NATIONAL softball coach Louie de Guzman was full of praise for Brunei A who took bronze at the Brunei Amateur Softball and Baseball Association (BASBA) Silver Jubilee Tournament at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) field in the capital yesterday.
The tournament held in conjunction with the 10th Asean Softball Championship and contested using the page system saw Brunei A defeat Singapore 5-4 in the morning before losing to Indonesia 1-8 at 11.30am to take third place.
Prior to the tournament, the Brunei team had been aiming to make it to the podium.
"I'm very proud of the team for bagging third place. They really did well, playing with all their heart," said de Guzman in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
"I think the team performed very well compared to other competitions we had played in. It's just that we haven't had enough training prior to the tournament. I believe that with more training we could have even sprung a surprise against the Indonesians," added de Guzman.
The Filipino coach felt that it was exhaustion that led to their downfall against the Indonesian side.
"We probably played at 45 per cent as stamina was a problem. Yesterday's (Saturday's) games were very intensive so the players couldn't really move already for today's (Sunday's) matches."
The coach said the team must train more to build their stamina.
Asked what's next on the agenda, de Guzman replied: "We would like to prepare for the World Softball Championships qualifying rounds which will be held next year.
"For the time being, we're aiming to try and top Indonesia and then take on the Philippines."The Brunei Times
Good show: Guest of honour YAM Pg Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pg Anak Hj Abdul Rahim Pg Indera Mahkota Pg Anak (Dr) Kemaludin Al-Haj (R) presents the trophy to third place Brunei A. Picture: BT/ Zamri Zainal
Monday, November 2, 2009
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