Easyway, Prysmian book final tickets

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, May 1, 2010

THE pundits were spot on. Soon Lee/Easyway easily defeated Chicken King 74-47 in the semi-finals of the 2nd Under-21 Brunei Youth Basketball Championship (BYBC) to set up a final date with Prysmian at the Kampung Baru basketball court in Seria.

Five players were in double figures for Soon Lee/Easyway with Ching Wei Ming, Khoo Chin Kai and Soon Kian Leong each scoring 13 points while Lim Liang Wei and Hj Md Badri Hj Suhaili each contributed 12 points in the victory.

The defending champions came out with a watertight defence and finished off the opening period up 22-3, limiting their opponents to just one field goal and one free throw.

The game seemed over at halftime with Soon Lee/Easyway extending their advantage to 37-10 at halftime.

"Today (Friday) we played our best match and it was the type of game we should play. The defence was great and we really showed what the team are capable of," said Jamri Ramlee, the captain of Soon Lee/Easyway, in an interview with The Brunei Times, after the triumph.

"We played with great teamwork against a quality team. We communicated well on court to clamp down their slashers to prevent them from scoring," added Jamri.

Asked about the final, the 19-year-old cager replied: "I think we deserve a slot in the final as we have worked hard to get here. We know it's going to be tough but the team's spirit is high and we're in a confident mood."

In contrast, Prysmian were made to work hard scoring a 65-63 victory over American International Industries (AII) in the second semi-final.

Ho Boon Siong was the topscorer for Prysmian with 16 points and Liew Ming Yang chipped in 11 points in the triumph.

The game was tied before Justin Ling nailed the game-winning free-throws that settled the match.

It was a close affair right from the start with Prysmian down 27-28 at halftime.

"We just couldn't get anything going tonight (Friday night)," said Yeo Chun Kiat, a forward of Prysmian, who was injured in the first quarter and had to sit out.

"I believe our opponents have the advantage now in the final as we have to play three days in a row. It's tiring as some of the players have to come up from Bandar to play while others have picked up injuries," added Yeo.

Source: The Brunei Times