Easyway win with impressive display of defence

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, July 29, 2012

EASYWAY sent out a message to their contenders with a showcase of watertight defence.

The national basketball team demolished SYSB 88-49 in Group A of the second round of the Sultan's Cup last night at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

Five players hit double figures for Easyway with Yap Chun Ping leading the way with 17 points including five three-pointers. Point guard Choo Yung Jian flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while captain Ben Sim added 14 points. Muhd Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin had a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards while Kevin Tay chipped in 10 points and six rebounds in the victory.

Elmer Alburo scored in double figures for SYSB with 11 points to a losing cause. More importantly, Easyway kept SYSB main players Elvin Requintin and Apollo Bibat to only four and three points respectively.

Easyway came out playing man-to-man lockdown defence. They were not giving their opponents any open looks and were playing good help defence. Muhd Zainul Ashyraf was blocking shots and it was only a minute left in the opening period that Alburo connected on a jumpshot that saw SYSB trailing 13-2 going into the second quarter.

The match was a physical one with the referees letting go of some calls. It was still within reach for SYSB as their opponents were not making easy baskets. The lead was cut down to six points but Easyway had five straight points, all coming from the freethrow line, to end the period for a 34-23 advantage at halftime.

National basketball coach, Kevin Reece, had every reason to be all smiles after the lopsided win. "We played good defence and we didn't allow them to score. I'm very pleased with our defence and we hope to continue to get better. We don't care who on our team scores but everyone stepped up especially our bench," said Reece in an interview with The Brunei Times after the triumph. Read More...

Source: The Brunei Times