint accuracy by Posi’s left that targets an opening that Sulaiman left following his combination. Covering up, Posi once more charges forward, mixing up punches in bunches that pressure Sulaiman all the way to the other side of the ring, as Posi, a Judo practitioner in his own right, executes the first takedown of the fight, slamming Sulaiman
face-first into the mat, hunting for a head and arm choke. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt himself, Sulaiman defends well against the choke, getting back to his feet while forcing Posi into a corner, finishing a double leg takedown and passing into a half guard mount. The summarized result was Sulaiman laying down powerful ground and pound shots
and an Americana submission attempt before Posi rebounded from the bottom, attempting a neck crank, after failing to secure his arm fully under the chin.
in the last ten seconds of the round.
Wira’s scorecard: 10-10, a fairly even round.
ROUND 3: As the final round of the match sounds off, both men touch gloves and hug each other out of respect and sportsmanship before the war begins.
Sulaiman seems to be biding his time, calm and composed as usual. On the other hand, a seemingly worn-out Posi wings off an uppercut hook duo, followed by Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman’s answer, lunging forward with a swarm of punches that started off with a left cross, a few left overhands and right hooks that beat Posi from the center of the ring to the corner post. In his attempt to escape, Thailand’s Rungrot Posi gets thrown to the mat by Brunei’s Adib Sulaiman who flattens out Posi with hooks, posturing up and raining down merciless bombs
that finally finishes Posi, with the referee stepping in to put an end to the fight within seconds of the third round. Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman roars with a burning passion at the glory of the hard fought victory, kneeling to pay respects to his opponent
and embrace him in the same ring he had emerged from the battle, victorious, with the Brunei flag wrapped proudly around him.
Result: Adib ‘Deep’ Sulaiman, from Brunei gets the TKO stoppage in the 3rd round.
PTEM’s NEW CCA club is expected to open up new sports opportunities for beloved PTEM’s students. A sport which is not widely known amongst the Bruneian youth yet played globally elsewhere (Softball is played in over 140 countries,worldwide).
Surprise, surprise!
Softball is even going to be played in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics!
Although softball is considered one of the most popular youth sports, it is upsetting that the Bruneian youths are not really aware on the various kinds of sports, we at The Equinox believes that as “Generasi Berwawasan” we should all be educated on what kinds of sports are played, globally to easily build bridges amongst us and youths from other parts of the world. In Brunei, softball players are gradually losing their ground and steadily extinct due to the players being at their age of retirement. However, a handful of them are still active and enthusiastic softball players who have participated in local, regional and international tournaments.
Want something new? Softball might be for you.
The softball club led by Ms Zaitul and Ms Wan Farah of the Careers Department has currently only 5 members (surprisingly, all males!) The softball team is currently having basic training sessions only BUT towards the end of the year they will participate in friendly games and inter-school tournaments. Psst,they are also looking for new members for the national softball team! If you are interested and committed in being a national player, softball is the place to go!
As it is their first year having softball as a CCA, here’s what they have to say:
Ms Zaitul from the Careers Department (Tutor-in-charge), has played softball for over 15 years on the national team. She says that “PTEM is the best target group to promote this sport to boost youth interest in this particular sport – as softball is only a small community in Brunei, our CCA club is collaborating and receiving support from Brunei Amateur Softball and Baseball Association ( BASBA ).
Ashraaf (the Team Captain of the softball club) has answered why he has decided to join the interesting newly added CCA, ”Softball is not a typical sport you would normally see in Brunei. For me personally, I am trying it out because I love to try out different kind of sports. Since this is the first year that softball has been introduced in the school, I hope to promote it and see it grow to be as a sport that is as popular as the others such as football because in Brunei the softball community is very small.” In addition, ”Softball is basically similar to baseball, it’s just that the ball is much bigger than the one used in baseball and the field is smaller. Its rules are also slightly different than baseball”.
The newly added Softball CCA is open for every student, (no matter male or female ) in PTEM. They are currently conducting sessions from 230-4pm at the PTEM Field, some sessions are also coached by invited guests who are international and national players!
To know more regarding softball or their CCA they will be conducting an exhibition in the MPH on the 11th of March at 2:15pm ( save the date, future softballers!) This exhibition will be attended by our very own national players who will bring along and exhibit the respective softball gears and equipment. NOT ONLY THAT, they will also have friendly games available for the students to try out!
The Equinox 