A Fondue of Fun, Fellowship, and Finishing First

Fans crowed with delight and others hid their faces as Allen 'O Anthropos’ McClymont thundered towards the basket under the scorching sun, deftly dribbling the ball around the flailing limbs and futile attempts of his opponents as they tried to slow him down. Time seemed to slow as McCylmont leaped gracefully into the air, soared over faces slack with disbelief and slammed the ball home just as the final second on the clock ticked off into awed silence. The nasal shriek of the buzzer was drowned by the deafening roar of the crowd filling the sweltering air.

The above may not have been a very accurate account of actual events, but it certainly captures the sense of excitement that reverberated throughout the campus at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia on the 6th of July 2009. For the first time in Malaysian history, three seminaries came together in the spirit of competitive camaraderie to face each other under the banner of the Malaysian Inter-Seminary Games in several sporting events, including basketball, volleyball, futsal, table tennis, and even carrom.
Seminari Theoloji Malaysia (STM) displayed its dominance in the court by remaining undefeated in all bouts of basketball and volleyball, and fought hard against the Bible College of Malaysia (BCM) in the futsal finals, but BCM showed true determination and was declared the victor of the futsal division. Malaysia Bible Seminary (MBS), however, was not to be left out, and utterly annihilated all competition indoors, securing victories in table tennis (both singles and doubles), as well as carrom.
After a hard day of pushing the athletic prowess of seminarians to the limit and a time of refreshing corporate prayer for the needs of the nation, the overall trophy based on each seminary’s cumulative performance was finally awarded to MBS with much rejoicing from its students. A relieved BCM came in at a close second, with STM close on its heels. Winning evidently wasn’t everything, however, as relationships were formed and strengthened with the promise of more interaction to come between the seminaries in the near future.

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McClymont slipped away into the darkness, away from the frenzied throng composed of many giddy with triumph and many more still reeling from their defeat. ‘Next year,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘Next year.’

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Disclaimer: Anything in the article found in italics are a work of fiction.

Author’s Note: I would, however, like to acknowledge that Mr. Allen Brian McClymont of the STM faculty has graciously consented to my taking creative liberties with the use of his persona in the writing of this article.