The whistle blows. The ball goes up. And just like that, another basketball season begins. This year, St George’s School once again stepped onto the court for the AEWON PPE Interschool Basketball Tournament 2026, an annual 5-on-5 competition bringing together schools from across Brunei.
For SGS, this year's tournament was about more than simply competing. It was about giving our students the opportunity to represent their school, challenge themselves against other schools, work together as a team and experience the excitement of competitive basketball.
24 Players. Two Teams. One SGS.
This year, SGS entered both the Boys' and Girls' competitions, with 12 boys and 12 girls selected to represent the school. All 24 players are members of the SGS Basketball Club, with students ranging from Year 7 to Year 11.
That meant our teams brought together students with different levels of experience.
Some have been playing basketball and representing SGS for several years. Others returned after competing in previous tournaments. And for some, this was their first time wearing the SGS jersey in an interschool competition.
The boys' team welcomed seven new players to the interschool squad this year, while the girls' team had four new players joining the team. For the girls, this tournament was particularly significant. This marked the third year that SGS has entered a girls' team, continuing the school's growing participation in girls' basketball.
The Tournament Begins... Then Stops
The tournament was scheduled to take place from 31 August to 20 September 2026.
Day 1 went ahead as planned, and the players were ready to compete. But the tournament soon faced an unexpected challenge. Due to the haze, the remaining matches had to be postponed. For the players, that meant waiting.
Training continued. The teams had to stay focused. And everyone had to be patient while waiting for the competition to resume.
Finally, on 8 September, after the haze had subsided, the tournament was able to continue. The wait was over. The SGS players were back on court.
The First Team to Take the Court
With the competition resuming, the SGS Girls were among the first to begin their tournament campaign. They were placed in Group A, alongside ISB and Maktab Duli. Meanwhile, the Boys were preparing for their own challenge in Group B, where they would face Maktab Sains, SMJA, Pusat Tingkatan Enam Belait (PTEB) and JIS. Four matches stood between the SGS Boys and a possible place in the semi-finals.
Different opponents. Different challenges. Two SGS teams.
And the tournament was about to reveal just how much determination our players had brought to the court.
NEXT: MORE THAN THE SCORE
The SGS Girls took on Maktab Duli and ISB, with special support from an alumna. How did our girls fare against these two schools? Find out in Part 2!