14 teams to compete for Manjaro's Noor Mubarak Cup

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

HOOP fans in the Sultanate will finally be treated to some local basketball action.

A total of 14 teams will vie for top honours when they compete for the Filipino Amateur Basketball (FAB) 4th Manjaro Basketball tournament's Noor Mubarak Cup, scheduled to start next month.

According to the tournament organiser Gabriel B San Pablo, there will only be one category this year as oppose to two categories held in previous years.

The 37-year-old and above category will not be contested as only one team had enrolled for the category. Instead, all teams will fight it out in the 37-year-old and below category, set to be held at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat.

"We held a managers meeting to discuss but no one mentioned having the veterans' category this time around so we decided to put all teams under one category," said San Pablo, during an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

The 14 teams are separated into three groups with Urdan, Jed Star, Dermatology, Jasmine and Hua Ho Yayasan making up Group A.

Group B comprises of Seria Hoax, who are the only 37-year-old and above team, LDY Engineering, Fratini's and Gills Sports while Group C are made up of Kayumanggi, Onesing, GILR Wildcats, Ford and Hua Ho Bunut. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

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Brunei missed the Big Bens in Vietnam

Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, March 28, 2011

YAP Chun Ping and Po Yung Hui are confident that the national team's Vietnam Basketball Federation National Cup campaign could have gone a lot better if veterans Benjamin Sim and Benjamin Lim were involved.

The team returned from Vietnam yesterday with a 1-3 win loss record, though two of the losses came in overtime.

Sim the team's captain and Lim weren't able to follow the squad to the tournament at Bach Dang Square in Soc Trang City because of work commitments, and Chun Ping and Yung Hui feel that the team suffered from the lack of height that the absent duo could have provided.

"The average height of the players we were up against was six feet ... We lack that kind of height," explained Chun Ping after the team touched down at the Brunei International Airport in Berakas yesterday.

"We were missing our big guys (Sim and Lim) and getting out-rebounded. If we had those two guys it would have been a different story," added the small forward.

The national cagers started with a 77-76 overtime loss to Can Tho on March 17, but bounced back with a 78-46 win over Ninh Thuan two days later.

Their hopes of returning with medals took a blow when they fell 64-54 to LQ Joton Inc last Monday, with their 66-62 overtime defeat to hosts Soc Trang on Wednesday condemning them to fourth in the five-team table.

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Source: The Brunei Times

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Overtime heartbreak for Brunei in Vietnam

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, March 25, 2011

THE national basketball team were denied a spot on the podium after they fell 62-66 to hosts Soc Trang in overtime in the Vietnam Basketball Federation National Cup at Bach Dang Square in Soc Trang City, Vietnam, on Wednesday.

Muhd Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin notched up a double-double for the national cagers with 18 points and 15 rebounds. The centre also racked up four blocks and four assists to his name.

Choo Yung Jian added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists while Yap Chun Ping chipped in 11 points in the loss, giving the Brunei side a 1-3 win-loss record that placed them fourth overall in the five-team competition.

Five players hit double figures for Soc Trang with Dam Huy Dai leading the way with 17 points and Lac Chi Nghi adding 13 points. Vo Van My, Ng Van Ngoan and Tran Vu Linh each poured in 10 points in the victory.

The home team started out the more energetic of the two teams, taking an 18-14 lead heading into the second period.

It remained the same affair in the second quarter with the national side turning the ball over on multiple occasions, allowing Soc Trang to hold on for a 31-26 lead at halftime. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

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Brunei suffer second defeat in Vietnam

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

THE national basketball team's chances of making it to the podium suffered a blow after losing 54-64 to LQ Joton Inc in the Vietnam Basketball Federation National Cup at Bach Dang Square in Soc Trang City, Vietnam, on Monday.

Both Yap Chun Ping and Choo Yung Jian had matching team highs of 11 points for the national cagers with the former making seven steals and the latter adding seven rebounds and five assists.

Po Yung Hui also hit double figures with 10 points including six steals to his name while Muhd Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin led the way on the rebounds with 13 boards.

For LQ Joton Inc, Trinh Nhan Duc put in a solid double-double performance with 13 points and 14 assists. Captain Ng Van Hung also managed a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Phan Thanh Canh chipped in 10 points in the victory.

Phan Ninh Luan was also influential for his team filling up the stats sheet with nine points, five assists and six steals.

The national cagers got off to a good start and managed to stay ahead 16-15 heading into the second quarter.

However, LQ Joton Inc would turn up the heat at the defensive end with national taekwondo exponent, Ng, nullifying Muhd Zainul Ashyraf. Their guards were impressive as well making steals to go on the break opening up a 34-26 lead at halftime. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

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Brunei win big in Vietnam

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, March 21, 2011

THE national basketball team barged into the win column with a 78-46 thrashing of Ninh Thuan in the Vietnam Basketball Federation National Cup at Bach Dang Square in Soc Trang City, Vietnam, on Saturday.

Five players hit double figures for the national side with Muhd Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin leading the pack with a double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds.

Jon Lee added 16 points while Choo Yung Jian scored 15 points and added seven assists and eight steals to his name.

Ahmad Termizi Nordeen also came up big with 12 points, seven steals and six assists while Yap Chun Ping added 12 points and six steals in the victory.

On the other hand, Mai Thoan Thang led Ninh Thuan with 15 points and Nguyen Thai An chipped in nine points to a losing cause.

The game started out slowly for the national side as they were stagnant on offence allowing Ninh Thuan to open up a 13-12 lead heading into the second quarter. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

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Brunei cagers to use Vietnam as SEA Games measuring stick

Amir Amin
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, March 11, 2011

THE national basketball team will finally get to test their strength when they compete at the Vietnam Copperhead Classic at Ho Chi Minh between March 15 -25.

"The aim is always to do well. We're looking to improve and show a better performance than in China," said national basketball coach Kevin Reece.

Held between Nov 30 - Dec 6, the national basketball team finished at eighth place at the 3rd China-Asean Basketball Invitational tournament at Pingguo County, Guangxi, China.

They lost 77-55 to Vietnam in the battle for seventh place. Their best finish was a fifth place finish three years ago whereby the Sultanate managed to capture three wins.

However, the national team have some new tricks up their sleeves and Reece believes this time they can put up a challenge against the other competitors in China.

"We have bigger sized players now. Ben Sim will also move from forward to play in point guard. That means we have three to four big players on the court at a time," said the American.

"We have put the work in and we should be prepared. We were beaten by Vietnam once and we beat them once (in China). So it will be interesting to see how much we improved since December," he added.

Much is at stake for the national basketball team in the competition, for it will provide an early estimate of how they would do in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to be held in Palembang, Indonesia, in November.

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Source: The Brunei Times 

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Brunei Barracudas to Borneo Barracudas?

Amir Amin
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Go west: ABL may move Brunei Barracudas to Miri.

THE Brunei Barracudas may soon go west and be known as the Borneo Barracudas.

The Sultanate stands to lose its first professional basketball team to Malaysian neighbours Miri or Kota Kinabalu should no form of support is received by the Barracudas in the next two months.

Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ABL's title sponsor AirAsia Datuk Sri Tony Fernandes told the Press on Friday night that the lack of support from the government and private sector might force the Barracudas to 'migrate' to Malaysia.

Fernandes gave this ultimatum during the Asean Basketball League (ABL) 2010/11 Award Night held at the Empire Hotel in Subang, Malaysia, on Friday.

"The ABL has had a phenomenal two years and one of the saddest things for me is the lack of support from Brunei corporates and the government," Fernandes told reporters.

"I think they should get involved because it is good for the sport and the country. I think it's tough for Nadzaty (Azma Azeez, the Barracudas owner) to survive without sponsors or support because she can't just depend on ticket revenues," he added during an interview with the Brunei media. Read More…

Source: The Brunei Times

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