Palms unite to take on Sultan's Cup

Palm Cafe are gunning for a double when the Sultan's Cup tips off tomorrow at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat.

The team captured the 2nd Queenielin's Cup with a 73-64 victory over their sister team, Palm Muara United, earlier this month.

Now they have selected the best from both sides, except for Geve Leones who will lace up for Sharks instead, to form a team that will make them contenders for the championship.

The team have plenty of firepower on the offensive end, boasting several familiar and potent players including Majomar Aying, Vincent Superio, Mark Del Mundo, Allan Caringal and Danny Felicilda in the lineup.

"We're confident of getting a double but it is easier said than done. It's good to be playing alongside Aying once again. There are other strong teams in the tournament such as MK Kids Salon and Sharks," Palm Cafe point guard Don Mordeno informed The Brunei Times yesterday.

The first two tournaments 2009 Brunei Pepsi Cup and LBC Cup where both Aying and Mordeno played together before splitting up resulted in championships.

Nonetheless, the camp is in high spirits and have started training for almost an entire month, heading into the competition.

The national team (Soon Lee) will also be a difficult team and we are preparing for them just in case we meet in the tournament," said Mordeno.

"We have started preparing early with three two-hour training sessions a week and getting more running done to improve on our stamina," he added.

When asked if the squad had any players on the injury list, the 29-year-old Filipino replied: "Only (Fred) Palastas and (Ronnel) Sugnan have slight injuries to their knees but it shouldn't be much to worry about.

Organised by the BBA, a total of 14 teams separated into three groups are vying for top honours in the annual tournament.

Palm Cafe are drawn with MK Kids Salon, Propel Services, Ifdhaal Enterprise and Team Wayne in Group A while Group B are made up of Soon Lee, Sharks, Estetika, Young Guns and Team Z.

Group C comprise of Y@ppe IT Store, SKT, Le Apple Bakery and Aewon.

Hosted as the 2009 Brunei Pepsi Cup last year, Babes Boutique outgunned Linktech 94-79 in the final in August to take the crown.

The Brunei Times