Larry lifts Barracudas

REGGIE LARRY's 32-point performance on his debut lifted the Barracudas to their first home win with a 91-86 triumph over the Thailand Tigers last night in their Asean Basketball League (ABL) match at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.

"It just felt good. I didn't think that I was in shape with the jetlag and all, but I managed to put in almost the full 40 minutes," said Larry, who put in just under 39 minutes in the game that ended the Barracudas' three-match slump.

"We just didn't know what we were doing in the first half and came back as a team in the second half. My teammates trusted me and I trusted them. It was not me alone but everyone on the team who contributed by dropping their shots that gave us the win," added the 23-year-old forward.

Barracudas' other American import, Mike Pilgrim, had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds and Leo Avenido chipped in 16 points.

On the other hand, Chaz Briggs and Ratdech Kruatiwa each had 17 points for the Tigers while Ikenna Nwankwo had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Barracudas came out storming playing with a full court pressure defence as they opened up a 17-7 lead midway through the opening period.

The hosts were playing a more uptempo game, relying on their fastbreaks and were cleaning the boards.

The Tigers, meanwhile, depended on their three-pointers to get back in the game as they managed to close out the first quarter just down 24-25.

The tides turned in the second period as the Tigers came out with their own full court pressure defence taking the lead at 40-33 midway through the quarter.

The visitors were not giving the Barracudas any easy points hustling back on defence and boxing out their opponents.

The Tigers extended their advantage to 55-43 heading into halftime.

The Barracudas came out a different team in the second half and started off the quarter with an 8-0 run to bring the score to 58-63.

The hosts were doing a better job on defence to limit their opponents from getting open looks from the outside by rotating well, but remained down 65-73 heading into the final stanza.

The Barracudas were relying on the partnership of Larry and Pilgrim to draw multiple defenders as they were passing the ball to the open man, knocking down shots from three-point territory.

The hosts regained the lead through Larry's dunk with less than two minutes left in the game at 86-84. Both teams were neck and neck in the final minutes of the game until Don Camaso hit a crucial three-pointer down the stretch with less than a minute left and captain Francis 'Kiko' Adriano, who has 15 points, made a reverse lay up to make it a two-possession game at 91-84 that sealed the victory.

"It was the energy that helped us win tonight (Saturday). He (Larry) is the right person for the team," said coach Bong Ramos.

"At the start of the game, I told the team that our opponents were very good three-point shooters. But the players underestimated them by not covering the perimeter and thought they were just lucky," added Ramos.

"They changed their attitude in the second half and came up with many defensive stops," continued the 40-year-old Filipino mentor.

Asked about his latest import's performance, the ex-Indonesia national coach replied: "It is only his first game. He's only been here for three days and he's already in tip top shape. I'm very satisfied with what he's brought to the team."

In the day's earlier game, the Singapore Slingers escaped with a 61-59 win over Satria Muda BritAma at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta.

American imports, Kyle Jeffers and Michael LeBlanc, topscored for the Slingers with 14 points. Jeffers and LeBlance added 14 and 10 rebounds repectively for a double-double.

On the other hand, Nakiea Miller and Alex Hartman each scored 13 points for Satria Muda. Miller also added 13 rebounds for his team for a double-double.

The Barracudas are now in third place with eight points while the Tigers remain at the bottom of the table with six points.The Brunei Times