Turtles march on; Guardians stay in touch

Terengganu Turtles continued its winning run after the fifth round of the Ekspres Perdana Sepak Takraw League (STL) 2016 with a 2-0 win over Kedah Eagles at the Serdang Jaya Municipal Council Stadium on Sunday.

It was Turtles eighth consecutive victory in the league as they stand tall going into next week’s sixth round. In another match, ATM Guardians overcame a gritty Kelantan Warriors 2-0 to record their third win in eight matches so date.

The Turtles got off in the first set struggling to win points before getting over the edge 21-18 as the trio of Irsyad Faiz Aziz (tekong), Kamal Alfiza Shafie (striker) and Zulkifli Razak took 25 minutes to secure their first point against Eagles’ Shahrol Nizam Romli(striker), Nazirul Akram Razali (tekong) and Syakim Jamil (feeder).

However, Turtles returned in the second set with much panache with long rallies before striking the ball deep down the baseline in a 19-minute battle to prevail 21-6, thus sending Kedah Eagles to their fourth defeat in the league from eight matches.

Terengganu have played a total of 18 sets since the league started – winning 16 and lost only in two sets to register a 0.89 set winning percentage to stay top of the chart.

In the second match of the day, ATM Guardians, lying third from bottom before today’s encounter, defeated Kelantan Warriors 2-0 with scores of 21-18, 21-15 lasting 45 minutes. The victory has certainly lifted their confidence level going into next week’s proceedings.

ATM Guardians are lying sixth in the table standings – ahead of Kelantan Warriors and Malacca Titans - following three wins and five defeats in eight matches. They have played a total of 19 sets, won eight and lost 11 for a 0.42 set winning percentage.

On Saturday, Kuala Lumpur Thunder recorded their third successive win after defeating Johor Tigris in the fifth round of the Ekspres Perdana Sepak Takraw League (STL) 2016.

Penang Black Panthers also came back on Saturday from a narrow defeat against Turtles a week earlier to claw Malacca Titans 21-17, 22-20.