White Haven in 7th heaven

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, December 27, 2009

IT was back to back championships for White Haven after they defeated Easyway Qlap 94-75 last night in the final of the Under-23 category of the Basketball Youth Cup at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat.

Alvin Goh topscored for White Haven with 26 points and Josend Mangoroban contributed 24 points.

On the other hand, Lim Liang Wei had a game-high 30 points and Bong Shen chipped in 19 points in a losing effort.

White Haven started off with none of their Filipino players while Easyway Qlap got off to a quick start that resulted in an early 11-6 lead midway through the period.

Goh and Tony Bong, who scored 13 and eight points respectively for the opening quarter, were up to the task bringing White Haven back from the deficit and eventually grabbing the lead at 23-21 going into the second quarter.

Majomar Aying, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the second period, then caught fire draining his three-pointers and was penetrating to the hoop with his quick dribbling.

In contrast, Easyway Qlap were making unforced errors, turning the ball over to their opponents, who ran on fastbreaks to open up a double-digit advantage at 48-35 at halftime.

White Haven dominated the boards for much of the game but Easyway Qlap were not going down without a fight eventhough they remained down 46-54 midway through the period.

Easyway Qlap's Bong caught fire, scoring eight straight points, as he delivered from three-point range to lead an 11-2 run bringing the score to 59-61 with a minute to go in the third quarter.

However, White Haven regrouped and capped off a 6-0 run to end the period to remain in the driving seat at 67-59 heading into the final stanza.

The comeback for Easyway Qlap was made tougher when their captain, Choo Yung Jian, fouled out after a minute in the final period.

White Haven were pretty much in control before Easyway Qlap staged another run bringing the scores to 70-75 midway through the quarter.

However, with only three substitutes for the game, exhaustion crept in for Easyway Qlap allowing White Haven to cruise to the title.
"I would say that it was our teamwork that helped us win the game. The local players on the team also stepped up to match our opponents. That was key in the match," said Kenny Ching. the assistant coach of White Haven, in an interview with The Brunei Times after the championship match.

"But I do know that the players can put up an even better performance. However, I'm still satisfied with the win," added Ching.

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Source: The Brunei Times