Key players help Tanjung Mahsuri win basketball title

TANJUNG MAHSURI (TM) overturned the formbook in the Under-16 category to claim the title in the TM Subang Jaya boys’ Under-14 and Under-16 basketball competition at the USJ6 Basketball Centre (U6BC) outdoor basketball court in Subang Jaya on Saturday.

Despite finishing second, behind Subang Jaya Basketball Academy (SJBA) 15 in the group stage, TM produced an upset in a rematch against SJBA 15 and prevailed with a 39-30 victory.

SJBA 15 captain James Ng admitted their opponents were superior in the final with the services of two key players — captain Tan Wei Seng and Lim Gian Yang — from Kuala Lumpur.

The winners: The boys’ Under-14 champions SJBA ‘A’ with their prizes. With them are Loo (right), Chong (second from right) Mike (third from right) and Lee (left).

“We tried to put up a fight to match them. But we were too exhausted and allowed them to stretch their lead in the second half,” said Ng, adding that they registered a narrow 32-30 win over TM in the preliminary round.

After going into the interval with a solitary point advantage (16-15) in the first half, TM came out stronger to pull away in the following 10 minutes of play.

The lanky Tan from SMK Kepong Baru played a pivotal role and contributed 21 points including three successful attempts in sinking the three-point throws.

Reaching out: The SJBA 16 (in red) and USJ12 (in blue) engaging in an aerial duel in the boys’ Under-16 playoff for third spot

“Coming into the match we knew that it was going to be an even contest. We survived a very tough first half with only one substitute on the bench,” said Tan, who stands at 1.86m.

Meanwhile, it was a stroll in the park for SJBA 16. They chalked up a more convincing 57-34 win over USJ 12 to finish third in the Under-16 category.

In addition, SJBA “A” also did not face much resistance to overcome U6BC Red in the Under-14 final.

Although they were in total control to score a comfortable 74-38 victory, SJBA “A” captain Yew Kian Hong said they could have produced a better display.

“We were tired because we had to play in two matches in the morning. We took it easy and gave an average performance. We did not play to our true potential in the final,” he added.

USJ12 “A” defeated Kota Kemuning Basketball Team (KKBT) 49-21 in the playoff for the third spot.

Tanjung Mahsuri managing director Chong Min Hee, Spalding Malaysia managing director Mike Gill, U6BC chairman Loo Chin Oon and tournament director Juan Lee presented the prizes to the winners.

Tanjung Mahsuri and Spalding were the main sponsors of the annual tournament that drew 10 teams in each category. Among the other partners are 100Plus and Milo.

RESULTS

Under-14

Final: SJBA “A” bt U6BC Red 74-38

Third-Fourth: USJ12 “A” bt KKBT 49-21

Under-16

Final: TM bt SJBA 15 39-30

Third-Fourth: SJBA 16 bt USJ12 57-34