Barracudas ready for fresh bite!

The Barracudas from Brunei are not just entering the ABL just to be there, they will eat up the competition if underestimated.

By Vincent Lai

The Brunei-based side were, just like everyone else, excited to be at the ASEAN Basketball League launch in Makati City in Metro Manila; to announce to the world that the Sultanate now has a professional hoops team to call its own.

"This is the first pro team we have in Brunei, and we did not have any sort of professional setup for the sport before this," said Benjamin Lim, one of the first few signings of the Barracudas. "We are very excited about the launch because we will be the first few people to represent Brunei in a professional basketball tournament."

"We met a few players that we've played before in national championships, but with the rules, the imports, all the countries will be on par."

Xavier Leong, a small forward that also signed with the team as one of its local players, is optimistic that the Barracudas will be competitive in the Southeast Asian league from the get-go.

"I feel that with the [import] rules, the Barracudas will be competitive in the league, as the talent will be quite balanced. There isn't a whole lot of difference between the first and the last team," said the Brunei SEA Games representative.

Team manager Norizah Taylor did add that the Barracudas are still looking to complete their roster, and will exhaust all the avenues within the rules and restrictions to build a winning team.

"As far as the roster is concerned, all the playing personnel are close to being finalized," said Taylor. "So far, these two gentlemen have signed, but the rest of the players are still to be confirmed." Read More…

Source: ESPNStar.com