Barracudas back at office

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

 

THE Barracudas were back in full swing yesterday with all players on their roster attending a training session at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

It was their first training session after the 70-56 loss to the Philippine Patriots in their Asean Basketball League (ABL) match at the Ynares Sports Arena in Manila on Dec 21.

Brunei's first professional basketball team are now in fifth place in the six-team ABL standings holding identical 4-6 win-loss record as the KL Dragons and fighting for a slot in the playoffs. Only the top four teams advance to the playoffs which will start on Jan 30.

Francis "Kiko" Adriano, the captain of the Barracudas, feels that the team could have been in a better position in the standings.

"The previous match (against the Patriots) was a must win game. Victory in Manila would definitely be a major boost for the team," said Adriano in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.

"Victory would also place us in fourth tied with the Thailand Tigers but we are dealing with it and putting the loss behind us," added Adriano.

On what needed to be improved, the 34-year-old Filipino said: "There's always room for improvement, but most importantly we just have to make sure that everyone is not complacent after the break. We will just have to keep practicing and try to win the rest of our games for a run to the playoffs." Read More...

Source: The Brunei Times

Read more...

Nothing is impossible to Jamri

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, December 28, 2009

IN this football-crazed country, basketball is usually not the first choice for many Malays. But Md Jamri Ramlee proved that Malays too can play ball after leading Easyway Delima to the Under-18 crown of the Basketball Youth Cup on Saturday when they beat favourites HHY 70-62 at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

"I've always loved taking the road less travelled. Plus, there are too many good football players in the country making it difficult to get to the top," said Md Jamri in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.

"Basketball is not much of a Malay sport in Brunei and I feel I have to prove a point that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. It's like when there's a will, there's a way," said the forward.

The 18-year-old Bandar native was also part of the Easyway Bunut line up that won third place in the Under-23 category.

On what makes a good player, Jamri replied: "For me attitude is the most important thing a player needs to take care of and improve on.

"A player must have good discipline especially when it comes to training and punctuality. He too must be humble enough to take advice from the other players and coaches," added Jamri.

"Being humble on court will not only make you a better player but will also allow you to make new friends," continued the 18-year-old cager.

Jamri is also part of Brunei's first professional basketball team, the Barracudas. The forward is with the reserve team and idolises Barracudas captain, Francis 'Kiko' Adriano, making the 34-year-old Filipino his role model.

"He is the hardest working basketball player I have met," said Jamri.

In addition, Jamri also looks up to his friend and 2009 national cager Soon Kian Leong. Read More…

Source: The  Brunei Times

Read more...

HHY had a bad day and lost the crown

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, December 28, 2009

'TIS the season for giving but it is highly doubtful that was what HHY had in mind when they gifted Easyway Delima the championship match 70-62 on Saturday in the Under-18 category of the Basketball Youth Cup at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

"I didn't think that our opponents played that well, but I thought that we threw the game away and gifted them the crown," said Denis Chee, in an interview with The Brunei Times after the defeat.

"We just played with no teamwork and we weren't in form for the match as most of the players had had too many games to play," added the captain of HHY.

The core players of the team were part of the Seri Bangar Temburong side, who took fourth place in the Under-23 category.

HHY went into the championship match as the favourites to lift the trophy. They had after all beaten the same opponents in the second round with a 77-69 triumph on Dec 19.

They were banking on their forward, Foo Gwen Tong, to lift them to victory after his 29-point performance in the first encounter.

Foo managed to topscore for his team on Saturday, contributing 16 points, but it was not enough to prevent HHY from falling to their only defeat of the competition. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

Read more...

Easyway's best just not good enough

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, December 28, 2009

EASYWAY QLAP have nothing to complain about when they came in second best in the Under-23 category of the Basketball Youth Cup on Saturday.

The favourites, White Haven, were just too strong defeating Easyway Qlap 94-75 in the final on Saturday at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat.

"We had the chance of winning the game but our opponents were just too strong," said Choo Yung Jian, the captain of Easyway Qlap, in an interview with The Brunei Times after Saturday's loss.

"As a team they played better than us in every way. Their players all stepped it up to win the match," added Choo.

The last time the two sides met, White Haven also came out on top 70-54 in the Belait District Basketball Association Under-23 tournament in October.

To make matters worse for the runners-up, they only had three substitutes for the final and Choo fouled out early in the fourth quarter, finishing with 15 points, after a good start with 10 points in the opening period. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

Read more...

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.

Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

Read more...