Nothing is impossible to Jamri

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,

"He has always been my partner in crime. He is a very hard working, humble and friendly person as well as player. Most of my championships are shared with him," he added.

But Jamri credited his success on the court to all the coaches who had guided him in the past.

"I have to thank JC, who are a group of good friends. They guided me when I first started in basketball," said Jamri who started shooting hoops at the age of 12 and is a fan of Dwyane Wade the Miami Heat star.

"Next will be my coaches Coach Wong (currently at Sayyidina Abu Bakar School) who guided me in high school and Maxim Yap my current coach at PTE Katok. Coach Maxim is my mentor and a great friend.

"But so far the best coach I've had is Bong Ramos of the Barracudas. He has taught me a lot and training under him has been a whole new experience," continued Jamri.

The highlights of his basketball career include being appointed the captain of the national team that represented Brunei in the Under-19 3rd Asian Schools basketball championships in Vietnam and being named the Most Valuable Player during the Brunei Youth Basketball Championships (BYBC) Under-21 tournament in September.

Jamri plans to stick with the Barracudas and help them 'conquer' the Asean Basketball League.

"I want to stay with the Barracudas. As soon as I finish school I plan to takea few years' break (from his studies) to concentrate on the team," said Jamri.

"I want to become a point guard in the (Barracudas') main squad one day. It's a tough target but I believe nothing is impossible," concluded the PTE Katok pupil.The Brunei Times