Six teams battle it out in Stage 2 SSPL 2018/19 Petaling BC gets second bite of the cherry to secure their spot in Genting

CYBERJAYA (10 January 2019): After the dust settled on another exciting Stage 1 SS Purple League, defending champions, Puchong United BC (PUBC) and star studded, Ampang Jaya Badminton Club (AJBC) emerged unscathed to take their rightful places at the top of the peak in Genting for the final rounds at the  Arena of Stars on the 24th to 27th January.

AJBC, who are gunning for their maiden title, must have feared the worst as PUBC and Petaling Badminton Club (Petaling BC) were trading blows in Sundays’ end of season clash.

A 12-12 draw would be enough to see both teams through, but the two teams were having none of that, fighting tooth and nail and eventually settling for a 10-10 draw.

AJBC’s manager, Ho Khek Mong must have been the most relieved man on the night, having seen his team scape through by one point alongside PUBC, with both teams having booked their date with destiny, up in the clouds of Resorts World Genting.

Having finished in the top two spots, they will go directly to the semi-finals while the remaining six teams get another bite at the cherry in Stage 2 to be held on the 11th to 13th January at Gem In Mall, Cyberjaya.

Dark horses, Petaling BC, who narrowly missed out on the qualifying spots by one point, must now regroup and focus their energies towards Stage 2 which offers four more slots to be decided among the remaining six teams.

Having finished third, Petaling BC’s reward is a match-up between winless Bandar Maharani Badminton Club (BMBC) and Serdang Badminton Club (Serdang BC) in Group A.

Meanwhile, last season’s finalists, Kepong Badminton Club, who finished fourth, were drawn to play Bukit Mertajam All Stars Badminton Club (BMASBC) and Tebrau City Badminton Club (TCBC) in Group B.

These six teams will slug it out in two mini leagues with games won from Stage 1 carried forward to determine the final standings.

With Petaling BC having collected 80 points thus far, coach, Ismail Saman is confident his charges will seal the deal this weekend and continue on their assault for the SSPL 2018/19 title in Genting.

“Looking at the draw, on paper we are favourites to go through from Group A, but we must not be over confident.

“I will be ringing in the changes for Stage 2 and I might be bringing on some new players. Playing in Stage 2 is a blessing in disguise as I will be able to use this opportunity to try out these new players in preparation for Genting,” he added.