Avenido: It was hard to play my former mates

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, November 13, 2010

THE Singapore Slingers came to town, they shot and got their first away win of the sophomore season of the Asean Basketball League (ABL) on Wednesday night.

The visitors pulled it off with an 81-74 victory over the Brunei Barracudas at the Indoor Stadium in Berakas and it was former Barracudas point guard, Leo Avenido, that provided the spark for the win in the final five minutes of the match.

The 6ft 1in Filipino scored eight of the Slingers' final 14 points in that period to seal victory for his 'new' team after the six-man rotation of the Barracudas collapsed due to lack of stamina.

But, it was not an easy task for Avenido to play his former team in his first return to Brunei since joining the Singapore outfit.

"I had mixed emotions. I was excited and sad at the same time ... having to play against my former teammates and coach," said Avenido, in an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

"Coach Bong (Ramos) is like a father to me, but I'm happy that we won. This is my job and on the court I need to get the job done," added the 32-year-old Filipino, who scored 15 points in the victory.

Since joining the Slingers, Avenido has become the main hitman for the team averaging a team high of 21.5 points per game in six matches to place fifth overall in the league. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times