Hat trick hero Mika Baihakki inspires ACS Barker Road to maiden B Div boys football title

SINGAPORE – Leading up to the final, Mika Bazil Baihakki had scored just twice throughout the 2025 National School Games season.

However, the defender-turned-attacker popped up with three goals in the gold-medal match on May 16, as he led Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) to their first title triumph in the B Division boys’ football competition with a 3-2 victory over defending champions Meridian Secondary School at Jalan Besar Stadium.

“I’ve been dreaming of this (winning the title) since the start of the year. To score a hat-trick in the final is crazy. I just can’t believe it,” said Mika, 16.

Like his father, retired national footballer Baihakki Khaizan, Mika is a defender by trade. Naturally, questions and doubts arose when he made the switch further up front.

“When I changed from defender to attacker, my teammates were confused. They were laughing a bit. They were like ‘Eh, Mika can play attacker?’ And then now I proved them wrong, but (honestly) they’ve always been supporting me from the start,” said Mika.

ACS (BR) coach Edward Tan, whose team had lost 2-1 to Meridian in the first-round pool stage on Feb 10, said he had deployed Mika as an attacker since the second round.

“I changed his position because he has the attributes and he can suit my game model as a winger, so that’s why I put him there,” added the 40-year-old, after guiding the school to glory in his first full season in charge.

Mika took to the transition like a fish to water, saying: “I like it. I just love the dribbling, the attacking, scoring goals. It’s the best feeling ever when you score. But it’s not just a single effort. It’s a team effort, and I love this team.”