Suksar: Central Zone stamps its supremacy in volleyball

SIBU (Jan 17): Central Zone wrested both the men’s and women’s titles in the volleyball finals at Rejang Park Volleyball Stadium today.

Both the men and women swept aside Northern Zone and Western Zone respectively with convincing 3-0 victories.

The men’s final proved to be a revenge match for the eventual winners who were beaten by Northern Zone 1-3 in the group stage. The home team started the game brilliantly, pulling to a 8-0 lead before Northern Zone nailed its first point.

However, Northern Zone players, marshaled by Howard Ngu and Clement Wong, clawed back to 17-19 and even equalized 20-20. The momentum then switched back to the Central Zone which stormed home 25-20. The next two sets proved less competitive as Brandon Chiu and Chia Yik Jie led their team to win 25-16, 25-21 for the gold medal.

Earlier, the Central Zone women outclassed Western Zone 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-11) on the back of good passing and the partisan crowd.

Meanwhile, Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng, who watched the finals, congratulated the winners and challenged those selected to represent Sarawak to win both gold medals in the 2024 Sukma to be held here in August.

“With Suksar being held in Sibu for the first time, this is bound to help encourage more youngsters to take up their favorite sport as they build a name for themselves,” he added.