BUKIT Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolts retained their Junior Hoockey League (JHL) title today after beating Datuk Bentara Luar 3-0.
BJSS Thunderbolts amassed 24 points from eight matches while SSTMI Thunderbolts were second on 21 points.
In the Overall quarter-finals on Wednesday, BJSS Thunderbolts are expected to have an easy time against their "Division Two sisters" BJSS Juniors.
BJSS Juniors achieved the two targets set for them in the JHL, but it looks like they have hit a brick wall in the Division One quarter-finals.
BJSS Juniors and KL City Hall are the two Division Two teams promoted to Diviision One next season, and will also play in the quarter-finals with the "big boys".
"We had set two targets for BJSS this season and they were to gain promotion next season and to play in the Division Two final.
"My players, with an average age of 16, achieved both even though they had played with teams that had Under-20 players.
"But in the quarters, they will be playing against our sister school seniors, and it is going to be uphill all the way against the Division One champions," said BJSS Juniors coach Shukri Mutalib.
In the Division Two final, BJSS Juniors took the lead against KL City Hall, but their lack of experience showed in the last five minutes of the match, and they lost 2-1.
BJSS Juniors team manager S. Prakash said his players will need at least two more seasons to make an impact.
"We have many Form One and Two players in the team but still they did reasonably well, and I believe this set of players will need to be together for the next two seasons to reap results in Division One," said Prakash.
RESULTS:
Division One:
Sabah HA 1 Pahang Thunderbolts 2
PJCC Black Widow 2 SSTMI Juniors 2
Datuk Bentara Luar 0 BJSS Thunderbolts 3
Anderson Thunderbolts 4 Kedah Eagle 0