ANDERSON Thunderbolts edged Sabah Sports School 5-4 to qualify for the TNB CUP quarter-finals in a nerve-racking encounter at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil Thursday.
Six teams from Division Two are involved in the play-off in Group X and Y, and four will advance to the quarter-finals.
Anderson were the first to achieve the feat as they had beaten Penang MSSPP-USM 10-1 on Wednesday.
Anderson joins three other Thunderbolts from Division One -- SSTMI, BJSS and SSP-MSP -- in the last eight while the other qualifier from Division One is UniKL Young Guns.
Anderson team manager Saiyuti Samad was elated with the fact that they not only made the last eight, but also topped Group B and gained promotion to Division One next year.
"This is a great moment to savour for us because we have achieved three of our goals and are looking forward to play in the knock-out. The goal is, obviously, to advance to the semis," said Saiyuti.
Barely a few months under the Thunderbolts programme sponsored by Tenaga Nasional, Anderson has transformed rapidly to rise to Division One.
"We receive coaching, equipment and allowance support from Tenaga under the Thunderbolts programme and to a certain extent, it helped my boys to become better players in a short span," said Saiyuti.
The Anderson goals were scored by Najme Hayazi (10th, 50th), Akram Hakkam (20th), Fuad Zaquan (57th) and just when the score was tied at 4-4, captain marvel Nur Syahmi Zulkifli delivered the winner in the 65th minute.
Sabah Sports School scored off Muhajir Rauf (16th), Saifuddin Azli (23rd, 48th) and Haziq Asyraaf (60th).
Sabah will now face Penang MSSP-USM today in another exciting Group X play-off and the winner will advance to the quarters.
In Group Y, BJSS Juniors and TBSS Tampin played to a 1-1 draw, and the crucial match between TBSS and Perlis Young Lions Juniors will decide which two teams advance to the quarter-finals.
JHL Division Two Playoffs: Results: Group X: Penang MSSPP-USM 1 Anderson Thunderbolts 10; Group Y: Perlis Young Lions Juniors 3 BJSS Juniors 4.
Group X: Anderson Thunderbolts 5 Sabah Sports School 4; Group Y: BJSS Juniors 1 v TBSS Tampin 1.
FRIDAY: Group X: Sabah Sports School v Penang MSSP-USM (National Stadium Pitch II); Group Y: TBSS Tampin v Perlis Young Lions Juniors (National Stadium Pitch II, 7pm).
GIRLS JHL -- FRIDAY: Group A: SSTMI Thunderbolts v SMK Tun Hussein Onn (SSTMI), Southern Girls v Sabah Sports School (Batu Pahat), SMK Za'aba v Selangor Girls (Kuala Pilah).
Group B: MSN Kedah v YP-MSP-PHP (Padang Serai), SMKGR Highlanders v MSNT-SMKPM (Gunung Rapat), Kuala Lumpur Wipers v SMK Sultan Ibrahim (KLHA).
Note: Matches start at 5pm unless stated.
GROUP X
P W D L F A Pts
ANDERSON 2 2 0 0 15 5 6
SABAH 1 0 0 1 4 5 0
PENANG 1 0 0 1 1 10 0
GROUP Y
P W D L F A Pts
BJSS JNRS 1 1 0 0 4 3 3
TBSS TAMPIN 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
PERLIS 1 0 0 1 3 4 0
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
Div Two teams getting ready for TNB Cup challenge
THE Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee has been super kind to give four Division Two teams a chance to play in the TNB Cup quarter-finals, but they should be ready to face a torrid time.
This is because the four Division One teams waiting for them are much more organised, and upsets will be hard to come by.
SSTMI Thunderbolts, even though they dropped a game against UniKL in the last League fixtures, will start as the favourites to nail their fifth consecutive double in the Junior Hockey League.
The other Division One teams which qualified for the knock-out stage are UniKL Young Guns and SSP-MSP Thunderbolts.
From Division Two, six teams will begin their quest to play in the two-leg TNB Cup quarter-finals from Wednesday.
The six have been divided, via an open draw, into two groups and it will be interesting to watch the likes of Sabah Sports School, Group C champions, and Perlis Young Lions Juniors, Group A champions, and Group B champions Anderson Thunderbolts play in Round Two of Division One.
Whatever the outcome, the four Division Two teams should brace for the time of their lives when they play against four of the best from Division One.
For winning the Division One League title, SSTMI pocketed RM18,000, while second-placed BJSS Thunderbolts received RM13,000. UniKL Young Guns and Pahang Sports School received RM10,000 and RM8,000 for finishing third and fourth respectively.
WEDNESDAY: Division Two -- Round Two: Group X: Penang MSSP-USM v Anderson Thunderbolts (5pm); Group Y: Perlis Young Lions Juniors v BJSS Juniors (7pm).
THURSDAY: Group X: Anderson Thunderbolts v Sabah Sports School (5pm); Group Y: TBSS Tampin v BJSS Juniors (7pm).
FRIDAY: Group X: Sabah Sports School v Penang MSSP-USM (5pm); Group Y: TBSS Tampin v Perlis Young Lions Juniors (7pm).
NOTEL: All matches at Pitch II of the National Hockey Stadium.
This is because the four Division One teams waiting for them are much more organised, and upsets will be hard to come by.
SSTMI Thunderbolts, even though they dropped a game against UniKL in the last League fixtures, will start as the favourites to nail their fifth consecutive double in the Junior Hockey League.
The other Division One teams which qualified for the knock-out stage are UniKL Young Guns and SSP-MSP Thunderbolts.
From Division Two, six teams will begin their quest to play in the two-leg TNB Cup quarter-finals from Wednesday.
The six have been divided, via an open draw, into two groups and it will be interesting to watch the likes of Sabah Sports School, Group C champions, and Perlis Young Lions Juniors, Group A champions, and Group B champions Anderson Thunderbolts play in Round Two of Division One.
Whatever the outcome, the four Division Two teams should brace for the time of their lives when they play against four of the best from Division One.
For winning the Division One League title, SSTMI pocketed RM18,000, while second-placed BJSS Thunderbolts received RM13,000. UniKL Young Guns and Pahang Sports School received RM10,000 and RM8,000 for finishing third and fourth respectively.
WEDNESDAY: Division Two -- Round Two: Group X: Penang MSSP-USM v Anderson Thunderbolts (5pm); Group Y: Perlis Young Lions Juniors v BJSS Juniors (7pm).
THURSDAY: Group X: Anderson Thunderbolts v Sabah Sports School (5pm); Group Y: TBSS Tampin v BJSS Juniors (7pm).
FRIDAY: Group X: Sabah Sports School v Penang MSSP-USM (5pm); Group Y: TBSS Tampin v Perlis Young Lions Juniors (7pm).
NOTEL: All matches at Pitch II of the National Hockey Stadium.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
UniKL end SSTMI's six-year winning streak...
UniKL Young Guns ended Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) Thunderbolts' six-year unbeaten run with a 2-0 win in Division One of the Junior Hockey League Sunday.
It marked the first defeat for SSTMI since 2010.
The victory ensured UniKL finish third on the table on 19 points as Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolt thumped OLAK Tigers 7-1 in Ipoh to give them 21 points from nine matches and second spot behind champions SSTMI (24 points).
In the other match that had a bearing on the top four positions, Politeknik Malaysia stunned Pahang Sports School SSP-MSP Thunderbolt 3-2 in Kuantan. Despite the defeat the Pahang outfit finished fourth in the league on 16 points.
Meanwhile, teams from Division Two will be involved in a play-off from Wednesday to decide which four advance to the to Junior Hockey League TNB Cup quarter-finals.
The four confirmed teams for the knock-out stage from Division One are SSTMI Thunderbolts, SSP-MSP Thunderbolts, BJSS Thunderbolts and UniKL Young Guns.
In Division Two Group A, Perlis Young Lions Juniors emerged tops while second were Penang Schools Sports Council; and in Group B Anderson Thunderbolts emerged tops while Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors were second. In Group C, Sabah Sports School were champions while Tunku Besar Secondary School finished second.
The six were divided into two groups of X and Y, and the top-two will advance to the TNB Cup knock-out stage.
In Group X are Penang Schools Sports Council, Anderson Thunderbolts and Sabah Sports School, while in Group Y are Perlis Young Lions Juniors, Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors and Tunku Besar Secondary School.
RESULTS: UniKL Young Guns 2 SSTMI Thunderbolts 0, SSTMI Juniors 1 PJCC 4, SMKDBL Young Guns 1 PJCC 1, Olak Tigers 1 BJSS Thunderbolts 7, SSP-MSP Thunderbolts 2 Politeknik Malaysia 3.
GIRLS' JHL -- Group A: UniKL Young Guns 3 Tun Hussein Onn 0, Selangor Girls 1 Southern Girls 2.
GROUP B: YP-MSP-PHP 5 Sultan Ibrahim 0, Mutiara Impian 1 KL Wipers 1, MSN Kedah 6 SMKGR Highlanders 1.
DIVISION ONE FINAL STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
SSTMI TNDER' 9 8 0 1 37 12 24
BJSS TNDER' 9 7 0 2 43 143 21
UNIKL YOUNG GUNS 9 6 1 2 25 16 19
SSP-MSP-TNDER' 9 5 1 3 37 18 16
POLITEKNIK 9 4 1 4 16 17 13
PJCC 9 3 1 5 14 17 10
OLAK TIGERS 9 3 1 5 21 34 10
SMKDBL YOUNG GUNS 9 2 2 5 16 21 8
NURINSAFI 9 1 3 5 13 44 6
SSTMI JRS 9 0 2 7 9 386 2
It marked the first defeat for SSTMI since 2010.
The victory ensured UniKL finish third on the table on 19 points as Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolt thumped OLAK Tigers 7-1 in Ipoh to give them 21 points from nine matches and second spot behind champions SSTMI (24 points).
In the other match that had a bearing on the top four positions, Politeknik Malaysia stunned Pahang Sports School SSP-MSP Thunderbolt 3-2 in Kuantan. Despite the defeat the Pahang outfit finished fourth in the league on 16 points.
Meanwhile, teams from Division Two will be involved in a play-off from Wednesday to decide which four advance to the to Junior Hockey League TNB Cup quarter-finals.
The four confirmed teams for the knock-out stage from Division One are SSTMI Thunderbolts, SSP-MSP Thunderbolts, BJSS Thunderbolts and UniKL Young Guns.
In Division Two Group A, Perlis Young Lions Juniors emerged tops while second were Penang Schools Sports Council; and in Group B Anderson Thunderbolts emerged tops while Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors were second. In Group C, Sabah Sports School were champions while Tunku Besar Secondary School finished second.
The six were divided into two groups of X and Y, and the top-two will advance to the TNB Cup knock-out stage.
In Group X are Penang Schools Sports Council, Anderson Thunderbolts and Sabah Sports School, while in Group Y are Perlis Young Lions Juniors, Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors and Tunku Besar Secondary School.
RESULTS: UniKL Young Guns 2 SSTMI Thunderbolts 0, SSTMI Juniors 1 PJCC 4, SMKDBL Young Guns 1 PJCC 1, Olak Tigers 1 BJSS Thunderbolts 7, SSP-MSP Thunderbolts 2 Politeknik Malaysia 3.
GIRLS' JHL -- Group A: UniKL Young Guns 3 Tun Hussein Onn 0, Selangor Girls 1 Southern Girls 2.
GROUP B: YP-MSP-PHP 5 Sultan Ibrahim 0, Mutiara Impian 1 KL Wipers 1, MSN Kedah 6 SMKGR Highlanders 1.
DIVISION ONE FINAL STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
SSTMI TNDER' 9 8 0 1 37 12 24
BJSS TNDER' 9 7 0 2 43 143 21
UNIKL YOUNG GUNS 9 6 1 2 25 16 19
SSP-MSP-TNDER' 9 5 1 3 37 18 16
POLITEKNIK 9 4 1 4 16 17 13
PJCC 9 3 1 5 14 17 10
OLAK TIGERS 9 3 1 5 21 34 10
SMKDBL YOUNG GUNS 9 2 2 5 16 21 8
NURINSAFI 9 1 3 5 13 44 6
SSTMI JRS 9 0 2 7 9 386 2
Marcus Fraser the Inaugural Maybank Champion,,,
By Jugjet Singh
MARCUS Fraser of Australia kept his cool on a hot and windy afternoon at the Royal Selangor Golf Club to lift the inaugural Maybank Championship Malaysia crown on 15-under 269.
He started the day three strokes behind overnight leafer Lee Soomin of South Korea, but kept biting at the lead and finally laid his hands on a title after a six-year drought.
Soomin's game was badly affected by nerves in the last three holes, where he practically gave away the title as well as US500,000 prize to the Australian.
Marcus, 37-years-old, had a final round of three-under 68, but his putter was shaking as he sank the final putt.
The Australian was two shots behind Soomin as he stood on the 16th but a double-bogey from the Korean coupled with a nearly-holed chip opened the door for Fraser to win a third European Tour title.
A steady ten-foot putt on the 17th kept Fraser in a share of the lead at 15 under going up the last and when Soomin double-bogeyed again, a par was enough to make Fraser the first winner of the Maybank Championship.
"My putter was shaking and I had to grip it harder to steady my hands as I kept thinking that I can't miss this chance to lay my hands on a title after six years.
"Yes, it has been that long since I last won (2010 Ballantines Championship) and so I felt I had to send that ball six inches into to ground. And it happened," said Fraser.
All he wants to do right now is fly home and show his kids the trophy and walk them to school Monday.
"My two young children always ask me when I'm going to win a trophy when I walk out the door for a tournament and finally I will be able to take home one and show it to them.
"I will walk them to school, and let them show the Trophy to their school friends, that's how special this win is," said Fraser.
Soomin double bogied the 16th and 18th to tie second with Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines on 13-under 271. Soomin had a final round of two-over 73, while Tabuena had a three-under 68. They took home US260,565 each.
"I can't complain with the way I played here this week because I was down with food poisoning since Tuesday. I wan't 100 per cent my self so no complaints at all.
"I bogeyed the 17th but came back to birdie the 18th, which almost went in for an eagle. I won't say this is mu biggest achievement by it is certainly my biggest paycheque so far.
"I'm only 21 and have been on the Tour for the last five years now, and so I have plenty of experience and matured. I can't wait for the rest of the year to kick off," said Tabuena.
Tabuena walked into the tournament as the reigning Philippines Open champion: "My big goal is to get into the Olympics (Rio de Janeiro) and this finishing here should help realise my dream."
MARCUS Fraser of Australia kept his cool on a hot and windy afternoon at the Royal Selangor Golf Club to lift the inaugural Maybank Championship Malaysia crown on 15-under 269.
He started the day three strokes behind overnight leafer Lee Soomin of South Korea, but kept biting at the lead and finally laid his hands on a title after a six-year drought.
Soomin's game was badly affected by nerves in the last three holes, where he practically gave away the title as well as US500,000 prize to the Australian.
Marcus, 37-years-old, had a final round of three-under 68, but his putter was shaking as he sank the final putt.
The Australian was two shots behind Soomin as he stood on the 16th but a double-bogey from the Korean coupled with a nearly-holed chip opened the door for Fraser to win a third European Tour title.
A steady ten-foot putt on the 17th kept Fraser in a share of the lead at 15 under going up the last and when Soomin double-bogeyed again, a par was enough to make Fraser the first winner of the Maybank Championship.
"My putter was shaking and I had to grip it harder to steady my hands as I kept thinking that I can't miss this chance to lay my hands on a title after six years.
"Yes, it has been that long since I last won (2010 Ballantines Championship) and so I felt I had to send that ball six inches into to ground. And it happened," said Fraser.
All he wants to do right now is fly home and show his kids the trophy and walk them to school Monday.
"My two young children always ask me when I'm going to win a trophy when I walk out the door for a tournament and finally I will be able to take home one and show it to them.
"I will walk them to school, and let them show the Trophy to their school friends, that's how special this win is," said Fraser.
Soomin double bogied the 16th and 18th to tie second with Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines on 13-under 271. Soomin had a final round of two-over 73, while Tabuena had a three-under 68. They took home US260,565 each.
"I can't complain with the way I played here this week because I was down with food poisoning since Tuesday. I wan't 100 per cent my self so no complaints at all.
"I bogeyed the 17th but came back to birdie the 18th, which almost went in for an eagle. I won't say this is mu biggest achievement by it is certainly my biggest paycheque so far.
"I'm only 21 and have been on the Tour for the last five years now, and so I have plenty of experience and matured. I can't wait for the rest of the year to kick off," said Tabuena.
Tabuena walked into the tournament as the reigning Philippines Open champion: "My big goal is to get into the Olympics (Rio de Janeiro) and this finishing here should help realise my dream."
Saturday, February 20, 2016
SSTMI aim for UniKL scalp...
SSTMI Thunderbolts will be on a mission to keep a clean slate in Division One when they play UniKL Young Guns in the final League fixtures of the Junior Hockey League Sunday.
After winning their sixth League title by beating SSP-MSP Thunderbolts 3-1 on Friday, SSTMI eye another win before going for the TNB Cup glory.
"We have the League title in our hands but still, the match agains UniKL will be an important encounter as we want to keep our unbeaten run. Also, we need this boost to make an impact in the TNB Cup quarter-finals to retain our Overall title as well," said SSTMI coach Wan Roslan Rahman.
Wan Roslan has guides SSTMI to six League and five Overall titles: "However, we will not be taking things easy as UniKL, over the years, has always played their best game when they face us. It won't be easy, but we aim to win full points."
The four qualifiers from Division One for the TNB CUP are SSTMI Thunderbolts, UniKL Young Guns, SSP-MSP Thunderbols and BJSS Thunderbolts.
Four more teams will come from Division Two, where the top to teams each in Group A, B and C will be divided into two groups of three and the top-two make the grade for the TNB Cup.
RESULTS: Division Two: Group A: USM Penang 7 Azlan Shah Science 0; Group C: MSN-PHT 1 Sabah Sports School 5, Malacca Hurricanes 2 Pahang Hockey Academy 1, SMKDBL Jnrs 0 TBSS Tampin 3.
SUNDAY: UniKL Young Guns v SSTMI Thunderbolts (National Stadium Pitch II), SSTMI Juniors v Nur Insafi (STMI), SMKDBL Young Guns v PJCC (Batu Pahat), Olak Tigers v BJSS Thunderbolts (Tun Razak), SSP-MSP Thunderbolts v Politeknik Malaysia (Kuantan).
GIRLS' JHL -- SUNDAY: Group A: UniKL Young Guns v Tun Hussein Onn (National Stadium Pitch I), Selangor Girls v Southern Girls (Ministry of Education).
GROUP B: YP-MSP-PHP v Sultan Ibrahim (Kuantan), Mutiara Impian v KL Wipers (USM), MSN Kedah v SMKGR Highlanders (Padang Serai).
NOTE: Matches start at 5pm.
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
SSTMI TNDER' 8 8 0 0 37 10 24
BJSS TNDER' 8 6 0 2 36 13 18
SSP-MSP-TNDER' 8 5 1 2 35 15 16
UNIKL YOUNG GUNS 8 5 1 2 23 16 16
POLITEKNIK 8 3 1 4 13 15 10
OLAK TIGERS 8 3 1 4 20 27 10
PJCC 8 3 0 5 13 16 9
SMKDBL YOUNG GUNS 8 2 1 5 15 20 7
NURINSAFI 8 1 2 5 11 42 5
SSTMI JRS 8 0 1 7 7 36 1
After winning their sixth League title by beating SSP-MSP Thunderbolts 3-1 on Friday, SSTMI eye another win before going for the TNB Cup glory.
"We have the League title in our hands but still, the match agains UniKL will be an important encounter as we want to keep our unbeaten run. Also, we need this boost to make an impact in the TNB Cup quarter-finals to retain our Overall title as well," said SSTMI coach Wan Roslan Rahman.
Wan Roslan has guides SSTMI to six League and five Overall titles: "However, we will not be taking things easy as UniKL, over the years, has always played their best game when they face us. It won't be easy, but we aim to win full points."
The four qualifiers from Division One for the TNB CUP are SSTMI Thunderbolts, UniKL Young Guns, SSP-MSP Thunderbols and BJSS Thunderbolts.
Four more teams will come from Division Two, where the top to teams each in Group A, B and C will be divided into two groups of three and the top-two make the grade for the TNB Cup.
RESULTS: Division Two: Group A: USM Penang 7 Azlan Shah Science 0; Group C: MSN-PHT 1 Sabah Sports School 5, Malacca Hurricanes 2 Pahang Hockey Academy 1, SMKDBL Jnrs 0 TBSS Tampin 3.
SUNDAY: UniKL Young Guns v SSTMI Thunderbolts (National Stadium Pitch II), SSTMI Juniors v Nur Insafi (STMI), SMKDBL Young Guns v PJCC (Batu Pahat), Olak Tigers v BJSS Thunderbolts (Tun Razak), SSP-MSP Thunderbolts v Politeknik Malaysia (Kuantan).
GIRLS' JHL -- SUNDAY: Group A: UniKL Young Guns v Tun Hussein Onn (National Stadium Pitch I), Selangor Girls v Southern Girls (Ministry of Education).
GROUP B: YP-MSP-PHP v Sultan Ibrahim (Kuantan), Mutiara Impian v KL Wipers (USM), MSN Kedah v SMKGR Highlanders (Padang Serai).
NOTE: Matches start at 5pm.
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
SSTMI TNDER' 8 8 0 0 37 10 24
BJSS TNDER' 8 6 0 2 36 13 18
SSP-MSP-TNDER' 8 5 1 2 35 15 16
UNIKL YOUNG GUNS 8 5 1 2 23 16 16
POLITEKNIK 8 3 1 4 13 15 10
OLAK TIGERS 8 3 1 4 20 27 10
PJCC 8 3 0 5 13 16 9
SMKDBL YOUNG GUNS 8 2 1 5 15 20 7
NURINSAFI 8 1 2 5 11 42 5
SSTMI JRS 8 0 1 7 7 36 1
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