Brunei are third
Monday, June 18, 2007
THEY might have won convincingly against Labuan yesterday, but the national basketball team were forced to settle for third in the Ninth Borneo City Basketball Invitational Tournament at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat which concluded yesterday.
After a heartbreaking 87-48 defeat to Miri on Saturday, the Bruneians did well to beat Labuan 76-53 yesterday morning in a game they had to win if they wanted to remain in contention for the title or second-placed finish in the three-day tournament.
But Miri's 69-56 win over Kota Kinabalu hours later meant that the Sarawakians emerged champions this year.
Kota Kinabalu finished second because of superior point difference.
Motivated by their loss to Miri the night before, the national ballers started brightly against Labuan and took an early lead courtesy of their aggressive driving to the hoop and teamwork on defence.
Linking up well on the offence, they were devastating on the break and did a stellar job of preventing Labuan's guards from having much of the ball.
Leading throughout the match, Brunei executed their set plays much better than they did the night before against the eventual champions.
Though national basketball coach Bennett Palad was satisfied with the win, he was not as pleased with the team's performance over the tournament.
"Overall I was upset because I knew we could have finished first or second," said Palad.
"We came up with two wins and a loss so I will say we did alright, but our humiliating defeat to Miri means we could not finish second.
"I told the players it was alright to lose as long as we went down fighting, but they lost their composure and ... we lost by nearly 40 points," added Palad.
However, Palad was also quick to point out that the national team had just come off an 84-82 win over defending champions Kota Kinabalu the night before, and were too tired to play a much tougher and taller team.
Nevertheless, he agreed that the competition was a good experience and exposure for the national players, and would serve as preparation for future tournaments.
Miri also won the women's category which was held for the first time this year, after wins in both their matches against Brunei on Friday night and Labuan on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Labuan captured the veteran's title after they narrowly defeated Miri 39-38 on Saturday night, and won 65-58 against Brunei yesterday afternoon.
The Brunei Times
After a heartbreaking 87-48 defeat to Miri on Saturday, the Bruneians did well to beat Labuan 76-53 yesterday morning in a game they had to win if they wanted to remain in contention for the title or second-placed finish in the three-day tournament.
But Miri's 69-56 win over Kota Kinabalu hours later meant that the Sarawakians emerged champions this year.
Kota Kinabalu finished second because of superior point difference.
Motivated by their loss to Miri the night before, the national ballers started brightly against Labuan and took an early lead courtesy of their aggressive driving to the hoop and teamwork on defence.
Linking up well on the offence, they were devastating on the break and did a stellar job of preventing Labuan's guards from having much of the ball.
Leading throughout the match, Brunei executed their set plays much better than they did the night before against the eventual champions.
Though national basketball coach Bennett Palad was satisfied with the win, he was not as pleased with the team's performance over the tournament.
"Overall I was upset because I knew we could have finished first or second," said Palad.
"We came up with two wins and a loss so I will say we did alright, but our humiliating defeat to Miri means we could not finish second.
"I told the players it was alright to lose as long as we went down fighting, but they lost their composure and ... we lost by nearly 40 points," added Palad.
However, Palad was also quick to point out that the national team had just come off an 84-82 win over defending champions Kota Kinabalu the night before, and were too tired to play a much tougher and taller team.
Nevertheless, he agreed that the competition was a good experience and exposure for the national players, and would serve as preparation for future tournaments.
Miri also won the women's category which was held for the first time this year, after wins in both their matches against Brunei on Friday night and Labuan on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Labuan captured the veteran's title after they narrowly defeated Miri 39-38 on Saturday night, and won 65-58 against Brunei yesterday afternoon.
The Brunei Times
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