TNB Hockey League enters knock-out stage
KUCHING: The stage is set for the Hockey Association of Sarawak’s TNB League knock- out round after last weekend’s matches at the Sarawak Hockey Stadium.
Warrior HC, Belia Git HC and SEB HC are among those heading into the winner-takes- all round with an unbeaten record in the first round.
Warrior topped Group A after hammering X-Boy 8-0. Wandy Rudy led the rout with four markers, three of them coming in the first half while Felexson Vonossteen scored a hattrick.
Belia Git’s Dangerous Lee Matthew was the only scorer as his team went past BLHC 2- 0. A member of the national team which won the 2013 SEA Games gold, he recorded his first in the 20th min. with a penalty corner conversion. The Bukit Jalil graduate added the insurance marker in the 48th min. with a field goal.
SEB, which drew with Belia in their encounter, whitewashed MatHoc A 5- 0. Beck Koffman led the way with two field goals while M. Shamsuddin Bujang and Arthur Aidy Kilon had one apiece. Christopher Mel also contributed when he converted a penalty corner.
Group D’s Flystick HC advanced from Group D but not before suffering a bit of a scare in their 3-2 win over MTOB. A penalty corner conversion by M. Zulfadly Rosley and M. Faizal’s field goal them a 2- 0 lead at the half. MTOB replied in the 33rd min with a M. Firdaus field goal but Azam Izwan Azmi restored the two goal cushion in the 52nd min. But Flystick still had to undergo a tense ending when MTOB’s Zainul Hamdan converted in the 56th min.
Kuching HC also qualified from Group D after blowing out MatHoc B 9-1.
In Group B, SMK Bako beat Tasik Biru 2-1 but that did not prevent Tasik Biru from also making the playoffs. The quarter-finals will start from Saturday afternoon while the semis will be on Sunday. Hockey fans will also be treated to a rare experience as the Saturday matches will be played under the floodlights.