League champs Olak cautious

29/05/1998

LEAGUE Champions Olak are a class above the other teams who will feature
in the semifinals of the National Junior League which will begin on June
3.
But they are not leaving anything to chance as they eye the double.
"Electrical Switchgear Automation (ESA) are a very unpredictable side
and can pull off an upset," said Olak coach Phaphiber
Singh.
"But my players have been preparing well and I can safely say that the
Overall title is also ours."
Phaphiber, who turned out for Kedah in the early 70s and Kuala Lumpur in
1979, said although the League took a one-month break, Olak players have
not stopped playing regular hockey the past four months.
Eight Olak players represented Selangor in the Malaysian Schools
tournament in Terengganu where they won the title, while 11 donned the
Selangor colours and finished runnersup at the Malaysia Games.
"The rest of the teams have had a good rest, but not Olak. We have
become stronger with each tournament and although ESA won the Overall
title last year, they are not the same side and have lost much of the
bite."
Olak won the League title in 1997, and this time around, they have a
strong claim for Overall title as well.
The other semifinal will be between Malacca Municipal Council (MMC) and
Johor Sports Council (JSC).
JSC are a pleasant side to watch and they played well organised hockey
to finish third on the standings with eight wins, one draw and two
defeats.
However, they will be a much weakened side in the semifinals as some of
their players have left to further their studies in local universities.
Fixtures: Semifinal, 1st leg - June 3: Olak v Esa (Pandamaran Stadium),
MMC v JSC (Malacca Hockey Stadium).
2nd leg - June 5: ESA v Olak (Universiti Sains Malaysia), JSC v MMC (Tun
Razak Stadium).
Final - June 7: (Tun Razak Stadium).
All matches at 5:30.
(END)