Sabah bag second hat-trick
Published on: Friday, November 17, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah dominated the final day singles to win the SGA Cup for a record 11th time, beating Sarawak 21-15 at the Sabah Golf and Country Club on Thursday.They won six of the 12 matches, and halved three others to take the singles tie 7.5- 4.5 on the final day.Trailing 13.5-10.5 after the first two days, Sarawak looked set for a spirited comeback when they took a 3.5-1.5 lead in the first five matches with Lee Ka Tung winning 6 & 4 against Brandan Lai, Malcom Ting beating Neil Bainon 5 & 4, a 2 & 1 win for Lau Ching Leong over Hillary Tan and all square between Aw Yong JJ and Fazley Chua while Sabah's Zariq Encho won the first singles 5 & 4 against Steven Hii.ADVERTISEMENT However, their progress was interrupted as the hosts turned the tide, with former Sukma individual gold medallist Albright Chong beating Lee Ka Ming 2 & 0 for the first of five of Sabah's wins in the final seven matches. Mitchell Steel, Jordan Mobijohn and Casper Loh then delivered the next three points with identical 5 & 4 wins against Hassan Rahmat, Lokman Mustaffa and Samsudin Molok respectively. It was all square in the 10th and 11th singles between Chang Vui Keong and Aziel Teo, Christopher James and Lee Ka Ching before Safaruddin Abidin wrapped up the final singles with a 6 & 4 victory over Johari Aman.Sabah Golf Association Deputy President Valerian Hansen Petrus standing in for President Datuk George Bandusena, who was away on other assignment, was overjoyed with the second hat-trick achieved by the Sabah team since the competition started in 2001.ADVERTISEMENT "Congrats to all our players for this meaningful and historical victory. It was a bit of pressure for us after Sarawak gave us a big scare by holding us 6-6 on day one."But with strong fighting spirit, our players managed to get three important points on day two's morning game, and maintained the advantage for today's individual match-play.
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"We were also caught off guard after our neighbours caught up in today's first five games with two up, and only one point ahead for Sabah. Credit must be given to the players as in the seven matches left, we managed to win five and hold two.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"This achievement has created another great history for Sabah golf with our second hat-trick after the first from 2011-2013, and we thank everyone who came and gave their support," he said.Meanwhile, present at the closing ceremony were Datuk Hasnol Ayub Aman, Chief Executive of Institute for Development Studies, Sabah (IDS) and Youth and Sports Ministry Permanent Secretary Datuk Awang Damit Awang Anak as well as officials from both the Sarawak and Sabah teams. - GL Oh