APAC 2010: Singapore

The Asia PAcific Floorball Championship, also known simply as APAC, is an international floorball competition, a stage where all the big boys of Asia compete against each other to see who's the best around. For the past 3-4 years, Malaysia has been part of APAC. Despite being viewed over and over again as the least impressive team around, team Malaysia has been adamant in bringing back a medal since day one.

Truth be told, team Malaysia, relatively speaking, still has a long way to go if they truly want to prove a point in APAC. Having said that, it must also be acknowledged that team Malaysia has definitely improved over the years. As the head coach of team Malaysia, Denise, puts it, "This is the best team Malaysia has ever assembled thus far". This is not a boastful comment but one that reflects the commitment and heart of the players despite the constant pessimistic view they receive about the standard of floorball in Malaysia.

With that in mind, BBF would like to render our support and encouragement to this ensemble of players from Penang, Kuala Lumpur and even Singapore (Malaysians who are currently studying/working in Singapore) as they strive to once again donned the national jersey to prove their worth in APAC 2010. It is a big task and to some, even an impossible one, but let us not lose hope in this team of committed players. The least we can do is to stand alongside them as they march into war.

As we approach APAC 2010, let's get a glimpse of what to expect from team Malaysia. Below is a review by BBF on APAC 2010.

TEAM ROSTER FOR MALAYSIA

No.	Player	Position	Club
1	Yushaak Illyaz	Goalkeeper	Gang Bintang
2	Adzahar Sjaiful Anuar	Defender	Gang Bintang
4	Chiam Ter Min	Forward	Ztec 8cers
5	Teoh Sam Jiun Haur	Forward	Innebandy! CO
6	Gunasekaran Satyan	Forward	Subang Rascals
7	Ch´ng Keng Hooi	Defender	Hurricanes
8	Yeoh Jun Wooi	Defender	Ztec 8cers
10	Cheang Jin Keet	Defender	Contact Sports
11	Wan Deswyn Yee	Forward	Innebandy! CO
12	Low Kien Teck	Forward	Hurricanes
13	Low Chong Guan	Forward	Hurricanes
14	Koh Christopher Boon Han	Defender	Minden UniHawks
17	Loh Jo-Wyee	Forward	Ztec 8cers
23	Zainal Abidin Mohd Hafidz	Defender	KLIUC Griffins
27	Khor Kuan Yang	Forward	Frontliners Spartan
29	Tan Kok Ee	Forward	Blast Super Blacks
31	Kao Lin Ken	Goalkeeper	Innebandy! CO
	Officials
	Thulin Dennis	Coach
	Tee Edward Lim Chen	Coach
	Subramaniam Suresh	Team Manager
	Khoo Penny Eam Tien	Other

MATCH SCHEDULE FOR APAC 2010

03.02.2010	16:00	Japan M - Australia M
03.02.2010	19:00	Korea M - Singapore M
04.02.2010	16:00	Singapore M - Malaysia M
04.02.2010	19:00	Korea M - Australia M
05.02.2010	19:00	Australia M - Singapore M
05.02.2010	16:00	Malaysia M - Japan M
06.02.2010	15:00	Malaysia M - Korea M
06.02.2010	18:00	Singapore M - Japan M
07.02.2010	13:00	Japan M - Korea M
07.02.2010	16:00	Australia M - Malaysia M

Match Preview
04.02.2010 - Singapore vs Malaysia
With Team India pulling out, Malaysia will be starting APAC with the toughest draw possible... against Asia's best team - Singapore! Team Singapore will be craving for blood and with last year's defeat of their junior team still vividly replaying in their minds, you can almost smell their ruthless appetite.

Can team Malaysia weather the storm?

05.02.2010 - Malaysia vs Japan
Straight after Singapore, lies the defending Champions, Team Japan. With a smaller squad compared to last year and possibly a better refined team, how will Malaysia fair with back to back games against the best of Asia?

06.02.2010 Malaysia vs Korea
Last year, the host of 2009's APAC, Korea, stunned Malaysia with 8 to nothing in the first period and went on to win 11-2. It was a shocking experience and Malaysia will definitely be looking to do one better this time around.

Can they?

07.02.2010 Australia vs Malaysia
The final match will be against Team Australia who also aspire to qualify for MWFC 2010. Like Korea, they are more likely in the fight for the last qualifying placing. How will they fare against Team Australia?


All has been said. Now, all we can do is to wait and see.

APAC 2010 post to be one of the best APAC around. With teams like Singapore and Japan sending their top players, it will be a competition you wouldn't want to miss. As much as it is nerve wrecking for team Malaysia to participate in this APAC, admittedly, it is also a privilege and opportunity for them to be part of it, to experience it and to learn from it. It won't be an easy competition this year, that's for sure. But nonetheless, one that will widen their scope, understanding and experience in the floorball scene. Let's wish team Malaysia all the best as they journey to make the nation proud!

(Feel free to leave a note/comment of encouragement here to show your support to team Malaysia!
The least you can do is to support them!
All the best team Malaysia!)

Asian & Oceanian WFC Qualification aka APAC 2010

The Asian & Oceanian WFC Qualification is played the 3rd - 7th of February 2010 in the Woodlands Sport Hall in Singapore.

Singapore (ranked 15th) and the 17th ranked Japan are together with Australia (ranked 24th) the favourites to qualify to the World Championships final round in December. The three highest ranked teams are challenged by Korea (ranked 28th) and Malaysia that is now back in the WFC context.

Singapore´s aim is to win the Asian & Oceanian WFC Qualification in front of the home crowd with a team including both experienced and young players.

Singapore is relying much on the saves of their excellent goalkeeper, Abdul Khalique Arshad Sanusi # 31, who has experience from the two previous WFC B-divisions.

Mohd Kassem Hafeez # 7 is one of the players who can make life difficult for the opponents. He has played in all the WFC B-division since 2002 and is known for his dangerous airhooks.

Mohd Kassem Hafeez in WFC 2008 B-div./Ondrej Klima

Team Japan will also fight to become the champion of Asia/Oceania and aims to play in the WFC Final round. Japan is the reigning Asia & Pacific champion winning all their matches in the APAC 2009.

The last lock in the Japanese defence is the goalie, Takari Nakagawa # 1. He has developed a lot during the last years and become the first goalkeeper in team Japan.

Nakagawa in WFC 2008 B-div./Ondrej Klima

The new captain of the Japanese team, Daisuke Watabe # 15, who played in his first WFC already in the B-division 2000, brings experience to the team and is able to build up the offensive play from his center position.

Australia lost the C-division bronze match against Canada, but was placed 2nd in the APAC 2009, losing only against Japan. Australia is rebuilding their national team with some short, medium and long term goals. The aim is to challenge all opponents in the WFC Qualifications.

Team Australia is relying much on team performance and wish to entertain the audience with the Aussie style of play.

Jonathan Veron in the C-division 2008

One of the goal scorers in the team is Jonathan Veron # 3, who was the Australian top scorer in the 2008 C-division with 7+1 and scored 7+9 in the APAC 2009. The defender Anthony Boteler # 17, who was the top scorer in APAC 2009 with 12+11, will be a striker to watch out for.

Korea will challenge the three higher ranked teams with an ambitious goal to participate in the WFC Final round in Finland. Korea was only placed 8th out of 9 team in the WFC C-division in 2008, but in the APAC 2009 Korea improved their game and was placed third in the tournament.

Young June Lee # 1 was the best Asian Goalie in the APAC 2007, 2008 and 2009. He is not the biggest goalkeeper but his moves are fast and he is also a leader of the team.

Yong June Lee in WFC C-division 2008

Another player to note is the top scorer in Korea, Kwang Hwan Yeon # 28, who is known for his running speed. Hwan Yeon scored 5+2 in the C-division 2008 and 4+4 in the APAC 2009.

Malaysia has not participated in the WFC since 2004, but has played in all the APAC tournaments since 2004. In the APAC 2009 Malaysia was placed 4th out of six teams, which was Malaysia´s best placement ever.

11 of the players in the Malaysian team played in the Asia & Pacific Championships in 2009 and one player worth mentioning is Ter Mian Chiam # 4. He is a 19-year old forward that scored the 7th most points out of all teams in the APAC 2009 with 11+4.

More information about the tournament from the IFF WFC AOFC Qualification web page.

Team presentations WFC Q Europe1 ranked 1st-4th (Denmark, Poland, Austria & Hungary)
Team presentations WFC Q Europe 1 ranked 5th-8th (GB, France, Belgium & Serbia)
Team presentations WFC Q Europe 2 ranked 1st-4th (Estonia, Italy, Slovenia & Netherlands)
Team presentations WFC Q Europe 2 ranked 5th-8th (Slovakia, Spain, Liechtenstein & Georgia)

Selangor Floorball League 2009

Over the recent years, Selangor has shown a keen interest and growth in floorball. The sport is slowly gaining recognition from students and working adults. In fact, they initiated the Selangor Floorball League sometime last year. Another step taken to further enhance the sport in Selangor.

The Selangor Floorball League saw 5 teams participating with a hunger to win. Although the playing field is not as levelled out as it should be, for now, it was a good start for all teams to get the momentum going.

Below is BBF's review on the league.

Teams

Gang Bintang

KLIUC Griffins

KLIUC Hornets

Salibandy! Co.

Subang Rascals

Format
- Five teams
- Round robin league format
- Two-legged
- Three periods of 20 minutes.

Fixtures & Results

	24 Oct 2009
G1	Salibandy! Co.	4	4	KLIUC Hornets
G2	Subang Rascals	13	3	KLIUC Griffins
G3	Gang Bintang	16	0	Salibandy! Co.
	31 Oct 2009
G4	KLIUC Hornets	2	14	Subang Rascals
G5	KLIUC Griffins	3	13	Gang Bintang
G6	Salibandy! Co.	3	13	Subang Rascals
	7 Nov 2009
G7	KLIUC Hornets	1	5	KLIUC Griffins
G8	Gang Bintang	7	3	Subang Rascals
G9	Salibandy! Co.	3	2	KLIUC Griffins
	14 Nov 2009
G10	Subang Rascals	18	3	Salibandy! Co.
G11	KLIUC Hornets	2	10	Gang Bintang
G12	KLIUC Griffins	1	6	Subang Rascals
	28 Nov 2009
G13	KLIUC Griffins	3	6	Salibandy! Co.
G14	Subang Rascals	14	1	KLIUC Hornets
G15	Gang Bintang	4	2	KLIUC Griffins
	5 Dec 2009
G16	Gang Bintang	11	1	KLIUC Hornets
G17	Salibandy! Co.	4	18	Gang Bintang
G18	KLIUC Griffins	1	3	KLIUC Hornets
	12 Dec 2009
G19	KLIUC Hornets	1	7	Salibandy! Co.
G20	Gang Bintang	10	3	Subang Rascals

Final Standings

PLC	TEAMS	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Gang Bintang	8	8	0	0	89	18	71	16
2	Subang Rascals	8	6	0	2	84	30	54	12
3	Salibandy! Co.	8	3	1	4	30	75	-45	7
4	KLIUC Hornets	8	1	1	6	15	63	-48	3
5	KLIUC Griffins	8	1	0	7	20	49	-29	2

Team Reviews

Gang Bintang
Champions
Gang Bintang demonstrated the literal meaning of trashing. The winning machine, boasted with national stars like, Sjaiful, Khalid & Iliyaz together with Singaporean imports, Filip & gang cruised towards the summit of Selangor Floorball League with relative ease, destroying whatever that were on their path.

Subang Rascals
1st Runners-up
A team led by Malaysia's team manager, Suresh along with Dennis, the expatriates and Sasi , aimed for the title as well. Like their rival, they marched on clearing all obstacles without showing any sort of sympathy on court, but twice they faced the might Gang Bintang, twice they crumbled. The party crashers failed to put a halt to Gang Bintang and in the end had to settle for second.

Salibandy! Co.
3rd Placing
Losing key players is definitely not a good start, but still, with experience and ability of their players at disposal, Salibandy enjoyed a firm 3rd place position. They did it in the end, but not after a few hiccups here and there. They started off with a shaky last grasp draw with Hornets and then, like everyone else, got trashed by the top 2 teams before picking up their momentum against Griffins and Hornets, finishing 3rd.

KLIUC Hornets
4th Placing
Like Griffins, Hornets is the new kid on the block. Supposedly, the slightly weaker of the two but somehow managed to spring up a few surprises along the way. What better way than to kick-off the first match of the league with a stunning draw against the much more established Salibandy and ending it at a high against their brothers, Griffins, marshalled by their "Creator", Hadfiz. Beginner's luck or the beginner's fearlessness?

KLIUC Griffins
5th Placing
Like Hornets, Griffins is also a freshy in the floorball scene but the not so lucky one. All defeats and only a sole victory over Hornets pretty much says it all. The team led by Hadfiz and a few other senior players failed to make their experience count against other teams. Losing against Hornets was definitely rubbing salt into the wound.

SFL was a success. It is a small step but a significant one nonetheless. With the growth of floorball gradually sipping into the Selangor region, SFL would serve as a platform for people to see, hear and try out the sport. This league would also be essential to the growth of players' and clubs in Selangor. Floorball is without a doubt growing in Malaysia. For this reason as well, we want to thank Hadfiz, who has helped pioneered the school team and made the commitment into sending 2 teams for the league. Hopefully, others would follow suit to see that the sport would blossom from here on.

BBF has also managed to get in touch with the Malaysia team manager, who also played for team Subang Rascals in the league for a quick chat regarding SFL and floorball in Selangor.

Borak-Borak Floorball (BBF) interview with Mr. Suresh:

BBF: Selangor Floorball League has just ended. What do you think the league helped achieved in regards to the development of the sport in the state of Selangor? Can you share some of the objectives/goals of the SFL in the long-haul?

Mr. Suresh: We are actually moving towards formalizing all tournaments in Selangor now. It started with the SFL and it went on well. We manage to conduct the games and the entire event formally and we have records of all games. Similarly the next events will be formal events.

Next step is to bring together all floorball state associations together under one and same system. Which means we will co-ordinate so that players have liberty to play everywhere. This requires a lot of deliberations so I’m not going to say much here until we work out the mechanism.


BBF: Gang Bintang and Subang Rascals topped the table almost effortlessly. Clearly, these top two teams are in a totally different league by themselves. In other words, there's clearly a big gap in terms of skill between the top two teams as compared to the rest. What do you think is the significance or implications of this situation towards the development of the league as a whole?

Mr. Suresh: These 2 teams are just an ordinary team just like the others with exception that these teams had made the effort to get foreign and expat players into their fold. The other teams appears to promote institutional restrictions whereby they only take players form their own college or university. Now I guess they understand that for them to be competitive in a league they have to accept some good players be within the country and foreign players to play. I believe the next league will be more competitive amongst the teams.


BBF: In your perspective, which team/ player/ local player impressed you the most and why?

Mr. Suresh: Khalid and Filip was the most outstanding players out there during the league. However they don’t impress me. Alvin of Salibandy was impressive but he was out there without any support from his team. Despite such handicap he scored some of the best goals in the league single handedly against GB and SR. His team would have done much better in the league if they were properly coached. I just hope he will play again for Salibandy in coming season and we could sort out their coaching issue.


BBF: Which team do you see rising up fast to be a tough fight in the next SFL? Why?

Mr. Suresh: I want to say Salibandy but they are without a coach and I don’t see them going anywhere without one.

KLIUC is the most organized and disciplined team. They train together and they improve tremendously in every game. I just hope they will be open to accept new players from out of their institutional circle so that they would be competitive. Most of the players had hardly played floorball for 5 months. So, there is a long way to go for them. And they have many young players with very good sports attitude compared to SR and GB.


BBF: Floorball in Selangor has definitely developed over time. What are some of the developments? Also, what are some of the areas you think the Selangor floorball scene should work on to further develop the sport as a whole?

Mr. Suresh: The numbers have been increasing lately and that is of course a success. However in Selangor, the culture here is to play floorball as much as they want but never train. Nobody here would want to attend any training. We have to work out some way to get the training going in all teams so that they could improve their skills and technique.


BBF: What are some of the plans/steps that is or will be taken to further develop the sport in Selangor? Can you share a few?

Mr. Suresh: Continue to promote floorball and there will be floorball competition throughout the year in 2010. We will try to hold a Selangor – Penang Floorball game in a public place. And also we want to bring floorball out to the people and make floorball known.

We are still planning for 2010. Some of the certain event will be the Champion’s League which should be held in March if all teams participating agrees. SFL will be played simultaneously with PFL in June. After the WFC Qualifier we will issue the calendar event for 2010. With increasing number of games, events and registered players, we are now planning to have a part time person managing the floorball affairs.


BBF: What do you hope to see in the floorball scene in Selangor for the new year?

Mr. Suresh: I expect the SFL will have 8 teams competing. That alone is awesome for us her.

*********************************

A big thank you to Mr. Suresh for his time with BBF.

2010 will hopefully see a more competitive and edgier league for the Selangor state. As floorball continues to grow here in Penang, let's also continue to render our support to the other States in Malaysia.

(NOTE: Info derived from http://selangorfloorballleague.blogspot.com/.
This post is written by BBF and therefore, stating BBF's opinions and thoughts.
BBF is written based on our intelligence network coverage.
We apologized for any inaccuracies.)

PFA Fund Raising: & The Journey Continues...

PFA welcomed the new year with a rather new event on its calendar, and a really early one for that matter. The PFA Fund Raising Dinner, which was held at the Red Crescent Society on the 2nd January 2010 was PFA first attempt in organizing a 'dinner' event rather than their usual 'floorball competition' event!

The dinner has been planned out by PFA sometime in 2009 in effort to raise funds for (1.) the floorball rink boards and (2.) the development of the sport. The dinner, being the first of its kind, received about 150 people that night, excluding those who contributed but couldn't make it. The crowd consisted mainly by the younger generation as expected but to our surprise, there were a handful of older folks who attended the dinner to render their support for the fund raising as well! It was encouraging to see how people from all ages and backgrounds are beginning to embrace floorball as a positive inducing sport in Penang.

The young...

and

the old...

Young or old...
Everybody came to support!

For those who play and train regularly, the dinner was their ticket to pack the pounds again. Serving a deliciously sinful banana-leaf-rice style dinner, people got to enjoy the meal while at the same time be entertained by a string of performances. From an all girl dance team to an all boys break dance crew, to a full band rockin' it out on stage and to a subdued two-piece band - it was really a good chill-out night for those who were there! The venue, Red Crescent, normally recognized as one of the many floorball training venues to most floorballers was transformed into a surprisingly cool, well decorated "ball room".

The people!

The food!

The dances!

The bands!

(Errr... Sugar daddy??!!??)

Mr. Edward Lim, the president of the PFA delivered a speech in the mid-course of the dinner. He highlighted how floorball has grown since it first picked up almost 6 years ago and how the development is only beginning to truly peak. He pointed out in specifically by saying that schools are beginning to adopt floorball. This is strengthened by students interest and demand for the sport to be part of their co-curriculum in schools. All these are but a small glimpse of what floorball has in store for Penang or even Malaysia for that matter!

The President!

Indeed, floorball has grown beyond what we'd imagine when it first started and mind you, it is still growing. Although the fund raising dinner has ended with success, the hard work and persevering effort continues. 2010 holds much excitement in the floorball scene here in Penang. As we approach those moments, let's not just stand at the sideline.

Let us be part of it.

Let us support.

Let us embrace floorball.