6th July, K. Kinabalu: Local youth, Alif Reza Mohd Zaini and Sarawakian Tan Hui Cheng captured their second consecutive titles of the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MSSM Junior Circuit Sabah Leg at CPS Bowl this evening.

Alif forced top-seed Vincent Ong from Kuching to a sudden-death final game when he took the first game 192-147. In the final game, Alif easily kept his opponent at bay scoring 216 to Vincent's 166.

Alif who finished second after the round-robin finals, had earlier won the first stepladder match against 4th-seed Aaron Tay (179) and 3rd-seed Edward Teo (163) both from Kuching with 211 pinfalls. Vincent Ong settled for second while Aaron Tay and Edward Teo finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

Meanwhile, another local lad, Zaim Said won his first-ever circuit title when he defeated top-seed Isaac Russell Paul over two games in the Boy's Open stepladder finals. Zaim scored 212,192 to Isaac's 128/188 for the title. In the first stepladder match, Zaim who finished second after the 8-games round-robin finals earlier, defeated 4th-seed Mohd Zaheer (178) from Kuching and 3rd-seed Sufri Hassan (174) of Sabah with 216 to take on top-seed Isaac.

Sarawakian, Tan Hui Cheng also took her second consecutive title when she defeated Trish Khoo 216-196 in the second game of the Girls' stepladder finals. Tan was forced into a sudden-death game after she lost the first game 168-170. Tan had won the Sarawak leg title just last month.

3rd-seed Trish Khoo of Sabah settled for second despite winning the first match with 208 against 4th-seed Angeline Loh (162) of Sabah and Wilhelmina Wee (173) from Kuching.

Top-seed Nur Rashidah from Kuching captured the Girls' Graded title when she easily defeated her challenger, Pui Lui Hui of Kuching 174-136. 4th-seed Lui Hui had earlier ousted 3rd-seed Nur Hanisa (165) from Sibu and 2nd-seed Amirah Kuslan (179) of Sabah with a score of 198.

The next and final leg of this year's SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MSSM Junior Circuit will be held in Johor Bahru July 11 - 13 at Daiman Bowl.

Photos courtesy of Robert Lu, Hon. Secretary/ABAS

5th July, K. Kinabalu: Sarawak Leg Open champions, Tan Hui Cheng from Kuching and local boy Sufri Hassan topped Stage 1 of the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MSSM Junior Circuit Sabah leg at CPS Bowl.

The Form 5 student from Kuching scored 1479 to lead the Girls' Open Stage 1 from Sarawak leg runner-up Trish Khoo by 30 pins while Wilehlmina Wee finished third on 1441, just 8 pins away from second.

In the Girl's Graded division, local lass Amirah Kuslan took pole position with a score of 1450 ahead of Nor Rashidah from Kuching who score 1374. Just 10 pins away came Pui Lui Hui from Miri on 1364. The top 16 Boys and top 12 Girls will qualify for tomorrow's quarterfinals. At the end of the quarterfinals, the top 8 will make the cut for the round-robin finals.

Meanwhile, Sarawak leg Boy's Open champion and local youth, Sufri Hassan was on a roll when he knocked down 1618 to take the lead in the Boy's Open Stage 1. He had lines of 245, 192, 244, 185, 193, 190, 183 and 186 for an average of 202.25. Sufri just hung on to a 3-pin lead over second-placed Mohd Zaheer Zakaria from Kuching who scored 1615. Another local lad, Zaim Said settled for third spot with a score of 1580.

Vincent Ong Siang Ann from Kuching took a hefty lead in the Boy's Graded division Stage 1 when he amassed 1614. He is 115 pins ahead of his nearest challenger, Alif Riza Mohd Zaini from Sabah who downed 1499 while Jackie Chai Tze Poh scored 1496, just three pins away in third.

The top 16 Boys and top 12 Girls will qualify for tomorrow's quarterfinals. At the end of the quarterfinals, the top 8 will make the cut for the round-robin finals.

Photos courtesy of Robert Lu, Hon. Secretary/ABAS