Johor Bahru come from behind to beat Temasek Poly in volleyball invitational final

Story by Kenneth Tan/Red Sports. Photos by REDintern Chua Yueda and Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Wednesday, June 2, 2010 — The Volleyball Association of Johor Bahru (VAJB) came from one set behind to beat Temasek Polytechnic (TP) 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-20) the final of the Volleyball Association of Singapore’s Volleyball Invitational Championships.

Despite being the underdogs, TP put up a very strong fight initially and managed to clinch the first set. However experience duly prevailed in the end as VAJB managed to settle in and win the remaining three sets to be crowned champions.

TP took the first point of the match when Samuel Chew’s (#5) fierce spike was hit out of play by JB’s Ng Hong Ping (#3) before Zheng Zisheng’s (#18) clever flick earned them a 2-0 lead. However Samuel’s spike hit his own net thereafter to gift VAJB their first point of the match. By the first technical timeout, TP held a two-point lead.

VAJB appeared sluggish as they committed a couple of service errors that cost them crucial points. TP took advantage of that to extend their lead to three by the second technical timeout.

Both sides traded points in a frenzied period of play going into the closing stages of the first set. VAJB kept the game close as they hit back on four occasions to level the scores when TP managed to take the lead.
The game was locked at 22-all before TP managed to clinch set point. Firstly Mark Leong’s (#4) flick opened a one-point lead before VAJB shot themselves in the foot by committing a position fault that gifted the resulting point to TP.

The incident brought some dispute between VAJB’s captain Chee Yong Chiang (#1) and the officials which duly prompted the VAJB coach to call a timeout to calm his players down.

It seemed to work when they scored one to pull it back to 23-24, but TP managed to clinch the set when Louis Loan’s (#1) low spike was only returned by JB’s Ng Aik Wei (#10) onto his own net.

TP took the first point of the second set when Wong Hua Lun’s (#6) scored through a low spike towards the VAJB’s backline. However VAJB equalised with Chua Kuang Hua’s (#6) powerful spike. TP then managed to take a 7-4 lead before VAJB hit back to level the scores at 7-all. It was TP who went into the first technical timeout in a one-point lead after Mark Leong’s punch went over the net.

VAJB began to turn the tide thereafter with their excellent double blocking on the line which denied many TP attacks. TP coach Yap Ah Kuan called a timeout when his team trailed 10-14 but it was to no avail as they conceded another two points to trail six by the second technical timeout.

They went further behind at 10-19 before Yap called another timeout. It proved a good decision as his team began to show renewed vigour in chasing the game. Mark Leong was leading the charge with his powerful spikes that earned three points for his team while substitute Ryan Tan (#2) chipped in with another two. TP managed to score three straight points to cut the deficit to 19-24 before Louis Loan gifted VAJB the set when his serve hit his own net.

Just like the first two sets, TP once again achieved a good start to their third set as they raced to a 3-0 lead with Zheng Zisheng scoring two with both points coming off excellent blocks on VAJB’s Chua Kuang Hua’s spikes. VAJB managed to hit back at 4-4 and 6-6 before TP went into the first technical timeout with a two-point lead through two powerful Mark Leong spikes.

They went further ahead at 12-8 before errors began creeping into their play as they conceded four straight points for VAJB to draw level. It prompted TP coach Yap Ah Kuan to call a timeout but it was to no avail again as Wong Hua Lun hit the ball out of bounds twice to gift VAJB a 14-12 lead.

VAJB went into the second technical timeout in a three-point lead and took set point on 24-18. TP’s Wong Hua Lun’s fierce spike earned temporary reprieve before VAJB clinched the set through Ng Aik Wei.

It soon turned from bad to worse for TP as they went 0-5 down at the start of the fourth set. A timeout called by Yap Ah Kuan saw them scoring two points thereafter before VAJB landed another three to go into the first technical timeout in a six-point lead.

TP seemed to have no answer to their opponents’ good set plays and fast reflexes thus falling a massive 3-13 behind thereafter. That shock seemed to jolt TP into life as they began to play with more urgency with Mark Leong running the show by contributing four points. Thus they went into the second technical timeout six points behind VAJB.

The closing moments of the set was a frenzied one as TP tried in vain to whittle down TP’s huge lead. VAJB opened up an 18-11 lead before TP narrowed the deficit to four after three straight points. VAJB reclaimed a six-point lead at 22-16 before TP reduced it to four again at 23-19 with the outstanding Mark Leong contributing three of the points.

VAJB achieved match point when captain Chee Yong Chiang’s fierce low spike down the middle proved too hard for TP to handle. TP’s Wong Hua Lun replied with a fierce spike that reduced their deficit to 20-24.

After a superb rally, a spike down the middle saw TP’s libero Wong Wei Zhi and Wong Hua Lun clashing with each other to retrieve the ball thus gifting the crucial point for VAJB to claim the championship.

“I think my boys performed rather well today, especially Mark Leong,” commented TP coach Yap Ah Kuan after the match. “It was just that in crucial moments, VAJB’s experience shone. Besides that, they also had the edge in terms of height as many of our high balls were blocked by their players.”

“To add on, few of my key players had to miss out once again due to exams.” he lamented. “In the first set, our strategy worked well. However once we lost the ball, the team’s shape went haywire after that.”

“I told them not to feel sorry for themselves,” he said when quizzed about his team’s incredible fighting spirit in the third quarter. “Even if they can’t win, they have to go down putting in a fight. Besides that, the audience came specially to watch the match so we can’t let them down. In terms of sporting spirit, I can’t accept them giving up without giving a fight. I think they were kind of inspired after what i said.”

“All in all, I am satisfied with this achievement as the team did not have the best preparation. It was not easy for the current members to gel with the alumni members within a short period of time,” he said.

On a final note, he shared about the future for his team.

“We will next take part in a cup competition in Malaysia against other state teams around end-of-June. Hopefully the boys can improve their skills over there,” he said.

Final Score
VAJB 3 TP 1
(23-25, 25-19,25-19, 25-20)

Volleyball Association of Johor Bahru
Chee Yong Chiang (Captain, #1), Lau Wee Sen (#2), Ng Hong Ping (#3), Lee Long Yeh (Libero, #4), Ng Peng Long (#5), Hoe Ban Seng (#6), Chua Kuang Hua (#7), Lo Sea Wah (#8), Lee Teck Peir (#9), Ng Aik Wei (#10), Pee Kok Yaw (Libero, #11), Teo Wei Shen (#12), Tan Jian Yue (#16), Lee Qi Hao (#17), Foong Yung Chien (#18)

Temasek Polytechnic
Loan Shihao Louis (#1), Tan Ryan (#2), Lim Chee Yong (#3), Leong Bao Wen Mark (#4), Samuel Chew (#5), Wong Hua Lun (#6), Shaun Lim Jie Liang (#7), Wong Wei Zhi (Libero, #8), Aaron Teo Zong Jie (#9), Darren Wong Hong Zhi (#10), Zhou Zhiyao Benjamin (#11), Lam Jun Yi Sean (#12), Toh Shang Wei (#13), Lam Wei Liang Alvin (#14), Benedick Ong Zi Quan (#15), Guo Kangwei (#16), Hong Ming Xiong (#17), Zheng Zisheng (#18)

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