ISSO is a series of sporting events spanning from September to January, eagerly anticipated each year by students across the country, and the U17 Girls Basketball Team had the honor of being the first team from Ascend to compete. We set out on our journey on the 17th of September 2025, leaving from school and heading to Jayashree Periwal International School in Jaipur.
After reaching Jaipur late evening, we settled into our hotel to rest before Day 1. The next morning, a 6 am alarm and a lot of chaos later, we were off! Although there were definitely some grumbles and cursing at the wake-up call, it was all worth it once we reached JPIS. Turning the corner and seeing a castle is not something expected at a sports tournament, and it filled us all with a sense of excitement and anticipation for the games ahead. Everything began to feel real. The large open field between the castle and the courts was filled with students from all over the country, there to proudly represent their respective schools. I was handed a flag three times my size to hold high with the Ascend logo and name as the opening ceremony began. The atmosphere was heightenedThe traditional passing of the torch, a flag hoisting, and some speeches later, the games officially began.
The competition is structured in a league-knockout format, where, for us to qualify, to the quarter finals, we needed to win at least 3 out of our 4 games. Game 1 was against The Shri-Ram School, located in Delhi, and a tough opponent. After losing to them in the past, both nerves and mind games led our team to doubt our skills and go into the game with a loser’s mentality. In truth, part of the problem was the lack of playing time we had all had together. Last year’s graduating seniors were the backbone of our team, and losing them led us to introduce younger, newer players, who are equally good but lack practice with the rest of our team. This resulted in major coordination issues, and we lost the game 20-3. The bus ride back to the hotel was a somber one, with self-doubt in every player. However, the coaches made sure we weren’t giving up yet.
Our next game was in the evening the next day, against Anand Nkeitan, a Jaipur-based school. But before that, we needed to get used to the heat. Part of the reason we played so badly the day before was the scorching heat in Jaipur, with the sun right over our heads, and we struggled to even see the basket.. So to power through, we booked a court nearby to our hotel and practiced the morning before our second game. This not only reminded us to play as a team, but also allowed us to adjust to the environment before the game.
We walked into the campus late evening, much more confident and ready to take on the challenge. However, it wasn’t easy. We began the game with a 3-basket lead, as our opponents struggled to score a single basket across the first quarter. But their lack of points was definitely not due to a lack of opportunity. Our defense was proper and working, but the refs disagreed. Many of our players were on 3 or 4 fouls within the first quarter, which was extremely unusual and a testament to the sheer no. of calls given freely to the other team. But we held on. No matter how many free throws our opponents were fed, we built our lead. One of our key players even got ejected from the game in the last quarter, but the score ended 14-6, a 4-basket lead.
Walking into day 3, our first game went well in our favour, and we ended up winning 23-7, an easy yet vital win. In fact, Ishika Chawla, the tiniest yet best players, clinched a Merit Award from ISSO for that game. We returned to the hotel for a quick lunch before we set off to play at GEMs International school, which had only flown in all the way from Dubai. We started the game down, 5-0. However, we weren’t ready to give up just yet. Other than the point guard, the rest of their players were inexperienced, and visibly so, and although we had lacked coordination in our first game, we made up for it in this one. Most of our baskets came from fast break layups, and by the fourth quarter, we were up by a decent margin, winning the game 29-12, putting us into the quarter finals.
That night was one of celebration, and the atmosphere of the bus was electric. However, little did we know, the worst was yet to come. Quarter finals were scheduled for 7:30 am the next morning, and our game was against HLC international, a team from Chennai who made every single lay-up. Watching them warm up was like watching robots, never missing, no matter the shot. We started the first quarter with a lead, but immediately after went down 3 or 4 baskets. Every single play would result in a basket for them, whereas we only converted some. By halftime, the score was 28-16, and we were losing. Badly. We started the third quarter, conceding 7 baskets in 3 minutes, making the score 41-16, and in a blip of focus lost we were suddenly down by 25 points. We were fighting as hard as possible and still losing terribly. In the fourth quarter, we gave it our all, and let in no baskets; however, we didnt make any either, resulting in a final score of 41-17. Simply put, they were just plain better than us, and while we tried our level best, their accuracy and reliability were unmatched.
