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Crocs overcome odds to slay Red Giants BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sports - New 2 Borneo

Crocs overcome odds to slay Red Giants

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 11:04 AM PST

by Matthew Umpang, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 5, 2014, Wednesday

KUCHING: The Red Giants are dead. Sarawak eliminated traditional Malaysia football powerhouse Selangor in the FA Cup at Kelana Jaya yesterday.

Ten Crocs withstood Selangor's onslaught – five shots on and six shots off target – as Robert Alberts masterminded an impressive 1-0 win to qualify for the FA Cup quarter-finals.

And it was Sarawak-born Zamri Morshidi who scored the solitary goal in the 33rd minute that clinched victory. He escaped a sea of Selangor players in their penalty box to slot home Ronny Harun's throw-in.

Selangor pressed hard for the equaliser but it never came – thanks to stout defending by Sarawak's Gabor Gyepes-led backline.

Playing away on notoriously difficult pitch conditions, Sarawak's triumph was made all the more remarkable as goalkeeper Sani Anuar Kamsani was red-carded for a professional foul on Selangor's Mohd Fitri Syazwan just outside the penalty box in the 62nd minute.

Reserve goalie Mohd Fadzley Abdul Rahim, making his debut for Sarawak, did not disappoint as he made a few crucial saves, most notably in the 80th minute, stopping a powerful shot from import Andik Vermansyah.

Fadzley had come in for striker Alireza Abbasfard.

The Crocs also came close when Junior Eldstal's shot went wide in the dying minutes of the game.

Head coach Robert Alberts could not help savouring a famous victory by his boys.

He told The Borneo Post after the match: "We managed to disrupt Selangor's rhythm of play and not let them have the amount of possession that they wanted."

The loss was surely a big blow for Selangor who currently top the Super League table.

Sarawak fans who travelled to the MPPJ Stadium to support the Crocs were amply rewarded.

Some of them could not be blamed for celebrating as if their team have already won the FA Cup!

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PTBS kicks off 2014 with a bang

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:53 AM PST

KUCHING: A record number of players competed in the Bumiputra Tennis Association (PTBS) Closed Tournament held at its headquarters here at Semariang from Jan 30 to Feb 2.

For PTBS Exco member Ruslan Bujang, the good response and success of the tournament represented another major step forward in the development of local tennis.

"We just as happy to see that more locals are interested in playing tennis. This is a good way indeed for the association to start the year," he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

The association received 36 entries for the singles and 20 for the doubles.

Ruslan said the main objective of the tournament was to select players who will represent the Kuching PTBS team at the PTBS inter-division tournament which will be held in Miri in May this year.

"Another reason why we are glad with the turnout is that we will have a huge pool of players to choose from. We would like to thank all the participants who competed in the tournament," he added.

PTBS have lined up other major tournaments to fill up the 2014 calendar. They include the PTBS Veteran tournament on Feb 28, the YB Hasidah Cup for women in April, the Inter-Community tournament in June, YB Datuk Fadillah Yusuf Cup in August and the Novice Cup in November.

Apart from competitions, the association organises Junior Development programmes such coaching clinics and junior events which are be held throughout the year.

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Nicol a step closer to second title of year

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:53 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian squash queen Datuk Nicol David is just a step closer to clinching her second title this year after marching into the final of the Cleveland Classic.

The world number one won her first title at the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in New York last month.

In the semi-final match held at the Cleveland Racquet Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio, the 30-year old Penangite fended off the challenge of a qualifier Nour El Tayeb, who defeated world number three Raneem El Weleily in the quarter-finals.

Nicol beat the Egyptian in straight set 11-7, 12-10, 11-4.

But before the victory, Nicol faced a nerve wrecking moment in the second set where she was trailing 2-8 before recovering to win the set 12-10.

Meanwhile, Nicol is expected to have a tough battle against Asian champion Annie Au of Hong Kong in the final.

Annie, a qualifier, defeated fourth seed Alison Waters of England 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-2, 12-10.

Earlier, she defeated England top duo, world number two Laura Massaro and world number nine Jenny Duncalf, in the first round and quarter-finals respectively.

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Sarsa raises profile of Motocross Challenge

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST

KUCHING: This year's edition of the AAM Motocross Challenge in Sarawak is set to soar.

Sarawak Automotive Racing Sports Association (Sarsa) aims to raise the status of the Sarawak leg of the event which starts from April.

Two new venues, Sibu and Saratok, have been added to the five rounds of competition in the state.

The challenge will kick off in Kota Samarahan on April 26-27 before moving to Miri (May 17-18), Sibu (June 21-22), Kanowit (Aug 30-31) and finally rounding up in Saratok (Sept 20-21).

By adding two more towns to host the event, Sarsa is also hoping to cultivate more local support for the sport.

The Sarawak component of
the AAM Challenge is a joint effort by Sarsa and the Sarawak Motocross Club with the support from the Ministry of Social Development.

Speaking to The Borneo Post yesterday, Sarsa secretary Lucas Tan said they have recently inspected the tracks at the two new venues and were very satisfied with the conditions.

He also revealed that there will be a new ruling in this year's competition involving the aspects of scrutineering, safety apparels and entries.

All participants will be briefed on these changes upon registration. Participants can also contact the organisers for further inquiries at 019-8174654 (William Sinos).

AAM Motocross Challenge 2014 will feature three main categories namely the MX125, MX Open and the Minicross Open.

"A support race will also be organised during the tournament and it will be the MX Veteran category. It is for motocross riders aged 40 years-old and above," Tan added.

He hoped relevant government agencies will also take notice of the event and lend the association a helping hand as it has sports tourism potential.

Apart from the local riders, riders from other countries such as Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines are expected to take part.

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T-Team, JDT brawl takes new twist

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:50 AM PST

Darul Takzim coach lodges police report over alleged incident at Larkin Stadium

JOHOR BAHARU: Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) coach Cesar Ferrando Jimenez yesterday lodged a police report over an alleged incident in the tunnel heading to the dressing room of the Larkin Stadium last Saturday.

According to Jimenez's lawyer Datuk Baljit Singh Siddhu, the coach in his report had stated that he was the victim of an alleged assault.

"Jimenez said he was the victim of the incident but T-Team had twisted the facts," he told reporters at the Johor Baharu Selatan police headquarters yesterday.

Baljit said Ferrando had stated that T-Team's fitness coach had held the collar of his shirt while a T-Team player wearing jersey number 16, had pushed him (Jimenez).

"We will see the issue in detail and take action accordingly to determine the truth," he said.

JDT honorary secretary Mohd Fahmy Yahya was also at the police station but journalists who were at the police station were not given a copy of the report.

The match between T-Team and JDT was abandoned after half time at the Larkin Stadium last Saturday when T-Team who were trailing 1-2, refused to continue the match for security reasons.

On Monday, T-Team players, management and fitness coach had lodged four police reports at the Kuala Terengganu police headquarters over the alleged incident at the Larkin Stadium.

The T-Team player and fitness coach involved in the alleged incident are Brazilians Evaldo Rodrigues (player) and Stefano Impagliazzo (fitness coach). — Bernama

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Super Bowl 48 sets record for TV viewers

Posted: 04 Feb 2014 08:48 AM PST

LOS ANGELES: Seattle's 43-8 blowout of Denver in Super Bowl 48 offered little in the way of suspense, but 111.5 million viewers made it the most-watched television event in US history.

Ratings released by the Fox network on Monday showed Sunday's game also set a record for the most-streamed online sports event, while a whopping 25.3 million related tweets composed by 5.6 million authors were logged before, during and after the contest.

The viewership for the Seahawks' lopsided victory eclipsed the previous record 111.3 million viewers who watched the 2012 Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, according to the Nielsen tracking service.

The NFL's championship spectacular is always a big TV draw and, until ratings for last year's game showed a slight decline, the Super Bowl had set viewership records for three straight years.

The half-time show headlined by hit singer Bruno Mars, with guests the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was also a record breaker with an estimated TV audience of 115.3 million.

That eclipsed the 110.8 million who watched Beyonce last year, as well as the previous record of 114.0 million set by Madonna two years ago.

In its statement regarding the ratings, Fox concluded that interest in the game was piqued by the fact that it was the first Super Bowl to be played in an outdoor stadium in a cold-weather location – and that it was played in the New York metropolitan area, a massive media market.

Even though the Broncos didn't manage to score until the end of the third quarter, viewership climbed through the first half.

"Viewership remained impressively high through the fourth quarter despite the fact that Seattle had the game well in hand," a Fox statement said.

Fox said the most active moments on social media during the game were when Seattle's Percy Harvin returned the second half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown (429,000 tweets), the conclusion of the half-time show (424,000 tweets) and Most Valuable Player Malcolm Smith's second-quarter interception return for a touchdown (300,000 tweets). — AFP

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