BB FT, Rascall FT are Sabah Futsal League champs
KOTA KINABALU: Teams BB FT and Rascall FT emerged as the men’s and women’s Division One champions in the Sabah Futsal League Circuit II which ended Sunday.
Held at the BSA Kolombong near here, the tournament also crowned DN’MS FT and Cingkaling FT as the winners for the men’s and women’s Division Two competition.
In the men’s elite division, BB FT justified their top billing by overcoming some of the top clubs in the state en route to the title.
BB FT and Sri Intan finished one-two in Group A to advance into the semifinals that also featured Group B winners Sri Aman FT and runners-up Azzuri.
BB FT were just a class above Azzuri who they thrashed 6-0 to set up a final date against Sri Intan, who edged Sri Aman 2-0 in a penalty shoot-out after the teams were tied 2-2 in regulation time in the semifinal.
And once again BB FT showed their prowess in the title match, overwhelming Sri Intan with their attacking display to register a comfortable 5-1 win.
The women’s Division One competition saw five teams playing in a single-round league format and Rascall’s consistent performance throughout saw them lift the title. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) settled for second followed by Ziemal FC. In the Division Two competition, DN’MS FT defeated E66 FT 3-0 in the men’s final while Estubin FT and Ukulee FT finished as the joint third placings.
Cingkaling FT, on the other hand, claimed a narrow 2-1 win over Vista JR to be crowned the women’s Division Two champion.
Femina FT and Putatan FT settled for joint third placings.
The top three finishers in each division received cash prizes. The men’s Division one champion won RM5,000 followed by RM2,500 for second placing and RM500 each for the joint third while in the women’s Division One, the top three teams won RM3,000, RM1,500 and RM500.
In Division Two, the men’s competition offered RM3,000, RM1,500 and joint third RM500 each while the women’s category RM1,500, RM1,000 and joint third RM500 each.
There were also play-off matches involving four teams fighting for the two Division One berths, with Baby Team and Massa FT retaining elite status after beating Mizanis 3-1 and BSN 5-1.
Meanwhile, eight men’s and six women’s teams confirmed their place in the Grand Final of the Sabah Futsal League scheduled to kick off in early December.
The men’s team are BB FT, Srin Intan, Sri Aman, Azzuri, Baby Team, Massa FT, DN’MS FT and E66 FT while the women’s squad are Rascall, UMS FT, Ziemal FC, Remixx Cingkaling and Vista JR.
The Sabah Futsal League is one of the platforms to unearth local futsal talents as well as to select players to represent Sabah to the National Futsal League.
Sabah FA Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee secretary Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah presented the prizes to the winners, representing the chairman Yamani Hafez Musa.