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| Jubilant: The BJSS netball players after winning the BJSS Under-16 International netball tournament. |
In the five-team competition, BJSS, under the guidance of Choo Kon Lee and Puah Pei Sam, emerged as the champions after defeating Australia’s Elizabeth College 26-19 in the final.
BJSS and Elizabeth College qualified for the final after finishing as the top two teams in the league. The other teams were Marybryynong Sports Academy from Australia and two teams from Kuala Lumpur Sports School.
Kon Lee said the competition was quite interesting and a platform for the coaches to evaluate the players.
“We are happy with the players’ performance. They adapted well against their stronger and bigger counterparts from Australia. Both the teams from Australia are strong teams.
“We also gave several players, who are 13 and 14, the chance to gain exposure. They also adapted well to the competitive atmosphere and gave a good account,’’ said Kon Lee.
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| In the way: Nur Syafiqah Khanum Mohamad Fuad (right) going for the ball while a player from Elizabeth College tries to stop her. |
It was BJSS’ second victory this month. Early this month, BJSS made their presence felt in the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) netball carnival. BJSS were champions in the women’s Open category as well as in the Under-18 category. BJSS’ Nurul Adha Abu Bakar was voted as the Best Player in the women’s Open section while Khairul Najuwa Shara-huddin won the Best Player in the Under-18 category.
BJSS also took part in the Inter-national Schoolgirls Netball Challenge in Adelaide, Australia and finished third.
The competitions were also part of BJSS preparations for the Inter-national Youth Sports Challenge in Singapore from Nov 30- Dec 9. The challenge is for the Under-15 age group. The seniors will be involved in the Six Nation netball championship in Singapore later this year.
Except for the Form Five students, who are preparing for the SPM, the other players have resumed training six days a week.
Kon Lee said the Form Five students would rejoin the training programme after the SPM.
“We want the players to achieve good results in the SPM as well. It is important for them to excel in both sports and studies,’’ said Kon Lee.
In January, BJSS will be representing Malaysia in the Tri-Nation Netball championship in Hong Kong. The other two teams will be India and Hong Kong.
Kon Lee said the players would be training during the school holidays.
“We will have to continue training as we want to put up a strong challenge in Hong Kong. Both India and Hong Kong are formidable sides. We have to be well prepared to face them,’’ said Kon Lee.
