They 'Hope' to make it a treble

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, May 21, 2010

HOPE are gunning to make it a treble when the 2nd Queenielin Cup tips off tomorrow at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat.

They bagged their first title after downing MK Kids 71-65 in the final of the 37 years old and below category of the Filipino Amateur Basketball (FAB) tournament in March.

They made it a double last month outlasting the GILR Wildcats 126-123 in overtime in the final of the StreetballBrunei 2010.

And now they are hungry for more glory.

"We are prepared for this tournament ...we have been training regularly for the past one month. We believe that we have a good chance," said Raul Dimaano, the head coach of Hope, in an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

"We're confident that we can pull if off again. The team gel well and the organisation (Hope) has also been very supportive of the players," added Dimaano.

"There are no problems in terms of fitness or injuries."

Asked about the strengths of the team, Dimaano replied: "We have a bunch of young and athletic players on the squad. I believe that we have a very balanced set up with good players in every position.

"Plus, we have got a good bench to rotate with as well," he added.

However, the head coach knows that it will be no stroll in the park especially with the level of competition coming from the other teams.

"It will be very interesting to see because there are a lot of strong teams
like Palm Cafe and the Al-Ssarah Eagles. It will be exciting matchups
throughout," said Dimaano.

Organised by the FAB, the rule says that only one import can be played at any one time and Hope have Jeff Paraiso and Paul Ponio as their imports.

Other players to watch out for include the FAB tournament MVP, Mark Padilla and small forward, Marcelino Magaan.

Also competing are Urdan Express, Shark, BMW, Palm Muara United, Palm Cafe, Strangers, Gills Sports, GILR Wildcats, Liga Bumiputera, Morley Movers, Al-Ssarah Eagles, Fire Eater and Shun Wei. Read More...

Source: The Brunei Times