BU Dragons BC Remains the Team to Beat

KUALA LUMPUR (29 December, 2016): BU Dragons BC made it five out of five wins after easily beating an inexperienced Serdang BC side 9-6 during their SS Purple League (SSPL) 2016/17 match earlier today at Gem in Mall, Cyberjaya.

Both teams set out experimental line-ups respectively. Most of the players who played in the match were making their first appearances of the season.

“We want to give all our players a fair chance of playing. It is a good exposure for them. We look at the appropriate fixtures to give them that opportunity,” said BU Dragons’ team manager, Jason Wong.

However Jason’s decision seemed to have temporarily backfired after his player, Tam Chun Hei lost to Serdang’s Xu Yiming 0-3 (3-11, 5-11, 2-11) in the first men’s singles match. Tam, who is usually a doubles player could not cope with the pace of his Chinese counterpart.

The match was back at square one after the women’s singles match thanks to BU Dragons’ Hong Kong international Yip Pui Yin’s 3-0 win over Serdang’s Shen Yabing. Yip, ranked 30 in the world, was making her first SSPL2016/17 appearance as she easily dispatched Chinese international, Shen in 17 minutes.

In the men’s doubles match, BU Dragon’s Chow Pak Chuu and Mak Hee Chun were partnering each other for the first time as Chow too made his SSPL2016/17 bow. However the both looked like a seasoned pairing on the court as they ran riot against Serdang’s Ong Wei Khoon and Ou Xuanyi, beating them 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1).

BU Dragons’ Lai Pei Jing was finally paired with her usual and national team partner Tan Kian Meng for the mixed doubles match. And they show why they are currently ranked world number 9 as they cruised past their Serdang opponents, Lee Chun Hei and Lim Jee Lynn 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5). That win helped secure BU Dragons’ fifth victory in a row.

“Partnering with Pei Jing definitely helped as we have the chemistry and she is more experienced. But it doesn’t matter who the coaches pair me with. It will still be a good learning curve for me,” commented Tan who was paired with different partners on two separate occasions throughout the SSPL 2016/17 season so far.

Serdang’s young captain Lee Zii Jia managed to secure some invaluable points for his team which helped lift Serdang off the foot of the table. The top junior national player ousted his BU Dragons opponent and Thai international Mek Narongrit in straight sets 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-10) in the last match of the tie.

“I don’t blame my players, they have done their best. We did put our reserve men’s singles players in both the men’s singles matches. But I think my team performed well today, and there are certain things where we need to further improve on. We will definitely come back stronger,” added Jason.

Meanwhile, Petaling BC, led by Liew Daren and Kenichi Tago, bounced back from their defeat in their previous match to beat Klang City BC at Gem in Mall, Cyberjaya yesterday.

Despite an unsatisfactory record of two wins and three defeats, Petaling found themselves third in the standings after recording a big 15-3 win over Klang City.

SSPL2016/17 Results (29 December 2016)
(4pm) BU Dragons BC vs Serdang BC 9-6
MS2: Tam Chun Hei lost to Xu Yiming 0-3 (3-11, 5-11, 2-11)
WS: Yip Pui Yin bt Shen Yabing 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-5)
MD: Chow Pak Chuu-Mak Hee Chun bt Ong Wei Khoon-Ou Xuanyi 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-1)
XD: Lai Pei Jing-Tan Kian Meng bt Lee Chun Hei-Lim Jee Lynn 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5)
MS1: Mek Narongrit lost to Lee Zii Jia 0-3 (7-11, 9-11, 10-11)

SSPL2016/17 Results (28 December 2016)
(8pm) Klang City BC lost to Petaling BC 3-15
MS2: Muhd Umar Al-Qhatab lost to Kenichi Tago 0-3 (8-11, 7-11, 2-11)
WS: Thinaah Muralitharan lost to Hera Desiana Rachmawati 0-3 (9-11, 4-11, 7-11)
MD: Ong Jian Guo-Tan Swee Seng lost to Chen Tang Jie-Man Wei Chong 1-3 (7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11)
XD: Muhammad Sufiyuddin-Tan Sueh Jeou lost to Agripinna Prima Ramanto-Devi Tika Permatasari 1-3 (11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 2-11)
MS1: Leong Jun Hao lost to Liew Daren 1-3 (5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 7-8)

SSPL2016/17 Fixtures (29 December 2016)
(8pm) Muar BC vs Kepong BC