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Simon Newn in action this afternoon for The Baiduri Masters 2012

QPR’s Barry Barton is banned for 12 games and fined 75,000 pounds by Football Association for two counts of violent conduct

John Cena lost to the People’s Power at Over the Limit Pay-Per-View after Big Show interrupted. The PPV was not bad. I quite enjoyed the Fatal-Four Way match.

Hmmm.. This ain’t good news for Chong Wei, World’s No.1 Badminton player. He was recently injured in the Thomas Cup and now his journey to the Olympics suffered a setback due to this injury.

Nurul recently participated in the netball tournament as she played for Ivy League. She flew in to Brunei last weekend just to compete in the tournament. Ivy League came 2nd in the competition.

Dwayne Wade and LeBron James guided Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA. They edged Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the semi-finals of the Eastern Conference.

I played tennis once more after a year of hiatus. Terence Han thrashed me in the friendly match 6-0 6-0 yesterday *lol*

NN SPEED ran out winners in all four of their matches to seal the 7th Setia Motors Netball Championship Advanced Category title yesterday.

Meanwhile, in the Novice Category, Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah and her G-Force teammates lost out for a place in the semi-finals after falling 20-10 to eventual champions Strivers XOXO at the Multipurpose Hall of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.

Strivers XOXO beat Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) 21-10 to clinch the Novice Category crown.

Ivy League led by Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah finished second behind NN Speed in the Advanced Category which was played in a single round-robin league format.

The netball tournament organised by Brunei Netball Association

The showdown between NN Speed and Ivy League where NN Speed won 17-14.

NN Speed (in red) had a tall defensive player from Sri Lanka

Speaking to The Brunei Times after receiving their trophy, NN Speed’s manager Kumalasari Hj Abd Latiff said that her players only had one thing on their minds when the competition started.

“Our team are made up of national players and our aim was always to win the tournament … Show Bruneians we can do it!,” declared the proud manager.

“We hope to compete in the 2012 Asian Championships in Sri Lanka in August so this tournament has helped us in our preparation,” added Kumalasari.

NN Speed’s (pic) only real test of the five-team competition came in their match against Ivy League, which they won 17-14.

Their other matches proved to be less of a challenge, beating Revival 27-9, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces’ Sports Council A (MS ABDB A) 25-14 and E-Gal Netters 40-10.

Ivy League won all of their other three games, prevailing 30-18 over both MS ABDB A and Revival and going past E-Gal Netters 33-12.

Revival claimed third after beating MS ABDB A 26-15 and E-Gal Netters 32-17. MS ABDB A’s only win came against E-Gal Netters, a 30-21 result which was enough for them to finish above their opponents who were the only team not to have won a match.

Kim Kyung-soo, the wife of South Korean Ambassador to Brunei, presented prizes to the winners. Text courtesy of Jason Thomas, The Brunei Times.

Red Bull Rookies Racing Team has added a new dimension this year. An all-male team will be introduced together with the 5th edition of the all-female team in the Battle of Sexes. The teams are to race at Sepang 1000km Race on 8th December. Initiated in 2008, it was an all female team until last year whereby they introduced a youth team led by Malaysian Mark Darwin with compatriots Siti Shakirah and Singaporean Amirah making up the rest of the Red Bull Under 21 Racing Team.

Ironically this year Mark was given the honour to lead the debutant all-male team this year due to his commitment, leadership quality and never say die attitude that he has portrayed during his last outing during Sepang 1000km Race at Sepang Internaional Circuit. Melissa Huang of Singapore has earned the armband to lead the female team. An audition was held at a local shopping mall from 18th till 20th May to search the 3 male and female icons respectively to represent Brunei Darussalam to partake in the first elimination round in KL together with 50 plus candidates from Malaysia and Singapore.

The Top 3 ladies last weekend. Image courtesy of Hanisham.

The Top 3 men last weekend. Image courtesy of Hanisham.

A total of 102 hopefuls from both sexes came for the multi-tier audition process including interview, eye test and reaction test. “The response was very encouraging”, said Wong Chin Toon, the event manager, when asked about the attendance. “This year we received many responses from the male hopefuls, as racing is still predominantly a male sport”, continued Wong. “As Brunei Darussalam is not guaranteed a spot in the teams like previous years as the elimination round will be an open affair. Despite the stiff competition, I am hopeful and reasonable confident that at least one of the 7 selected (including one candidate who earned his wildcard through Facebook) will be make it to the team”. Liana and Mel (2010) and Ogy (2011) from the previous Rookies teams have proven that Bruneians can always deliver when under pressure.

The candidates are required to qualify through a few elimination rounds with trainings provided at the same time. The finalists will slog out for the ultimate seat in the racing team during the Red Bull Rookies Track Day on 10th July at Sepang International Circuit. The names will be revealed for both teams on that day. All drivers are under the age of 25 years old. Red Bull Rookies Racing teams are fully sponsored and organized by Allswell Trading Pte Ltd and managed by GreenCity Concept Sdn Bhd locally. Kingston Beverage and Creamery Sdn Bhd is the local distributed of Red Bull drinks and Sunsnack.

Group photo with the winners and the representatives from Kingston Beverage and Creamery