We thought that the games would scale down but that proved to be untrue. My boys told me that we were going full force out to prepare, I told them, "take it easy". We are a professional services firm and an amateur team. We are not a professional sports team so therefore winning at all cost is not the strategy. I think that during the next few weeks of training and the whole month competition in July, they [our players] should go out there and enjoy themselves. Not get so stressed out that they must win at all cost. Because this comes every year and is part of our calendar, to me, it's recreation. But, we don't like to be the whipping boys and we can tell our competition that "if we win again, then nobody will play with us". Even if we are not overall champions, it does not matter. I think we've shown to the rest that we're very good in sports and if we set our minds to go out and win, we can, but we may selectively want to win a few events but to focus to win ALL these events [is another thing].
I think the last two years that [philosophy] stressed up many people. Definitely in the last two years there was quite a high level of competitive stress that was experienced. Stress, stress, I think to the extent that they placed winning very much ahead of their personal well-being, health, office work, even family life etc. As I spoke to some of the leaders of the games, they told me they put everything in, it's very very stressful. I don't think we need to go through that. But, if we want to win a job, we should be doing that. Games, we go out and enjoy and of course give our best but not to the [extreme]. That's the way I look at it. If the rest want to win at all costs, let them do it, but we should be able to hold our ground although some [participants are no longer working] with us and still win in many of the games. If we are champions, so much the better, if we are not, it's ok. That's my attitude. It's something where all of us go out and have fun and enjoy. support our team spirit, bring up the fellowship.
If you look at 1000 people in a workforce, how many of them are the 'sporting type'? I [don't really know] as I haven't really thought about it. I think in a sports club, all of them are the sporting type. In the workplace, I'm not sure how many of them are the sporting type and too much emphasis on sports alone [is not good]. You need to be balanced in everything. Good in technology, sports, and other skills etc. We don't want to prove further, after having won [the IAFG championship] two years in a row. This is my point. But, we should still show them that we are there. Every time that they play against us we should be a tough nut to crack. That's how we get respect from our 'opponents'.
With regards to the time spent and people placing a lot of emphasis on IAFG over say family and office work, some of it is due to a perceived lack of support from other people thus making this small group of people doing the lion's share of the work.
Yes, I think the responsibilities should be spread around, for example, we can list out all the key roles, positions etc and then get volunteers to fill up these responsibilities. I told [the iafg team] to get more partners to be involved rather than just one partner or one director running the whole thing because you're going to stress him up. Like, one partner can be charge of 2 or 3 games. Ideally, one partner should be manager of one team but not many are that interested [in sports]. Back to my earlier question on how many people out of 1000 are the sporting type, are we talking 30%? Or 40, 50, 60? Can't be more than 70%. I guess it's below 50%.
Much lower.
Yeah, it's good to win and boost morale etc. It's also good to enjoy and have fun. My message to all of them taking part is that as we are all out in the field wearing our colours, whether we are competitors or supporters, I think we're all ambassadors of Deloitte. We should be graceful in defeat and humble in victory. You know, don't be a poor loser. Because we're ambassadors of Deloitte. Our behaviour is reflective of ourselves and our brand. I want to advise them to be very mindful of that. It's quite important.
One old complaint which has kinda toned down over the past few years is the lack of care and support from top management. From partners level to directors and managers. Few seem to care about how we're doing in the IAFG in the first place. There are a few who don't even know that it's on despite the website and despite email messages.
Like I said, how many are the sporting type. I love sports so I do care but we all put our priorities [in different places]. I need to be with my family so I can't be there every weekend. Like I said, work comes first. Of course, we try to give as much support as we can. But we also got to be mindful that not everybody can leave their desks to go out there and support all the time because of the demands of our clients etc. But, for those of us who can balance that and can perhaps sometimes find time to go out to support the team, they should be mindful and do so.
Support in sports is something that if one has no interest, how can you [incorporate] that into that person? If you tell them, "look, it's your responsibility, this is your role, to be out there", a lot of them who are responsible enough, will go out there. First, we have to build that support around key supporters. I've asked [the IAFG team] whether we can have a cheerleading team. Ask Kuan Yin to suggest who's the next best person to help out in forming this squad. Select maybe 6 or 10 girls and send them out for a few games to cheer our field games or basketball games. Go out there and support. That'll bring in the crowds for fun. Do we have banners and stuff like that? Get a core cheer team of maybe 20 to 30 people who are committed to say, "When there's a game, we go out there and cheer". We'll give them time-off. And then they'll dress up in our colours. The rest will back them up. Can we do that? Though we can't really apply that for chess [laughs]. Will there be any conflicting events?
Apart from chess and carom, no.
Then we can have people around for the whole month travelling. Try to get a core support team especially from the administrative side or younger people who are less busy, we can use them. Key supporters can leave 45 minutes before kick-off. The rest, after work or whenever they are free, they can go.
One fairly important question, some of the staff here find that they'd like to volunteer or help out for the IAFG but it hard to do so because their management wants them to focus on work. Now that's totally understandable, it's just that they don't really support IAFG in that sense. If they do something related to IAFG, they'd probably get into trouble. Is there something we can do to address this and balance out?
I think if I were them, if I take time-off to support, I'll try to bring work home to balance things out. Do some over-time. After all, if work is not done, we're in trouble [laughs] and it affects our performance and impacts our business. So they have to balance. Those who are really very enthusiastic about these games simply means they may have to sacrifice their weekends for work, some overtime. Some balance is required. If they are really unlucky and their service line is really very busy they may have to do over-time in order to participate and support. But those who are participating, if they have problems getting approvals to participate, come and see me to see whether I can help them or not. I wouldn't say overrule the partners but I would talk to them to try to get support or work out some sort of arrangement. Has there been people who had problems participating?
No, the problem has mainly lied with the supporters. Some have found great difficulty in going out to support.
We can get the Marcomm team and the HR team to go and support, that's already 10 people isn't it? Get the whole team in. We can't get the accounting team though [laughs]. We can get nice special t-shirts and say that, "who joins the support team gets 2 special t-shirts". Won't cost us a lot of money right?
Normal t-shirts would cost about 13 to 15 ringgit but you'll have to buy about 300 pieces.
We can keep, if not, we can also sell them. We can say one game wear one colour. We can treat the core supporters as [IAFG participants] and give them priority for the [IAFG] dinner. Give them some priorities and benefits.
Any last words or signoff words?
I still really think they should go out there and enjoy themselves. Uphold our name and show their sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is quite important. Don't go and play foul and intentionally injure other people. There are some things you don't do. Don't go out and break someone’s leg or elbow. You can strike fear into someone because of your skill but not because of physical [abuse].
Bienvenido! A year has passed since Deloitte was crowned champions of IAFG 2008. Since then, we have seen and experience major upheavals affecting all of us one way or another. No matter what the adversity may be, one thing is certain, we have proven time and time again that we, the people of Deloitte, are more than capable to overcome these challenges that are being thrown at us.
Deloitte today is not only known as a prestigious international accounting firm but we are also being revered as the 2-time defending overall champion of IAFG! I can assure you that this did not occur overnight but rather it was the undying efforts put in by my predecessors for over 5 toiling years immersing themselves in their very own sweat and blood to make Deloitte a household name in the IAFG arena.
A year has passed since we last hoisted the IAFG trophy and before we know it, IAFG 2009 is fast dawning upon us. All our sportsmen and sportswomen will be summoned to gather once again in the IAFG arena as they compete to bring glory and honour to Deloitte.
On behalf of all our sportsmen and sportswomen, I wish to call upon all of you to spare a few moments of your time from your busy schedule to go and lend your support to our people during IAFG 2009. So, let us come out in numbers never been seen before as we march towards a 3rd successive IAFG crown.
Let us create history together as we strive to be the standard of excellence in the arena of IAFG!
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
We have lost 2 players to our competitors for this year’s championship and will dearly miss them. Having said that, life must still go on and the newly-formed bowling team this year comprises of 4 players from previous IAFGs and 3 new players. With God’s grace and sheer determination, the players have matured as a team even though the new recruits only started training together for the past three weeks.
Since the closure of IAFG 2008, the teams from the other firms have strengthened and so have we. Given the limitations of time and resources, I believe that this is the most solid team we could ever have. During the training sessions, I have observed great team dynamics (from clowning together to serious training) and we are dwelling in that to excel and strive towards achieving a 3rd consecutive championship.
We will have very strong competitors this year to dethrone us as Champions but we believe that we will persevere till the end and bring back the trophy to DELOITTE. Our IAFG bowling mentor, Jimmy Lai has been very understanding in providing mental support to us and we will try our very best to win this for him and for DELOITTE!
We need your support to cheer us on our quest for a 3rd consecutive win and our first 3 points for IAFG 2009! See you this Saturday, 10am at Sunway Pyramid Megalanes!
Deloitte opens its campaign for the IAFG2009 games by successfully defending its championship in the bowling event. Deloitte has now won the event 3 consecutive times. It was an excellent peformance by the Deloitte bowlers who scored an average of 922 pins per game and all three of our male bowlers took the top 3 spots for the highest score in the individual male category whereas our female bowler, Pau San narrowly missed out the top spot for ladies. This is easily Deloitte's best performance in its history of IAFG. Kudos to all the Deloitte bowlers and especially to Joseph who has been constantly giving advice and encouragement to all his bowlers through out the competition. We also like to thank all the supporters (who came in numbers) especially the partners, Ang Weina, Jimmy Lai and Jeremy Ng for being there to cheer on our bowlers. Your support and presence there made the difference. Below are the results of the IAFG2009 bowling event: -
Today, the Deloitte Football Team (more prominently known as the Warriors to most of us) will kick off their campaign to defend the IAFG championship at Padang Astaka, Petaling Jaya. This year, the team comprises of a mixture of newcomers and experienced players.
For the benefit of the newcomers, our Warriors have won the event for the past 3 years consecutively and brought the trophy back to our office. However, if you would speak to our captain, Shahrul, he will always tell you that having the talent in the game is insufficient and the team only performs their best when their supporters are behind the team cheering them on.
For the first league match today, our Warriors will be up against KPMG, the host for this year’s IAFG. Experience will tell us that playing the host will always be an “interesting” affair. Hence, we look forward to receiving all the cheers and roars from our fellow colleagues to give the team the additional ‘push factor’ and hopefully, the Warrior will do what they do best, WIN!
The game starts at 5pm and all supporters are allowed time off for an hour before the games begin, subject to approval of the respective superiors. So, get the approval, and see you at Padang Astaka!
Good day! It has been a year since The Fan has last written anything for the IAFG. Allow me to begin by taking everyone down the memory lane of IAFG especially for the benefit of our new recruits. The idea of having a common platform where people from the accounting fraternity can get together to exchange ideas and thoughts beyond their daily work grind was the very foundation that gave birth to the very first IAFG back in 1976.
Fast forward to 2009 and 33 years later, IAFG and the principles behind it remains as stout as ever. Its continued renewal and running over the last 33 years is a strong testimony of the very same people who mooted and supported it all these years. One may ask how many times have Deloitte lifted the coveted title of IAFG Champion in the last 33 years? The answer to that is simple, TWICE out of 33 times! It may appear shocking, perhaps for a firm who has a history of more than 40 years in this country alone. We have witnessed drastic changes taking place within Deloitte especially in the last 6 months or so. The advent of Deloitte South East Asia has led to monumental changes. Changes which The Fan personally thinks is good, one way or another whereby our leaders have redefined the business goals and objectives of Deloitte respectively which we in turn could apply in our quest for IAFG glory.
Yes, times will continuously change and with that, our evolution as well. But one credo that has stood the test of time is, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy”. Accountants have traditionally been seen as dull, boring and conservative people but we all know that does not hold water especially for the people of Deloitte. No doubt our work is paramount but we must be able to live a balance life by infusing some form of sporting activities. My passion for IAFG started way back in 2003 when we were the host and unfortunately the perennial whipping boys among the Big 4 firms. After years of humiliating defeat after defeat, the powers that be finally woke up and decided enough is enough. They finally realized that our battle for supremacy is no longer limited to the corporate world but it has now expanded to the arena of IAFG. Like it or not, the IAFG has become a permanent fixture for all of us within the accounting fraternity. That is something that we, at Deloitte have learned to embrace over the last couple of years.
With that in mind, we started a long and tedious process with countless man hours put in to create a team, a new breed of people (including yours truly) to not only mount challenges but to reign supremacy in the arena of IAFG. “To Be The Standard of Excellence”, that is what we aim to strive in the eyes of our clients but in the eyes of our competitors, WE ARE THE STANDARD OF EXECELLNCE!
The Fan urges all of you to please come out and show your fullest support to our sportsmen and sportswomen as they march into the parthenon of IAFG once again all in the name of Deloitte. The stage has been set and the “performers” are ready. The only missing link is the audience i.e. YOU, the people of Deloitte. So come one, come all as we march together towards our 3rd consecutive IAFG crown! Let’s be all that we can be!
The Deloitte WARRIORS have continued where they left off from the previous few years, by defeating KPMG 2 -0 in a convincing victory at Padang Astaka yesterday.
The game was played on a muddy pitch, and this clearly disrupted the fast flowing game that our team is famous for. After a slow start, the Warriors slowly started to impose their usual style of play and began to control the match. The team started to push forward in a more convincing manner and out of one of this forays to the front, we earned a free kick in a dangerous position. Jeff dispatched one of his trademark pin-point crosses and Awie, who is not the tallest person on the pitch, jumped the highest and headed the ball into the net. 1 -0 to Deloitte slightly before the half time.
With the lead in hand, the team slowed down the tempo of the game and was dictating the match, and midway to the second half we increased the scoreline by another goal. This time it was from a scramble in the box and Awie was the quickest to react for us to win by 2 – 0.
What a way to kick start our football campaign for IAFG 2009!!! A special thanks to Mr Tan Theng Hooi and the other partners, Mr Mak, Mr Yee, Chee Ming, Chu, Wuey Sze, Kamarul and Jeremy who were there to cheer our team on.
Having started off convincingly against KPMG on Wednesday, our Warriors will be having ‘déjà vu’ of the IAFG 2008 Football Finals when they take on another football titan, PwC, later this afternoon. Although, we ended up winning the match marginally with a 2-1 scoreline, PwC as we all know is an unpredictable team. Hence, let our presence and cheers be the ‘12th player’ on the pitch to help our Warriors achieve their goal.
So be there at Padang Astaka, Petaling Jaya at 4pm today to witness our Warriors’ superb dribbling, pin-point crosses and nerve-wrecking shots as they continue to march on their conquest to defend their championship title for the 4th consecutive year.
This Saturday (4th July 2009), our Deloitte Carroms team will be defending their title as Carroms champion. Having already won the tournament for the past 3 years, we had to catch up with Deloitte Carrom’s captain, Prakash to understand the secrets of their preparation.
Q : How is the team’s preparation for this year’s IAFG thus far?
P : The team’s preparation has not changed from the previous years. Currently, the team spirit is soaring high as we have been training diligently for this year’s tournament. As we have a reputation to maintain (as defending champions), we are going to try our best! And based on my observation and the preparations that the players have put in, I believe we can win it again!
Q : Kindly introduce your players to the firm.
P : We are maintaining the same team (Zam, both Rosli(s), Kak Su, Rahim, Zakariah) as last year except for a change in the ladies. We have a new girl from the Audit division – Kayah. We are confident that she will be able to fit in perfectly into the team and deliver the results.
Q : As defending champions for the carroms event (3 consecutive years), what do you think your chances are in winning the event for the 4th year?
P : Although we remain to be the favourites to win this year’s tournament, I wouldn’t write off the chances of other competitors as nothing is impossible. However, the whole team and I are confident that we will succeed again!
Q : As a captain of the carrom’s team, do you have any request or message that you want to give to the supporters?
P : Do come and support us for we are all Deloitte-eans. The tournament will last for 12 hours and we would really appreciate it if you could come and support us (even though on and off).
The carroms tournament will begin at 9.00am on 4th July 2009 at Level 6, KPMG Tower, Bandar Utama. Our Deloitte Chess team will also be playing at the same venue on 4th July 2009. So let’s all be there to provide the support our colleagues need to bring glory to Deloitte!
I’m quite pleased with the team we have for this year. On the whole, given the short preparation time that we’ve had, the team has been pretty enthusiastic during our training sessions. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve each played many games to sharpen our game. I believe that our players are ready for anything. This year, there are a couple of new faces to the team who’ve impressed me with their love of the game, Martin and Yu Sann. I’d just like to say that I’ve been very pleased with their passion and their willingness to find ways to improve their game. Both have shown much visible improvement since the first time I’ve played with them and I’m glad to welcome them into the team.
We have taken the gold in chess before, just two years ago, and I would really love it if we could take gold again this year. I hope that we’ll get many supporters when we compete this Saturday. Yes, chess may appear to be a difficult event to support but your physical presence at the tournament can really help to inspire us to perform well above our normal levels. So, I hope our people could make the effort to turn up and support us as we go for gold this Saturday.
The carroms team secured the second win of the IAFG 2009 season. The Deloitte’s carroms team has now won the event for the fourth time in succession. This is indeed an amazing achievement by Prakash and his team. The games started at 9am on Saturday morning. By virtue of being the defending champions, we received a bye for the first match. However, the first round matches, had produced some unexpected surprises. The first surprise was the defeat of last year's semi-finalist, EY to AAC. Then came the second surprise when KPMG, the host team, was defeated by Russell Bedford (RB). The match went all the way to the final game in the mixed event and both teams were tied with one seed each together with the red seed. RB, at this juncture, heeded the advice from their opponent on not to waste time by winning the match, 3 -2.
In the Quarter Finals, our team defeated MSMR, PKF defeated RB, and AAC defeated RSM.
Team Deloitte then defeated PKF in the semifinals to have a rematch of the last year’s finals against PwC who had defeated AAC in the other semifinals. The finals started slightly after 7pm. By this time Prakash and team had spent almost 10 hours in the competition and they were exhausted. Despite this, they managed to hold on to their nerves and kept a clean record without losing a single match throughout the competition by defeating PwC (3 - 0) to claim the carroms trophy for the fourth time.
After 3 events of the IAFG2009 over, Deloitte currently leads the overall standings with 8 points, while PwC is hot on our heels with 6 points.
Deloitte Warriors has moved a step closer to their 4th consecutive football finals by defeating last year’s finalist, PwC 2 - 0. The Warriors played their usual fast pace football and scored the first goal through Awie who headed the ball passed the goal line with pin point accuracy giving PwC’s goalkeeper no chance at all. With a goal ahead, the Warriors kept the momentum going and immediately pushed forward for a second goal. Not long after that Puvan recorded his first goal in the goal scorers’ sheet with a sprint down the line at the right flank beating PwC’s full back before taking a shot at the goal passing the goalkeeper. Deloitte took a 2 – 0 lead at half time.
At the second half, the Warriors slowed down the pace and were just passing the ball around using all the space of the field. With the scorching heat from the sun and poor condition of the field, the Warriors were happy by just keeping possession of the ball. The 2 - 0 lead was enough to secure the full 3 points for the Warriors. Zul (Captain) quoted “There is no need to risk injury by going all out to score more. A win is still a win and we are very focused on the overall objective. We only want a win and nothing more”.
The Warriors will be taking a week off before their next match with SJGT on July 13, 2009 (Monday).
Our chess team successfully secured second place in the IAFG 2009 Chess event. They have contributed two crucial points towards our goal of defending the IAFG Overall Championship.
Our team started out very well by easily defeating KPMG 4 -1 in the first match. Thereafter, we were up against EY, who gave us a fight before we defeated them 3 -2.
The final match was against PwC, last year’s champions and also the only other undefeated team in the competition. PwC, unfortunately was too strong and we lost them soundly. To add to the tensed situation, we were only leading EY by 1 point and should they defeat KPMG 5 -0, we would be third.
Luck was on our side and EY defeated KPMG 3 -2 and we were therefore the first runner up. Well done to John and team for the two points.
The Deloitte Badminton Team, for the first time in many years, had reached the finals in last year’s event and contributed 2 point en route for Deloitte to retain its IAFG2008 Overall Champions title. Without doubt, this was done with the players’ relentless training and commitment each of them showed before and during the badminton event.
As for this year, there have not been many changes to the current year’s lineup as compared previously. The IAFG2009 team is made out of Kevin Lee, Eng Teck, Eugene Tan, Wei Boon, Lih Xiang, Shuan Yong and me with the addition of Allison, Boon Ping and Aldrich to the team. In terms of preparation, we started our training 2 months back and we have been training vigorously during these periods in hope that our efforts will pay off when Deloitte kickstarts their campaign later today.
Based on the current year’s draw, our players’ excellent performance shown during training and driven by strong desire to win this year’s competition, I believe it is time for us to re-lift the trophy we once held in 2002. With our ever present supporters, they will be our extra player on the court to help us clinch the 3 points. With all these being factored in, I believe if we are to play to our very best, getting all the 3 points for the first time since 2002 is not a distant dream. We want to be part of the history by creating history!
We hope to see you there!
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
Yesterday evening, the court where the quarterfinal match between Deloitte and Moore Stephens Mustapha Raj (MSMR) took place was equally packed with supporters from both firms. Most Deloitte-eans would have thought that with their ability to reach the IAFG2008 badminton finals last year, this year wouldn’t be any different. On the contrast, yesterday’s quarterfinals affair proved to be an intensifying one.
Our men’s single – Eng Teck first stepped onto the court and showed MSMR that Deloitte weren’t IAFG2008 finalists by luck by dispatching his opponent in two straight sets : 21-3, 21-4. Next up was our ladies’ single – Shuan Yong. This time around, Shuan Yong faced difficulties adapting to the fast paced game played by her opponent and succumbed 9-21, 8-21. The tensed atmosphere among the Deloitte players and supporters began to build with the scoreline now tied at 1-1. More Deloitte-eans arrived and entered the badminton hall to cheer on our Deloitte players. As the first men’s double started, Wei Boon/Lih Xiang wasted no time to keep our opponents at bay. Unstoppable smashes and fantastic net plays by our players left MSMR no chance and Deloitte took the match 21-9, 21-7. Our winning tempo continued with Kevin/Wey Seng expediently triumphing over their opponents 21-12, 21-12. Kevin appeared to be the crowds’ favourite as the hall was filled with cheers for Kevin everytime he smashed the shuttlecock. Having already won the game with a scoreline of 3-1 at this juncture, Boon Ping/Allison took the stage against our opponents for the mixed doubles match with a huge burden lifted off them. Nevertheless, our players put up a strong fight against their more experienced opponents before giving in 18-21, 18-21.
The final scoreline was 3-2 with Deloitte emerging as the winner and progressing to the semifinals. It was a huge relief for Team Captain, Wey Seng. “This is our first competitive game since we started training 2 months ago and I’m happy with the results! Everyone played their best, but we’ll need to take it to the next level when we face KPMG on Wednesday”, said Wey Seng.
In another quarterfinal match, our eventual opponents KPMG defeated PwC 5-0. Our Deloitte badminton team will be facing KPMG in the semifinals tomorrow (8th July 2009) and this promises to be an exciting event. Do come and show your support to our players as they march on to create history!
We are the defending netball champions and this year, we look forward to keeping the title with Deloitte. Out of last year’s team, only 6 have remained and we have 4 new players. We have been training very hard recently, even taking up our weekends and after office hours but it has been a fun and exciting experience.
The main goal in netball is good teamwork. We believe that new players have come in seamlessly and we have good teamwork. We aim to have fun and bring 3 points to Deloitte.
Our team as follows:-
Suraya
Zunaidah @ Jue
Kavita
Sook Quan (Captain)
Angeline
Hazirah
Mimifaradiana
Ainon
Yasmin
Nadhira
Today, we will be playing 2 games, PKF and Horwath at 4pm onwards. We would appeal to all our colleagues to come and support our team.
Amidst the heavy downpour which took place yesterday afternoon, the netball matches continued. Our girls were due to face Horwath and PKF. Having trained persistently for the past few weeks, our girls managed to maintain their form and defeated both Horwath and PKF with a scoreline of 18-2 and 18-2 respectively. The other matches resumed after the rain stopped.
“This is already an achievement to us, even at the league games level as we had to play under such harsh conditions – rain. I am very pleased with the team’s performance and look forward to the upcoming semifinal and final matches this Thursday”, said Team Captain, Sook Quan.
Do come and support our girls as they look to defend their championship for the 3rd year running!
Our Deloitte badminton team is two steps away from reclaiming what was once ours in 2002 – Champions for badminton! But this will be no easy task as our players will be up against KPMG, a surprise underdog for this year’s tournament. Earlier on Monday, KPMG dispatched last year’s semi-finalists, PwC with a scoreline of 5-0. Fresh from Monday’s win against MSMR, Deloitte’s Badminton Team Captain, Leow Wey Seng is confident that his team will be able to deliver their best today.
“Today, we will be playing against KPMG and perhaps this will be the strongest opponent that stands along our quest to re-lift the badminton champion’s trophy. We are one of the top-ranked teams in this tournament and I strongly believe that we are well prepared to create history!”
As encouraged by our Managing Partner, “all supporters of IAFG2009 will be allowed one hour time off before the designated event begins”. Deloitte-eans, what are we waiting for?!?! Let’s be there to rock the badminton hall with our cheers and roars (and hopefully send shivers down our opponents’ spine)!!!
As you read this, our golf team is currently at KPGA playing their hearts out. Last year, our team managed to secure second place. We hope that our teams tries their best to gain the maximum points for Deloitte.
Our team is as follows:-
1. Ow Chee Hong
2. Chu Siew Koon
3. Jason Lim
4. Jimmy Ung
5. Ng Meng Kwai
6. Kenneth Chong
Although we lost some players, we wish our golf team all the best.
It was a sight to behold, with the huge crowd gathering before the semifinal match-up between Deloitte and KPMG began. Deloitte had easily outshined the hosts, in terms of supporters as truckloads of Deloitte supporters (at least 50) came in minutes before the 1st men’s singles started.
Eng Teck was up to take on KPMG’s best male badminton player but it proved to be too much for Eng Teck to handle. With the crowds’ cheers and jeers, Eng Teck seemed a little disoriented as compared to Monday’s game against MSMR. Finally, Eng Teck went down 2-0. In the ladies’ singles match, Shuan Yong was facing a much taller opponent and made a lot of unforced errors which gave away several points. However, Shuan Yong regained her composure and made some comebacks to secure a win for Team Deloitte by beating her opponent 2-0.
At this point, both sides of the crowds were cheering non-stop with the scoreline tied at 1-1. Even players who were due to play in the other semifinals match (EY vs Horwath) came over to watch the exhilarating clash between the ‘favourites’ and the ‘underdogs’.
There was some reshuffling within our Deloitte team as up next was Wey Seng/Wei Boon for the first mens’ doubles. Both teams wasted no time and unleashed their artillery of strong smashes, pin-point drop shots and stunning net plays. The fast paced game ended with Deloitte winning the first set. The confidence level was shortlived as KPMG revived itself and took the second set. In the third set, our boys were mentally exhausted and made several errors which ended up in KPMG winning the game 2-1.
It was all down to the remaining mens’ doubles pair of Eng Teck/Lih Xiang and mixed doubles pair of Wei Boon/Allison on whether Deloitte would qualify for the finals. With a huge burden on their shoulders, Eng Teck/Lih Xiang put up a tough fight against the more experienced opponents but luck just wasn’t on our side. Deloitte succumbed 2-0. In the last match, Wei Boon/Allison continued holding our Deloitte spirit high and took on their opponents even though we knew the scoreline was already in favour of KPMG. Despite the fightbacks, KPMG proved to be the better side and took the game 2-0.
The final scoreline was 4-1 to KPMG. The IAFG2009 badminton finals will be between KPMG and EY (EY defeated Horwath 5-0 in the other semifinals).
“We wish to thank our players and supporters for giving it their best in yesterday’s game! It was a great outing this year and I’m happy with the team’s performance”, said Wey Seng. A special thanks to the partners and directors who also came to support – Jimmy, Stanley, Wuey Sze, Jeremy, Kamarul, Andrew.
Yesterday, our colleagues entered the battlefield for two games which would significantly contribute in our quest to take the overall championship for the third time running. However hard we tried, it seemed that the ‘black cat’ effect was tailing us ever since the badminton semifinals on Wednesday.
First up, our Deloitte golf team was up since 9.00am playing against the likes of EY, PwC, KPMG and RBL in KGPA. Under the hot scorching sun, the teams played a full 18-holes course. At the end of the day, PwC managed to retain their title as golf champions. Messrs. Jimmy Ung, Chu Siew Koon, Jason and Ow Chee Hong gave it their best but fell short of 3 strokes and Team Deloitte came in third place behind KPMG.
Final Scores
PwC – 241
KPMG – 268
Deloitte – 265
Individual Scores
Jimmy Ung – 87
Chu Siew Koon – 90
Jason – 91
Ow Chee Hong – 92
Later that afternoon, the netball semifinals took place at Stadium Juara with our girls facing PwC for a spot in the finals. It was during the finals of IAFG2008 did these two titans last meet where Deloitte prevail in the end. Many thought that with the gloomy weather and possible rain approaching, our girls would be able to repeat their fantastic form having performed extremely well previously under the rain. Shockingly, the rain didn’t come and PwC managed to pull an upset. Final score was 12-6 to PwC. Later that evening, PwC met EY in the finals but eventually lost with a scoreline of 13-12.
Overall, Deloitte managed to garner 2 championship points from these two games which currently puts Deloitte in second place closely behind PwC. A special thank you goes out to our partners and fellow colleagues who contributed their time and valiant efforts to IAFG2009. With another 13 games to go, anything can happen and we desperately need your support to cheer our colleagues in our quest to retain the overall championship for the third year!
Would you like to win an opportunity to watch Manchester United v Malaysia XI’s training session? In conjunction with Manchester United Asia Tour 2009, Deloitte is giving away three (3) free passes to attend the training session at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on the 17 July 2009 (Friday). To win the free passes, just answer the following questions correctly:-
Q: After today, how many points will Deloitte have in the overall standings of the IAFG2009?
Just leave the answer in the comment box below. The first 3 correct answers will receive a free training pass each. This contest is only open to Deloitte staff with valid e-mail addresses. Kindly insert your Deloitte e-mail address in order for the organising commitee to contact you and give you your prize should you win.
The contest is now CLOSED. The winners are nad, Rad and Suparman.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
The correct answer is 11 points taking into account the point contributed by our Deloitte badminton lads.
The Deloitte basketball team is getting stronger year after year with several new talents joining the squad. From the training sessions conducted, we’ve noticed their abilities to dribble and shoot and we’re expecting some nice plays from them. The teamwork shown by the other players have also been fantastic and under the guidance of Mr Pang, I believe the team will succeed in our conquest for the 4th consecutive win.
As the team captain and on behalf of the basketball team, I would like to thank the Sports Club for funding our weekly basketball training sessions, which I personally feel has helped strengthen and improved our game. We are confident in putting up a good show on the basketball court and will not disappoint our Deloitte supporters.
Personally, IAFG2009 is a big game for me as I plan to achieve 3 consecutive wins. This year is my third appearance for the Deloitte basketball team and my first year as the team captain. The responsibility to lead the team and ensure that the trophy stays with Deloitte lies on me. From our sources, we understand that our competitors have also improved tremendously since IAFG2008 but nevertheless, we will show them that Deloitte is not a force to mess with!
Early Saturday morning, 11 July 2009, many of us were at Bukit Kiara to support our basketball team as they were getting ready to defend their title as the IAFG basketball champions. Our match against Ernst & Young was the very first game and our starting lineup was as follows:-
Guard - Foong (5) and Chin Tiang (7)
Forward - Shanton (11) and Terry (13)
Center - Tung Chung (8)
They wasted no time before ending the game with a win over Ernst & Young and they did the same against the 2 other teams in Group A being MSMR and BDO respectively. The team was victorious for all the 3 games with the following scores:-
Deloitte (23) vs EY (17)
Deloitte (31) vs MSMR (10)
Deloitte (24) vs BDO (9)
Overall, it was a good performance from the team. There were some nice 3-pointers along the way, brave drives into the basket, very good passes and movements, but more importantly the team spirit was great. Special thanks to Mr Mak, Mr Chu, Jimmy, Jeremy, Weina, Andrew, Segaran and not forgetting all the supporters that came and cheer for the team.
Our team emerged as top of Group A and has now qualified for the semifinals on 16 July 2009 against FHMH. The other semifinals will feature last year's finalist, KPMG against BDO. Please come and support our basketball team as they fight to make it into the Final this Saturday (18 July 2009). See you there!
After enjoying a week of break our Deloitte Warriors were called back into action again in their penultimate match against SJ Grant Thornton (“SJGT”) yesterday afternoon.
The Warriors started the game knowing an outright win will automatically secure them a place in the football final for the fourth consecutive year.
Despite suffering 3 straight losses, SJGT were not a team to be underestimated. Our boys started with a very cautious approach and even fumbled some clear chances early on. It was starting to look like one of those loop-sided matches minus the goals.
Half way through the first half, Deloitte was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty box. Syed Abdillah stepped up and unleashed a thundering free-kick which had clearly beaten the goalkeeper but not the cross bar. Within split seconds, Awie pounced on the resulting rebound to give Deloitte a 1 nil lead. With the lead, our Warriors started to pile on more and more attacks on SJGT. Everyone on the field knew it was just a matter of time before we could get our second goal. True enough it did come, from one of their trying crosses which landed perfectly for Awie to convert. 2 nil to Deloitte.
The second half started from where it ended. With a few substitutions made, our Warriors were not satisfied with a two-goal lead. The supporters came out wanting to see a goal fest (no disrespect to SJGT) and not long thereafter, the third goal came calling. A beautiful through pass was laid to Syed Abdillah and being about 20 odd yards from the goal post, he decided to take on the defender by himself. Despite being haggled by the defender, Syed stood his ground and managed to unleash a thunderous shot to beat SJGT’s goalkeeper to give us a 3 nil lead. As hard as they may have tried, the Warriors could not add on to their tally thereafter. Nevertheless, it was a good outing for them as they kept to their objective of winning the game to ensure safe passage to the football final. The final score was 3-0 to Deloitte. Well done, Warriors!
A special thank you to Mr. Mak, Chee Ming, Jimmy, Stanley, Kamarul and Jeremy for being there to show your support yesterday despite the scorching heat. Hope to see more supporters in the final as the Warriors go for their fourth consecutive football title!
Today, our darts team will be continuing our quest for glory. We will be up against PKF in today’s quarter finals. The team is a mix between old players and new, with a star addition, Mr Mark Thomson himself. In view that the game will be held a mere 5 minutes walk from office (in UPTOWN itself), let us bring the house down with the cheers!!
We invite everyone to come and cheer the team on. Every team in the IAFG, big or small, has a chance of victory! While we may not be able to represent Deloitte in the games, there is another way we can help and savour the victory – by coming to support our team and cheering them on. Every player loves to hear the thunderous cheers of the crowd behind them. It gives them the extra boost…the extra ten percent they need to win the games. We may not know the players names, but we all, as one will cheer for Deloitte!
Limited edition Deloitte IAFG2009 t-shirt up for grabs! To win the t-shirts, just answer the following question correctly:-
Q : How many points are up for grabs until end of this week (week ending 18th July 2009)?
Just leave the answer in the comment box below. The first 5 correct answers will receive a free Deloitte IAFG2009 t-shirt each (sizes of t-shirt are subject to availability). This contest is only open to Deloitte staff with valid e-mail addresses. Kindly insert your Deloitte e-mail address in order for the organising commitee to contact you and give you your prize should you win. Judges decisions are final.
The contest is now CLOSED! The winners will be notified via e-mail shortly.
Firstly, a big thank you to all the supporters including Mr Tan Theng Hooi and all the partners/directors who came to cheer for our Darts team. Darter’s Home was packed with supporters from the other participating firms as well – PwC, EY and PKF. Our team kicked off our campaign with our new star – Mr Mark Thomson, playing the first men’s singles. With his cool and pin-point accuracy, he wrapped up the game beating his opponent 2-0. Up next in the second men’s singles, Zawani (a.k.a. Zack) took the stage and gave our opponent no chance of resurrection. He too, won the game 2-0. At this point, it was a sight to behold as more Deloitte supporters starting pouring in and their cheers even subdued the music played.
With a comfortable overall lead of 2-0, it was Suraya’s turn and the stress on her to triumph over her opponent must have been overwhelming. Suraya battled long and hard but succumbed to her opponent 2-0. It was only later did we find out that her opponent (most of the people regarded her as ‘CK’) was a regular darts player with proper training. With that win, PKF had narrowed the gap to 1 point with the remaining men’s doubles and mixed doubles left to play.
Edmund/Shaharol thereafter took on PKF’s men’s doubles with hopes of winning so as to propel Deloitte into the semi-finals. It was a close match-up between the two teams with both teams trying to wrap up the last few points. Probably luck wasn’t on our side as Edmund/Shaharol lost both sets marginally to our opponents. The scoreline was now 2-2.
Suraya/Zack were now under heaps of pressure as Deloitte’s hopes of making it into the semi-finals boiled down to the mixed doubles. Motivated by his earlier win, Zack wasted no time in showing his skills. Suraya also wasn’t far behind as her scores complimented Zack’s consistency. Zack confidently wrapped up the last points for both the sets amidst cheers from our supporters. That was it and Deloitte were through to the semi-finals having prevailed over PKF 3-2!!!
On the other side of the room, PwC were playing EY and it was also a close showdown. Many parties were rooting for EY (as the underdogs) to upset PwC (last year’s finalist). In the end, it was PwC that triumphed over EY 3-2 and progressed to the semi-finals.
Fresh from the win, we tracked down Team Captain – Rosli to get his feedback. “We’re happy to have won today’s battle and our training has definitely paid off. For now, we just want to enjoy our victory by eating KFC. As for the semi-finals against PwC on Friday, we will give it our very best as we have done so throughout the past few years and hopefully luck will be on our side this time”, says Rosli.
This Friday, our Darts team will be facing PwC in the semi-finals. As the underdogs, our Darts team will be facing an uphill task to upset PwC for a possible place in the finals. We need your cheers to continue driving our Darts team to greater heights! Come one, come all as we aim to achieve glory in our efforts to retain the IAFG championship title for the third year consecutively!
The IAFG2009 basketball tournament has proved to be an even more interesting game compared to previous years with new faces, talents and upsets. Today at Bukit Kiara, our basketball team will be taking on FHMH in the semifinals. Some of you may feel that today’s match could be a ‘walk in the park’, but be aware that FHMH is a team to be reckoned with. They managed to upset PwC and Horwath and lost marginally to KPMG during the preliminaries last weekend.
Going into the game, Terry (Team Captain) has a few words to express to the players and supporters. “Thank you to all our supporters for all the support you’ve given to us thus far, but we would really appreciate for you to come join us today on our journey for glory, once again! As for my team members, always remember that we are a team and I don’t encourage ‘superstars’. Let’s keep our minds fresh and be cautious of our opponents!”
Let us all be there to bring the house down and send trembles down our opponents’ spine with our cheers! We are ONE, we are DELOITTE!
We are giving away one (1) ticket for the game Manchester Utd vs Malaysia (RM98 seat). To win the ticket, answer the following question:-
Q : As of today, our athletes have worn stars when representing Deloitte during IAFG 2009. List down the games in which the athlete’s apparel during the games had stars on them.
Just leave the answer in the comment box below. The first correct answer will receive the free ticket. This contest is only open to Deloitte staff with valid e-mail addresses. Kindly insert your Deloitte e-mail address in order for the organising committee to contact you and give you your prize should you win. Judges decisions are final.
“If we can’t drive into the basket, then we’ll just have to shoot from a distance!” That was exactly what our basketball team did last night to stay on course for our fourth championship title. Yesterday evening, many of us were gathered at Bukit Kiara to watch the semi final match between Deloitte and FHMH. FHMH is a team not to be underestimated as their ability to finish second in Group B speaks for itself. Their gameplay of physical and compact defense makes it hard for teams to drive into the basket. However, our basketball team was well prepared.
The lineup was no different from the preliminary rounds where Chin Tiang (7) and Foong (5) started as Guard, Terry (13) and Shanton (11) as Forward and Tung Chung (8) as Center. It started off with a 3-pointer from Tung Chung. We went on scoring from range and commanded a comfortable lead over FHMH. Our team was up 28-17 at the end of first half.
The start of second half saw FHMH trying to close the gap but our basketball team answered them every time they scored. At the end, our basketball team proved to be the better side and qualified for the Finals with the score line of 47-27.
It was a hard game against FHMH having to adapt, strategise and overcome their playing style but our basketball team did extremely well. The team has improved their rebounding techniques and were able to keep FHMH at bay and also provide more shooting opportunities to the shooters. Their passes were accurate and our players were constantly looking for openings. As a result of that, the team manage to convert six 3-pointers in total. They are now one step away from winning this championship for the fourth consecutive time.
Special thanks to Mr Mak, Jeremy, Chee Ming, Wuey Sze and all the supporters that came and cheer for the team. It was a great occasion and with your help, the team has now qualified for the Finals on 18July 2009 (Saturday). The team will be up against last year’s finalist, KPMG, who snatched a victory over BDO 33-22. Do come and support the basketball team tomorrow. You wouldn’t want to miss it!
Pool is a game which can produce unexpected outcomes. "In this game you have to take the rough with the smooth. It’s a game you can play brilliantly in and still lose. Ultimately, the player with the strongest mindset and the desire to win will prevail", says Pool Team Captain, Edmund Lai. This year, Deloitte will be going all out to defend the pool championship title for the second year running. The team comprises of a mixture between the old-experienced players and the new-exciting players:-
Edmund Lai (C)
Shaharol
June Mok
Hiew Hock Yung
Ho Kin Fai
Chai Ee Vone
Yong Li Lian
Edmund commented, “From our past few weeks of intensive training, our players have improved and I believe we are ready to defend our title as pool champions! To my team members, please get some rest tonight as we want to deliver our best tomorrow and help Deloitte re-write history”.
Being a competitive event by nature, it is difficult to predict which team will emerge victorious and having to play under such immense pressure would require mentally strong players. Hence, the Deloitte pool team would require all the support they can get to give them the competitive edge over their opponents. We urge all Deloitte-eans to spare some time to show our support to the pool team!
Our players will be playing their hearts out at AfterHours, Solaris Mont’ Kiara from 3pm onwards.
The weekend began immediately for our IAFG teams as we had the semi-finals against PwC for darts. Our team, having qualified for the semi finals after missing out on the points last year was hoping to pull off an upset by defeating PwC and making it into the finals. With our crowd arriving in numbers, there was hope that the cheers would give us the extra ten percent to be able to defeat the much vaunted PwC side. For the uninformed, the darts champions have been passed on between PwC and KPMG for as long as anyone can remember. But with our new team, we were hoping to break this streak.
The game started out with Zack playing against their first player. Zack was matching him closely but at the check-out, our opponent took the lead. The second game progressed the same way and we were down 1 – 0. Our second single match had Mark Thomson. The first match seemed to progress well with Mark taking the lead. However, his opponent managed to shoot 140 simultaneously and therefore taking the game shortly thereafter. In the second game, while Mark tried his best, his opponent had the better of him and we were down 2 -0.
Suraya was up for the ladies singles match. She too tried her best, but her opponent was better and hence, we were defeated 3 – 0. Nevertheless, our team really tried their best and we gained one important point for the overall championship tally. KPMG was the eventual champions for darts.
Basketball – Finals (Saturday, 18 July 2009)
As early as 8.30am, there were already a bunch of loyal Deloitte supporters at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Club watching our players warm up. By 9am, packs of Deloitte-eans thronged the hall to support our basketball players in their quest for the fourth consecutive title.
The crowd was fanatic as both teams entered the court to what seemed to be a never-ending rivalry between the two titans of basketball – Deloitte and KPMG. This being the fourth consecutive finals for both teams proves to be an exciting outing. KPMG had previously won the basketball championship title for two years in a row (2004 and 2005) before Deloitte stole the glory for 3 years (2006 until 2008).
The game kicked off with both teams having to play 4 quarters (10 minutes each) and our boys wasted no time and took possession of the game with well coordinated drives into the D-area and swift counter-attacks. It was apparent that these two teams were in a league of their own as both teams answered back almost immediately after one another scored. However, Deloitte managed to maintain their composure and hang onto the lead.
As the clock ticked, the tension could be felt not only from the players but also the supporters for the respective teams. The thunderous cheers from both teams had even attracted passer-bys who were curious about the commotion in the hall. With just seconds left in the fourth quarter, Deloitte were hanging on to their convincing lead and had to withstand KPMG’s onslaught advances.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1…and the final whistle blew. Deloitte had done it again by beating KPMG with a scoreline of 42 – 30. A huge sigh of relief for Terry as he managed to lead the Deloitte basketball team to a fourth consecutive win. On the stands, the claps and cheers were uncontrollable (several fans were even spotted dancing) as fans rushed to congratulate the players. For the fans, it was also an unforgettable moment as they too had prevailed over their opponents by unleashing their ‘secret’ cheer – “Ombak” (Malaysian version of the ‘Mexican Wave’).
Overall, it was a great outing and our boys managed to deliver the results expected from them. Well done, guys!
Pool (Saturday, 18 July 2009)
Fresh from the euphoria of winning basketball earlier that morning, our pool team was up to defend the championship that they won the previous year. Our team had lost our best male player and our best female player being on a job overseas, but the team, comprising of Edmund Lai (C), Shaharol, June Mok, Hiew Hock Yung, Ho Kin Fai, Chai Ee Vone and Yong Li Lian were quietly optimistic.
Our first match was against Russell Bedford. Our team won via the first mens’ single, second mens’ single and our new player, Li Lian delivered the first 3 points whereas our two other players, already knowing the outcome, played in a relaxed manner. Final score : Deloitte (3) def RB (2).
Our semi-final match up was against PwC. The game was one of high nerves and drama. Shaharol got us rolling into the lead, but both our ladies players, while putting up a good fight, were defeated by their superior opponents. We were trailing 1 -2 and the pressure was intense. Jeff, picked up his game and secured the second point to ensure our hopes for a final exists. It boiled down to our last player who was tied 4 – 4 with the final frame left to determine the winner. With his usual calm composure, our player managed to pocket the final ball to send us into the finals. Words cannot express the feelings at that point as our players and supporters cheered as if the title was already in our bag. Final Score : Deloitte (3) def PwC (2).
In the final, we had an unexpected surprise as everyone had expected the traditional powerhouse, EY to be awaiting us. On the contrary, it was KPMG that progressed to the finals. Our players were ready and had set their sights on the goal of defending the championship. As usual, Shaharol led us with a winning start. But there was little to separate the teams on all four other tables. A few minutes later, we were on equal footing, 1 – 1, as our first ladies player lost. Then Jeff, held on to his nerve to secure our second point defeating his opponent (7 -2). All attention was then moved to our second female player, where the game was tied 2 -2. Our new player, Li Lian managed to keep her cool and played like a seasoned player to win the match. Our team then burst in joyous rapture as we managed to defend our trophy. Final Score : Deloitte (3) def. KPMG (1).
We finished the weekend winning two championships and scoring a point for darts. It was indeed a memorable weekend for the players and the supporters. A big thank you to all the partners/directors and supporters who took time (some even skipped breakfast) to come and cheer for the team. Go Team Deloitte! We are currently leading the overall championship table at the half way point. We need as many supporters as possible to spur our players in the remaining games. We hope to see the support for the coming games.
While most of us would be anticipating to go home at 5.30pm and recover from the ‘Monday blues’ effect, our futsal team were up to play against 3 teams, namely EY, AFTAAS and MSMR in Group A. This group has been touted by some as the ‘Group of Death’ as it featured 3 out of the Top 4 teams from IAFG2008.
Having trained extensively for the past few weeks, our boys were ready to take on their opponents and faced EY in the first match. With accurate passes and coordinated attacks, we managed to pin down our opponent and win the match 7 – 3. Having successfully upsetting last year’s defending champions boosted our players’ confidence. Next, we were due to face last year’s joint third placing – AFTAAS. From recent years, AFTAAS have grown to be a force to reckon with in the men’s futsal event. It was a close match-up between our futsal team and AFTAAS and the match ended up with both sides tied at 3 – 3. We were one win away from securing a place in the quarterfinals. In the final match against MSMR for the group stages, our futsal team made their presence renowned as one of the contenders for the futsal championship title by beating MSMR 13 – 1. With that scoreline, Deloitte had qualified for the quarterfinals. As if there had not been enough surprises in this year’s IAFG, AFTAAS emerged second in Group A to also book a place in the quarterfinals.
With two more groups due to play today, there’s not knowing which team might produce more shocking upsets. But one thing for sure is that our futsal team will be there putting in their best to reclaim what was once theirs in IAFG2007 – Futsal Champions. A big thank you to Chee Ming, Wuey Sze and other partners/directors/supporters who were there to support our players. Looking forward to see more supporters at the quarterfinals tomorrow (22 July 2009)!
The first stage of the group matches for ladies’ futsal took place yesterday at Samba de Futsal. Our girls were due to play EY (last year’s finalist) in their opening match. Having previously won the ladies’ futsal championship in its maiden year i.e. IAFG2007, our girls have been training persistently with one objective - to prove the critics wrong and regain glory for Deloitte.
With the cheers from our supporters and players, our girls played their hearts out knowing that an upset against EY would be a confidence booster. Our girls were also hoping that the pressure on EY being the last year’s finalist would adversely affect their performance. However, EY managed to overcome the pressure and defeated our ladies team 2 – 0.
Having lost the first game, our girls had to prevail over our opponents for the remaining 3 matches (two to be played on Thursday, 23 July 2009) in order be in the running for the title. Our ladies were playing PKF in the second game of their group matches. Being the first time for PKF to participate in the ladies’ futsal tournament, our girls were unsure of what to be expecting. For the past 3 weeks, there were several unexpected upsets in every sport but our girls refused to allow such occurrences to dampen their spirits. With the blow of the whistle kicking off the game against PKF, our girls wasted no time with continuous advances hoping to penetrate the opposition’s goal. With constant persistency and team work, our girls managed to win PKF with a convincing scoreline of 4 – 0.
Thank you to all the partners, directors and supporters who came to cheer for the ladies futsal team. With the remaining two group matches against KPMG and PwC (last year’s champions) tomorrow, our girls need all the support they can get. Let’s all be there to bring the roof down with our cheers and roars (and also send trembles down our opponents’ spines)!
Yesterday afternoon proved to be a great outing for our boys as they stormed past two teams to progress into the finals for the mens’ futsal tournament. From the scores above, its clear that our team was head and shoulders above the opponents with their smooth passes and thundering shots. Words cannot describe the way the team played, and we will not attempt to describe it. It appears that it would take a miracle to stop them from being the Futsal Champions and adding 3 points to the overall championship.
Our futsal team, are gunning for revenge after being dumped out of last years semi-finals, and will be up against AFTAAS (or ?), the surprise team of the tournament. However, our team is all ready to add the Futsal event to our list of winning games. Come and join us as we celebrate victory with our futsal team later at Samba de Futsal!
A week has passed since Deloitte last garnered points for our IAFG campaign. Tomorrow, our snooker team will be playing at 1 Utama Snooker Centre from 10am onwards. This year’s format of play has changed to ‘knock-out’ format and will feature two additional firms – RSM RTK Group and UHY Diong. This year’s IAFG championship has produced numerous upsets thus far and hence, no one is able to predict the outcome for snooker as well. For the past few years, EY have maintained its status as snooker champions and intend to do so again this year.
However, our snooker team, led by Kenneth Chong are aiming to improve on their previous performance in IAFG 2008 (3rd placing) and dethroning EY. “Having been training for the past few weeks, we believe that we might be able to spring some surprises. Do come and support us and I promise you that the team will not disappoint you!”, Kenneth reckons.
Let’s all take this opportunity and be there (whether it’s for shopping, family outing, fun) to cheer for our snooker team at 1 Utama tomorrow morning!!! Go Team Deloitte!
Last Saturday, our snooker team once again pulled off some surprises and managed to improve on last year’s achievement. Our team played their first match against SJGT in the quarterfinals. All the three men’s singles kicked off concurrently and both teams started off slow, probably due to the tension building up to the first match or having to wake up early on a Saturday morning. However, our team managed to survive the scare and triumphed over SJGT 2 – 1. With the win over SJGT, our team was due to face last year’s finalist, KPMG in the heated semifinals clash. In the other semifinals, EY was due to face UHY Diong who produced an upset against PwC.
As both players from Deloitte and KPMG shook hands, our guys knew that the pressure was on them to deliver. With only a gap of 3 points between these two giants and only 8 games to go, every single point would be crucial in determining the overall IAFG2009’s championship title. Our guys managed to overcome their fears and prevail over KPMG convincingly with a scoreline of 3 – 0. As anticipated, EY being the ‘favourites’ had also advanced into the finals beating UHY Diong. Having progressed to the finals marked an improvement for Deloitte from our outing in IAFG2008.
After a short break, the finals between Deloitte and EY started. More Deloitte supporters arrived hoping that their presence would help boost our players’ confidence by an additional 10%. However, EY proved to be too strong for our players and we eventually succumbed 2 – 0. Eventhough we lost to EY in the finals, our snooker team comprising of Kenneth Chong, Shaharol, Ho Kin Fai and Jeffrey Hiew managed to deliver beyond what was expected from them and we are very proud of them! With the 2 points from the snooker event, Deloitte has extended their lead over PwC and KPMG by 4 points with EY closely behind with 8 points. With 7 more games left, it will be a neck-to-neck race to the finish. Let us all be there to watch as Deloitte attempts to win the overall IAFG championship for the third consecutive time!
Today, our table tennis team will be playing against EY at Wisma OCM, KL for a place in the semifinals which will be played on Wednesday (29 July 2009). The table tennis team comprises of the following players:-
Kenneth Chong Tseng Yaw (C)
Ong Poh Seng
Jeffrey Soh Hock Hin
Johnathan Sia
Hafizah Husna Tain Abdullah
Let’s all take some time and be there to cheer for our team!!! Go Team Deloitte!!!
Today, our volleyball team will be playing against KPMG and EY at NPNG Sport’s Centre, Sungai Buloh. The volleyball team comprises of the following players:-
Yap Chee Yuen (C)
Chin Did Thien
Goh Jian Min
Quek Chin Tian
Shaharoha Lizam B. Piei
Leow Wey Seng
Wang Min Hao
Lim Sei Haw
Lee Wei Boon
Hoo Kok Wai
Sim Lih Xiang
Let’s all take some time and be there to cheer for our team and hope they get us the 3 points.
It was a great outing for our volleyball team yesterday at NPNG Sports Centre. Aiming to improve on previous years’ performances, Yap (captain) and team gave it their best for Team Deloitte by playing their hearts out as they were facing a daunting task of taking on last year’s finalists – KPMG and EY in the same day.
In the first game against KPMG, the pressure was on our opponents as they were labeled ‘favourites’ to retain the title won by them in IAFG2008. It seemed that KPMG were on a roll when they started the first set but our guys did not give in that easily. In the end, KPMG took the first set with a marginal scoreline of 25 – 22. After the short break and some pep talk, not only our playing style had changed but something else about the players was different. The hunger for victory was visible on their faces. With that, Deloitte managed to upset KPMG by winning the remaining two sets with scorelines of 25 – 13 and 15 – 12. Final result : Deloitte (2) – KPMG (1)
Fresh from the earlier win, our volleyball team were now mentally prepared to confront last year’s runner-up, EY. In the second game, the competition was very close with both teams striving to outdo each other. However, the long hours of training had paid off and we eventually triumphed over EY with scorelines of 25 – 23 and 25 – 22. Final result : Deloitte (2) – EY (0)
With the two impressive wins, our volleyball team has now advanced into the finals with one more round robin game to play on Thursday (30/7/2009) against PwC. “It was a great achievement by the team today having produced upsets against the top seeds. We will continue to give it our best in the next game against PwC and hopefully, luck will be on our side!” said Yap.
“Watching both the games was a roller coaster ride, but it was well worth it. The feeling is surreal!” echoed Eugene Tan, IAFG2009 President.
We wish to thank Jimmy and Jeremy and all the other supporters who turned up to cheer for the volleyball team.
Our table tennis team has qualified for the semi-finals which will be held later today at Wisma OCM in KL. While many of us may remember Deloitte as the defending champions for table tennis over the past few years, we have lost our best players and victory cannot be taken for granted.
Come cheer on our team led by Kenneth in today's semi-finals and (potentially) the finals later today. We need all the voices and hope that our team will continue their winning streak all the way to the end and gather 3 points for us in the race for the overall championships.
Yesterday our table tennis team was up against SJGT in the semi-finals. Having only 7 games remaining in IAFG 2009’s campaign, every single point now is very important and that message was clear to the table tennis team. They managed to overcome SJGT and qualified for the finals.
Deloitte (3) vs SJGT (2)
The three (3) winning points for Deloitte in the semi-finals against SJGT were contributed by the following matches: -
1st Men Singles – Kenneth Chong (3 – 0)
Ladies Singles – Hafizah (3 – 0)
Mixed Doubles – Kenneth Chong & Hafizah (3 – 0)
Our table tennis team faced PKF in the Final later that evening after PKF knocked out PwC in the other semi-finals. However, PKF proved to be a much stronger team and even with our best effort, we were unable to stop PKF from winning.
Deloitte (0) vs PKF (4)
Overall, our table tennis team has done extremely well this year considering the fact that we have lost our best players. Our table tennis team still managed to qualify for the Finals and add 2 crucial points to Deloitte’s overall tally.
Special thanks to Mr Yee, Jeremy, Chee Ming and those supporters that find time to support our table tennis team. Lastly, let’s give a big hand to our table tennis team for their tremendous effort.
After winning both round robin games last Tuesday against EY and KPMG, our team is all fired up to take on PwC in today’s game. Today’s match will determine the top two teams fighting for the Volleyball title in the finals. We currently have 4 points in the bag and are hoping to achieve more today. Come on and cheer on our Volleyball boys as they need YOU to be there to give them all the support they need. Be at NPNG Sport’s Centre at 4pm today!
Having succumbed to PwC in IAFG2008’s tennis finals with a marginal scoreline of 3-2, our tennis team have been training effortlessly hoping again to create history for the tennis event this year. The team comprising of Yew Choong, Ivan Choo, Wen Ching and Helmy will take the courts today to play the semifinals against EY who prevailed over BDO 4 – 1 in the pre-liminary stages.
Today’s game promises to be a heart-stopper as both teams vie for a spot in the finals to be played on Wednesday. With this week being the last week of IAFG2009, every point collected from the games matters as different teams vie to display superiority in the IAFG arena. If you’re hoping to see smashing shots, ace serves, breath-taking net plays by our very own ‘Roger Federer’ and ‘Dinara Safina’, do come over to D’Kelana Sports Complex, Kelana Jaya this evening (5pm) to cheer for our Deloitte tennis team!!!
As many may recall, it was a nail biting and nerve wrecking affair in the IAFG2008 football finals as the Warriors triumphed over PwC with a slim 2 – 1 lead. Last Friday, our Deloitte Warriors were due for a rematch with PwC and many were not sure of what to expect in the football finals. The atmosphere was very much similar to last year with non-stop ‘kompang’ beats echoing around the stadium.
Our Warriors XI consists of:-
(GK) Azrul
(D) Zul, Syed, Hapis, Safizan
(M) Kenny, Jeffrey, Raden, Azamazewan
(F) Puvan, Awie
As the players entered the field, the screams of our Deloitte supporters were unimaginable. With the morale boost from the supporters, our Warriors wasted no time in unleashing their skills by passing the ball with pin-point accuracy and continuously mounting pressure on PwC’s goalmouth. The onslaught paid off as Deloitte managed to take the lead with an own goal from PwC. The cheers got louder as more and more Deloitte supporters turned up. Our Warriors continued on with the pressure and secured 2 more goals from Azamazewan and Awie respectively before the end of half time.
As the second half resumed with Deloitte leading 3 – 0, the Warriors were able to score another goal thanks to Raden. Thereafter, the Warriors changed their tactics from offensive to defensive mode to prevent PwC from making any comebacks.
With the blow of the final whistle, our Warriors had done it for the fourth year running by beating PwC with a comfortable score line 4 – 0. The screams and beats from the ‘kompang’ were now uncontrollable as the crowd went nuts, celebrating and laughing in joy as Deloitte had successfully retained their title as football champions and clinched another crucial 3 points in our bid to win the overall championship title.
During the 60 minutes of play, there were 3 occasions where our Warriors hit the crossbar and were very unfortunate to not convert them into goals as well. PwC proved to be worthy opponents although their goal threats were kept to a minimal by our hardworking defenders. It was a great night indeed for our players and the supporters. Finally, let us all thank and congratulate our footballers (including the reserves : Shaharol, Hairul, Mohd Faizal, Somasuntharan, Yap, Zac, William and Ethan) for the splendid show of skills and their awesome achievement.
Special thanks to Jimmy, Stanley, Jeremy, Wuey Sze, Mr Mak, Henry Sardo, Mr Chu, Weina, Chee Ming, Mr Yee, Dr Nordin, Mr Cheong, Mr Mark Thompson, Leng, Steven and all the supporters that came to cheer for our Deloitte Warriors!
Having won all their preliminary matches, our Volleyball team will be facing KPMG in the much awaited volleyball finals where our boys will have their chance of upsetting last year’s champion TWICE in one year! Let us all be there to root for them and hopefully with our cheers, they will add another 3 points to our total points tally. Go Team Deloitte!
Tennis (Semifinals) & Volleyball (Finals) : Match Report
Aug 5
Tennis (Deloitte vs EY)
The sun was scorching as our tennis team was about to open their campaign against EY in the semi-final last Monday. Up first were our 2 men singles of Ivan and Choong (who is also the team captain). Ivan gave the team a perfect start by steam rolling his opponent 2-0. While Ivan finished off his opponent in convincing fashion, Choong was struggling to find his rhythm instead. After losing the first set 2-6, the signs were not looking too bright for Team Deloitte. Despite the minor setback, Choong was not about to throw in the towel yet. He fought with a heart of a lion and came back strongly to clinch the next 2 sets. Perhaps it was the loud cheers from the supporters that gave Choong the last ounce of energy to soldier on despite suffering cramps at the end of the match.
With an overall 2-0 lead, Team Deloitte only needed to win 1 more match from the remaining Ladies Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles matches. Up next was our iron lady, Wen Ching and hopes was high for her to clinch the winning point for us. She started off brightly by clinching the first set. However, she looked out of sort in the second set as nervousness started to creep in. She committed too may unforced errors culminate with some unlucky shots, she lost the second set. Simultaneously on the next court both Ivan and Choong were playing their doubles match. The supporters were hoping either one of the ongoing matches would clinch it for Team Deloitte. The Men’s Doubles were quite closely contested as both pairs exchange shot after shot. Not intending to be outdone by her male counterparts, Wen Ching stepped up her game and played like there was no tomorrow. Without most of the supporters realizing she was up 4-0 in the last set of her match. Everyone could sense the smell of victory inching closer and closer to us. In no time, it was game, set and match Wen Ching and with that an unassailable 3-0 lead to Team Deloitte. Knowing that we have won the tie, Ivan and Choong chose to continue their game even though they could have given a walk-over but that is not the spirit of Deloitte sportspeople to do such thing. Despite both being physically tired from their singles matches earlier, our men prevailed like the true champions they are and the final score was 4-0 to Deloitte!
Despite suffering from severe cramps, Choong played on and delivered 2 crucial points to the team. A very fine example of leadership qualities in a captain. The team will be playing PwC for the title this Wednesday (August 5, 2009) and as mentioned by Choong himself; “It would be great if more supporters could come out and cheer for them.”
Volleyball (Finals) - Deloitte vs KPMG
No one knows exactly when was the last time Deloitte won the volleyball title or even have they won it before in the first place. But our Deloitte Spikers intend to create their own history as they stepped onto the court yesterday evening to face the mighty KPMG who has rule IAFG Volleyball for the last few years.
Rumours were rift that our earlier win against KPMG in the group stage was a fluke. Our spikers themselves know the truth. The stage was set for them to debunk this rumour once and for all. As expected, the venue was filled with supporters from both firms and the heat was building up.
Our spikers drew first blood in the first set by taking the first 2 points and started to increase their lead gradually. As expected, it was a closely contested set and KPMG was constantly hounding us from behind waiting and hoping for our team to commit unforced errors. Wait and wait as they may, our Spikers could not do anything wrong and was in fact pulling further ahead in the set. Before KPMG could do anything, our Spikers wrapped up the first set in convincing fashion. The second set was an exact replica of the first set. It was another set of cat and mouse game with KPMG being the one made to chase the game. Once again, our Spikers proved too strong and took the second set as well.
With a 2 nil lead, everyone thought KPMG would have given up hope as we head into the third set. But KPMG started the set vigorously and took the lead. This time it was our turn to chase the game instead. Perhaps it was still surreal for the players as they have never taken such a comfortable lead against KPMG in a volleyball match. Our Spikers fought hard and kept KPMG’s lead very minimal. At 24-21, KPMG was serving the set and to be honest, all the supporters thought that the set was a foregone conclusion but not our Spikers! With a twist of luck (some may say), our Spikers started a renaissance of a comeback of sort. To the delight of all, the score was suddenly 24 all! Both teams fought tooth and nail from there on and mind you there were some gut wrenching moments. But our Spikers fought like lions despite being down time after time and their hardwork and determination were duly rewarded.
The whole arena erupted as the final spike from KPMG went wide with the winning point being awarded to our Spikers! Our Spikers finally did it, to wrestle the IAFG Volleyball title right under the nose of KPMG and end our title drought. The final score was 25-20, 25-22 & 37-35 in favour of Deloitte Spikers! A very big shout out and thank you to all the partners/directors/managers and supporters that came all the way to NPNG Sports Centre to root for the Volleyball team. Your presence was definitely felt and we really appreciate it!
After a long wait, our men’s futsal team will finally get their chance to regain what was lost in IAFG 2008. A shocking update would be the disqualification of AFTAAS for fielding non-eligible player(s) in their team. With AFTAAS out of play, EY will face AAC in the quarterfinals and the winner will play against PwC in the semifinals. Deloitte has already qualified for the finals after defeating SJGT 8 – 1 previously and will be awaiting the winner of today’s semifinal match. Let’s be there to usher our futsal team as they march on to reclaim their title as Futsal Champions and wrap up Deloitte’s IAFG2009 campaign with a bang!
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