Battle For Semi Places Heats UP
By Benny Ang

Bandar Seri Begawan - After one week of action in the 3rd Shell Rimula Ultra Invitational Challenge Trophy Basketball Tournament 2003, the competition for semifinal places is heating up as the race remains wide open.

Only the Suncity Dragons who are unbeaten after four matches looks to have sewn up their semifinal spot while the other three spots are still up for grabs.

The Dragons, who looked lacklustre in their earlier matches, came to life in their last match when they managed to beat the SYH Tigers in a crucial match in terms of standings in the table.

Right behind the Dragons are Chop Eng Seng Keo L.Mark Lakers who have six points from four matches and need one more victory to claim their semifinal spot.

But there are two teams stuck on four points in SYH Tigers and Goh Brothers Goldsmiths and while these two teams are still favoured to make the semifinals, there is still one team who still have an outside chance of sneaking in.

Chuon Tzu Twisters, the team made up predominantly of Taiwanese players, have perhaps only fallen short this last week because of their lack of depth and with maybe one or two more players, they may well be in a top four spot right now.

But they have their one win and with two more matches to go could still make things very interesting indeed.

The only two teams without a win to their name are Komala One Stop LSL and GKT Construction and their hopes of reaching the semifinals are certainly hanging by a thread.

The top four teams will make it through to the semifinals and the likelihood is there will be more twists and turns as the battle continues to reach the final four.

With the tournament taking a three-day break, action will resume this afternoon at the National Indoor Stadium with three matches on offer.

 -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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