Fadhil Yunus
TSK Junior recovered from a six-point deficit during the 16-12 victory against ISB in their final round robin match to emerge winners of the under-13 category of the Brunei Youth League 2020 at the Brunei Basketball Association Court in Batu Bersurat last night.
ISB stunned title-chasing TSK Junior when they took a 10-4 lead at half-time but TSK Junior inspired by their star player John Earl gained momentum and hit back at the start of the second half.
With victory confirming their status as champions, TSK game’s centred on the magnificent John Earl who moved around the court admirably.
His defensive role where he made blocks and interceptions were equally effective as his attacking prowess.
The player’s brilliance in controlling the court drew audible gasps of excitement from the crowd whether it came from his drive passing the ISB defence or his silky passes. The turning point of the tie against ISB came when Ewan Maliwat converted a two-pointer to put TSK Junior ahead by one point.
With ISB going for the attack in search of getting back to the game, Earl produced a baseball pass to Salazar and the latter easily converted without any resistance.
TSK earned a perfect win record in the group having previously defeated BBA, Wira Pori and Shooting Stars.
Meanwhile, Shooting Stars survived a nervy 16-15 win against Wira Pori en route to a runners-up finish.
The win provided them the foundation to challenge for gold but their hopes were diminished when they came short in a 24-17 defeat to the eventual winners.
Wira Pori drew blanks in their opening two fixtures against arguably the category’s title contenders but they left with silverware having clinched third place with wins against ISB and BBA.
The one-day tournament, which was contested in a round robin format, was organised by the BBA.
