No place for Tan in 'new' team

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, July 23, 2010

National basketball coach Kevin Reece has finally assembled a team that will represent Brunei at the 2010 Borneo Cup, which the Sultanate
will host from Aug 13-15, but the 'new' national side will not feature
Esmond Tan in the line-up.

Reece had called out to all potential players in the country to attend tryouts to be a part of the national team last month and Tan, who is arguably the best cager in the country, had failed to comply.

The new team comprise of a slightly different line-up compared to his previous selection, back in March, as players have been selected based on their performances during the 9th National Sports Festival (PSK) which concluded late last month.

Benjamin Norman Sim, Lim Liang Wei and Choo Yung Jian are the players that represented the Belait district while Pg Md Faizuladzmi Pg Tajuddin is the sole cager from the Tutong district.

The duo of Soon Kian Leong and Lim Aik Hock represented Temburong while the rest of the team Hj Md Badri Hj Suhaili, Yap Chun Ping, Muhd Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin, Po Yung Hui, Tan Ye Wei and Muiz Hj Abdul Ghani laced up for the Brunei-Muara district.

"We've chosen some of the players that have been impressive. These will also be the ones to compete at the upcoming Sultan's Cup at the end of the month. The players on the list are all deserving as everyone has got an equal opportunity to be there, "Reece told The Brunei Times yesterday.

"Some of them didn't step forward and so we just had to fill in the spots. If they didn't want to play then we couldn't force them but I've no regret with the decision," he added.

Reece felt that the squad have plenty of youth and athleticism including added height with the addition of the 6ft 5in frame of Muhd Zainul into the line-up.

"The team needed height and he will help us tremendously making the side more all-around. He'll be given a chance to make the team better in the future," said the American coach.

Asked about their training sessions especially in the fasting month of Ramadan, Reece replied: "I'll use my past experience as a player. The players will need to eat proper food to get them through.

"But it would surely help if fasting month occurred a week earlier. But there's nothing we can do about it and we'll go through it," concluded the Los Angeles native.

There will be three categories contested for the three-day competition: Men's Open, Men's Veteran (40 years old and above) and Women's Open. Read More...

Source: The Brunei Times