Malaysia emerged as champion of the Inaugural Asian Consul General Club (ACGC) Netball Tournament, held at the Consulate premises yesterday. A total of four women's teams from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines participated in the tournament, which was played in ten-minute halves rather than the usual 15-minute quarters in a round-robin format. All games had been intense and at times aggressive, with all teams vigorously trying to best one another in the first ever tournament organized by the Malaysia Consulate General in the Kingdom. The winning team was captained by Madam Aniza Khalid, spouse of Malaysian Consul General Mohd Khalid Abbasi Abdul Razak. She consistently encouraged and led her team to victory and played with impressive shoots herself. All Malaysian players showed their supremacy in the games with excellent lobs, coordinated attacks, good defense and goalkeeping. The final games between Malaysia and Indonesia proved nail-biting; the first half of the match was almost goal for goal, with both teams holding nothing back in their contest for the ball until the half-time whistle. The second half of the match was equally gripping; the Malaysians attacked continuously until the last few minutes and emerged as the clear winner by two points, with a final score of 9-7. An award presentation ceremony was led by the host Consul General, who congratulated all the ladies for the thrilling and challenging tournament. “The other teams put up a really good fight but Malaysia prevailed due to our impressive shooters and for overcoming the defensive pressure,” he said. __
