KL Sports School pick SSTMI...

DIVISION Two champions Kuala Lumpur Sports School (KLSS) pulled out the toughest rabbit in the Milo Cup draw, as they will face Division One champions Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) in the quarter-finals of the Junior Hockey League on Feb 22.
   Division One runners-up Petaling Jaya City Council (PJCC) are expected to cruise past Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School Juniors, while UniKL Young Guns also have a relatively easy time against Malacca High School.
   And Division Two runners-up Kelantan are also expected to have the better of Anderson of Ipoh.
    The first leg will be on Feb 22, with the return-leg on Feb 24.
    PJCC team manager Zanal Abidin was happy with the draw, but the traveling bothered him much.
     “We were not worried about our opponents in the draw today (yesterday) because we are ready for any team. Our main concern was traveling for the away match, and being picked to play in Taman Daya (Johor Baru) is very troublesome and tiring.”
    “Even though the draw to play SSTMI Juniors is good, we now we have to plan for the logistics to make sure fatigue does not come into the picture,” said Zanal.
      In the League, PJCC could only edge SSTMI Juniors 3-2, but Zanal’s side has come a long way since.
     As for KLSS, their semi-finals as well as final hero Jagveen Singh is the man to watch in the quarter-finals after scoring five goals in the League.
    Jagveen scored crucial goals in the Division Two semi-finals win against Anderson Juniors (5-1) as well as the winning goal in the final against Kelantan (2-1) to hand his side their first JHL silverware after three attempts.
   He has been steadily improving since voted as the Player-of-the-Final in the National Under-14 in 2010, when he also scored the winner against Perak (2-1).
    KLSS team manager Zainal Ariffin said: “It cannot get any tougher than this for us (playing Division One champions) but we have to come to terms with it fast.
  “The odds are stacked against us, but we will give it our best shot as we have nothing to lose. The first leg will be vital as we cannot let them take a big lead to keep our hopes alive in the second leg.”