17th February, Subang USJ: The new knockout format introduced in the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MTBC Junior Circuit 2008 Selangor leg sprang a few surprises as all the top-seeds in the four division were eleminated in the semifinals.

Top-seed and perfect gamer, Mohd Aziem Azemi of Kuala Lumpur was eliminated by seventh-seed, Muhd Fazrin B Khairul Faizi of Perak 390-407 over a 2-game total pinfall first semifinal match of the Boy's Open division.

But Muhd Fazrin's fine run came to an end when he was defeated by Kuala Lumpur's Mohd Amirul Afif by just 1 pin, 381-382 in the title match. Mohd Amirul, who was fifth-seed, earned his semifinal spot edging fourth-seed, Mohd Faliq Shah of Selangor, 355-350 before going

on to easily knockout sixth-seed, Abdul Muhaimin of Perak, 420-368 for a spot in the final match.

The victory was Mohd Amirul's first-ever triumph in the junior circuit after a string of podium finishes last year. The 16-year-old SMK Putrajaya Form 4 student won the first match against Muhd Fazrin, 211-179 to build up a 32 pins margin and despite loosing the second game, 171-202, his total of 382 was good enough to seal the victory.

Top-seed, Mohd Aziem Azemi finished third as the loosing semifinalist while Abdul Muhaimin, who was seeded sixth, settled for fourth position.

In the Girl's Open division, top-seed Nur Diana Hussin of Kuala Lumpur was also eliminated by eventual champion and fifth-seed, Nor Amilia Mohd Nor of Selangor, 338-447 in the first semifinal match. Nor Amilia earned her spot in the semi after ousting fourth-seed, Nadya Izzati Bt Noor Azman of Selangor, 389-342.

Nor Amilia, 17 and a pre-U student at Sunway College, went on to defeat second-seed, Ili Syazana Bt Jamal Azmi in an all-Selangor title match, 387-305 to clinch the Girl's Open title. Ili Syazana settled for second despite disposing off third-seed, Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil of Perak, 350-316 in the second semifinal match.

Nur Diana Hussin, who had led in both the Stage 1 and 2 rounds, ended in third position after being the highest seed whle Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil settled for fourth position. STBA 04 President, Dato' Aini Taib presented the medals and Milo prizes to the open division winners.

Meanwhile, Muhd Mizan of Johor clinched his first-ever circuit title after the fifth-seed defeated sixth-seed, Mohd Zharif B Hashim of Selangor, 383-344 in the Boy's Under-16 division. The 16-year-old SMK Bandar Baru Uda Form 4 student from Johor Bahru made the final by knocking out second-seed, Muhd Aizudeen Mustaqim of Selangor, 394-320 in the second semi.

Mohd Zharif had also earlier narrowly edged 10-year-old sensation and top-seed, Muhd Rafiq B Ismail of Kuala Lumpur, 351-342 to make the finals and earned a crack at the title. Muhd Rafiq finished third being the highest ranked loosing semifinalist.

Kuala Lumpur's Nur Shahira Bt Abdul Manaf also claimed her maiden victory after the eighth-seed beat seventh-seed, Nurain Fatin Bt Abdul Rashid of Selangor, 370-320. The 14-year-ol Covent Bukit Nanas Form

2 student eliminated top-seed, Sharifah Marissa of Selangor, 360-344 in the quarterfinals.

Nur Shahira went on to edge third-seed, Nursyamini Supardi of Perak, 368-362 in the first semifinal match before winning the Girl's Under-16 crown. Nurain Fatin also defeated a higher ranked and fourth-seed, Ainaa Khairina Bt Azman of Selangor, 357-320 in the other semi. Malaysian bowling icon, Shalin Zulkfli gave away the prizes to the Under-16 division winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

16th February, Subang USJ: Kuala Lumpur's Mohd Aziem Azemi shot a perfect game en-route to topping the Boy's Open Stage 2 of the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MTBC Junior Circuit Selangor leg on Saturday eveing as Nur Diana Hussin led from start to finish to top the Girl's Open division.

Mohd Aziem Azemi, who was third in Stage 1 bowled earlier today, took over the lead after the second game with just a 2 pin margin over Stage 1 leader, Equine Lam Wai Lik of Perak in second and Syimir Abdul Razak of Pyramid Youth third.

The Kuala Lumpur youngster stretched his lead to 68 after the third game and despite a lowly 152 in the fourth game, Mohd Aziem was still able to maintain his lead albeit with a narrowed 7 pin cushion.

Mohd Aziem bounched back with a stronger 212 to build himself a 29 pin margin but as he reeled in nine consecutive strikes, it brought the house to a complete silence when he prepared for his tenth throw.

A high pocket left pins 4 and 7 standing but thanks to a massenger, it took down both the pins giving him the tenth strike. With the large crowd cheering him on, he went for the 11th and had another lucky break with pin 6 wobbling and finally fell.

With nerve as steel, Mohd Aziem stepped up to go for the perfect game and to the delight of the crowd, all ten pins fell giving him his first career perfect game and earning him a bonus of RM1,000 for his feat.

The perfect ending game gave Mohd Aziem a score of 1283 and a 14-game total 2858 to top Stage 2, 178 pins ahead of Equine Lam, who had to settle for second with 2718. Syimir Abdul Razak finished third with 2680.

Mohd Faliqh Shah (SEL-2658), Mohd Amirul Afif (KUL-2647), Abdul Muhaimin (PRK-2645), Muhd Fazrin B Khairul Faizi (PRK-2631) and Teh Lit Wing (PRK-2614) completed the top 8 to make the cut for the knockout rounds.

Meanwhile, Stage 1 leader, Nur Diana Hussin of Kuala Lumpur, led from start to finish to top the Girl's Open division with a 14-game total of 2796 and a comfortable 87 pins ahead of her nearest opponent.

Ili Syazana of Selangor settled for second with 2709 while national youth, Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil of Perak Elite squad finished third with 2605 followed by Selangor's Nadya Izzati Bte Noor Azman fourth with 2603.

Nor Amilia Mohd Nor (SEL-2581), Hee Kar Yen (SEL-2520), Syaidatul Afifah (PRK-2503) and Siti Nur Fairuz (SEL-2484) made the cut for tomorrow's knockout rounds in fifth to eighth positions respectively.

Sharifah Marissa of Selangor, who led in Stage 1 of the Girl's Under-16 division, also led from start to finish with an impressive margin of 69 pins on a total of 2493. Hanan Fateha of Kuala Lumpur finished second with 2424.

Perak's Nursyamimi Supardi improved from fourth to third with 2406 with Ainaa Kharina Bte Azman dropping from third to fourth with 2399. Selva Nivashini of Selangor completed the top 5 with 2387.

The top 8 Girl's Under-16 will also progress into the knockout rounds where 2-games total pinfall matches will be played between top-seed and eighth-seed, second-seed and seventh-seed, third-seed and sixth-seed and fourth-seed and fifth-seed.

The winners will proceed to the semifinals narrowing down to the final two bowlers meeting in the finals for the title.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

16th February, Subang USJ: Another Kuala Lumpur youngster, 10-year-old Muhd Rafiq B Ismail ruled the lanes at Ampang Superbowl Summit USJ as he outclassed his more senior opponents to top the Boy's Under-16 Stage 2 of the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MTBC Junior Circuit Selangor leg.

Some of us may have remembered Muhd Rafiq B Ismail after he stormed into the bowling scene when he was just 8 years old, winning the Cari Champion title in 2006. Since then, he has been concentrating on improving his game and has not competed much.

Before today's superb performance, Muhd Rafiq had only won the Doubles gold medal at last year's Shalin Cup despite a poor performance in the individual singles event. The standard 5 Sekolah

Bukit Indah pupil, who was fifth in the first stage, started off the second stage slowly but two great games of 201 and 223 shot him to the front of the pack.

Muhd Rafiq continued to impress with 176, 227 and 213 to romp home comfortably finishing in pole with a score of 1209 and a 14-game total of 2645. Mohd Aizudeen B Mustaqim of Selangor did well to take up second with 2592, 53 pins adrift.

Stage 1 leader, Mohd Ikmal Ismail of Kuala Lumpur settled for third spot with 2511 while early leader, Shaun Chan Zhie Hsien of Selangor finished fourth with 2501. Muhd Mizan of Johor, Selangor's Mohd Zarif and Amir Din Imran and Perak's Mohd Zafiq Syaddiq completed the top 8 to make tomorrow's knockout rounds.

The new knockout rounds format introduced this year will see 2-games total pinfall matches between top-seed vs eighth-seed, second-seed vs seventh-seed, third-seed vs sixth-seed and fourth-seed vs fifth-seed.

The winners will proceed to the semifinals cutting to the final two bowlers meeting in the finals to determine the champion of the division.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

16th February, Subang USJ: Kuala Lumpur's Nur Diana Hussin put in a superb performance to top the Girl's Open Stage 1 of the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MTBC Junior Circuit first leg as Perak's Equine Lam Wai Lik clinched top spot in the Boy's Open division.

Despite a moderate start with 185 and 197 in her first two games, Nur Diana Hussin of Kuala Lumpur posted 213 and 224 to quickly moved into the lead. National youth, Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil of Perak, who had a scintillating start faded off as Selangor's Ili Syazana trailed Nur Diana in second at the halfway mark.

The Kuala Lumpur lass kept on a relentless pace to end the 8-game Stage 1 in top spot with a total of 1631, 82 pins ahead of Ili Syzana in second with 1549. Johor's Siti Nazwa Bte Mohd Sanap did well to finish third with 1491.

Nor Amilia Bte Mohd Nor of Selangor and Nadya Izzati Bte Noor Azman rounded up the top 5. The top 16 made the next round with Johor's Nur Alyana Bte Lahat Dadok finishing 16th on an average of 167.

Meanwhile, Perak's Elite Squad member, Equine Lam Wai Lik was a class of his own as he led from game 3 onwards to end Stage 1 in pole position with a total of 1602. Although Pyramid Youth's Syimir Abdul Razak made a last minute bid to topple the Perak youngster, Syimir had to settle for second, just 13 pins adrift on a total of 1589.

Kuala Lumpur's Muhd Aziem Azemi, who was trailing Equine Lam in second at the halfway mark, finished third with 1575 a further 14 pins adrift. Perak's Mhd Fazrin B Khairul Faizi stormed home to snatch fourth spot with 1554.

Another Perak youth, Abdul Muhaimin Khairuddin rounded up the top 5 with 1541. The top 20 made the cut for the next stage where they will bowl another 6 games later this evening. Yusuf Abdul Raof of Kuala Lumpur made the final spot in 20th with an average of 177.5.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

15th February, Subang USJ: Selangor lass, Sharifah Marrisa snatched pole position of the Girl's Under-16 Stage 1 of the SportExel-NSC-Milo-MTBC Junior Circuit Selangor leg from pace-setter, Hanan Fateha of Kuala Lumpur at Ampang Superbowl Subang USJ Friday afternoon.

Sharifah Marrisa of Selangor had a moderate start in the 8-game Stage 1 of the Girl's Under-16 division with 186 and 169 in her two opening games but bounched back with 225 in the third to take over the lead.

Nursyamimi Supardi of Perak took the early lead with 203 but dropped out of contention after two disasterous games of 162 and 141. Sharifah maintained her lead at the halfway mark after a 185 in the fourth game but gave away the lead after another poor game of 141 in the fifth.

Kuala Lumpur's Hanan Fateha took advantage of the situation to grab the lead albeit only briefly when she suffered three consecutive low games of 160, 161 and 162 to end the block 15 pins behind Sharifah, who recovered to finish in pole with 1443.

Hanan's 1428 gave her a second place finish ahead of the strong finishing Ainaa Khairina Bt Azman of Perak, who totaled 1399 for third position. Early leader, Sursyamimi Supardi of Perak took fourth spot with 1386.

The top 28 girls made the cut for Stage 2 with Najwa Hasmidar Bt Mohd Hazam from Terengganu finishing with a total of 1202 and the cut off average of 150.25. The Boy's Under-16 Squad B will bowl their Stage 1 and the top 48 in the combined standings will proceed to the next stage.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

15th February, Subang USJ: Selangor youths dominated the Boy's Under-16 Stage 1 as another 12-year-old sensation, Muhd Hafiz Fikri topped Squad A of the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MTBC Junior Circuit 2008 first leg which kicked off at Ampang Superbowl Subang USJ this morning.

Newcomer, Mohd Azroy Che Samsor set a cracking pace with a 207 opening game but soon found Muhd Hafiz Fikri of Selangor too hot to handle after the second game. The 12-year-old Standard 6 pupil from Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Langat in Banting shot 189 and 200 to move into the lead.

A slight set back in his third game allowed Mohd Zarif B Hashim, another Selangor youth, to take over the lead but Muhd Hafiz bounced back with 211 in his foruth game to regain the lead at the halfway mark.

The lead changed hands with Mohd Zharif regaining the lead after the fifth game as Pyramid Youth's Yap Eu Win took the lead briefly at the sixth game. But Muhd Hafiz finished stronger of the pack to end the stage in the lead with 1465.

Another Selangor youth, Shaun Chan Zhie Hsien stormed home to snatch second spot with 1458 as Mohd Azizudeen B Mustaqim also finished strongly to take third spot with 1439. Pace-setter, Mohd Zharif settled for fourth with 1418.

Amir Din Imran B Aminnuddin and Yap Eu Win ended up in fifth and sixth positions with 1400 and 1387 while Sharidzman Shahruddin and Azry Haziq completed the top 8 to give Selangor total domination in the Boy's Under-16 division.

The Girl's Under-16 will take to the lanes in the afternon with the Boy's Under-16 Squad B in the evening. The Girl's and Boy's Open will contest their Stage 1 tomorrow (Saturday).

Photos by Terence Yaw.