Brunei Barracudas rarin' to go

THE Brunei Barracudas are more than ready to hunt following their team launching yesterday at The Mall in Gadong.

Ozell Wells, the Barracudas head coach, has plenty on his hands and believes that the team will be fully prepared in time for their AirAsia Asean Basketball League (ABL) campaign in the sophomore season.

"The team has gelled as a unit in just a little over two weeks. Frankly, that is amazing. Some coaches need at least four to six months to get a team together but this bunch of players understands their roles well," said Wells, in an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

"They are ready to deliver and they are listening to instructions very well. Everyone is working together which is helping us to achieve more. The import players are also helping out the local players by pointing out their mistakes and correcting them," added the Michigan native.

Under the guidance of Coach Bong Ramos in the previous season, he received plenty of criticism, saying most of the local players were not ready to play on the professional stage which resulted in them warming the bench much of the season.

However, Wells, who was the former coach of Yemen and Trinidad and Tobago, believes that they are just as an important asset as the imports.

"I found that the local players are progressing really quickly as they are willing to receive and pick up on the small things. They are like a sponge that absorbs all the water and they need to know that it can be these small things that help grab the win," said the 33-year-old. "We are still a work in progress much like anything else in life. Being prepared or not, we'll have to jump into the fire to face it," added the American.

The Barracudas might just be at a disadvantage once again with less sparring chances in the Sultanate unlike the Singapore Slingers, who went undefeated in their pre-season tune ups against teams (Rain or Shine, Meralco Bolts and Air21 Express) in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) or Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia, who almost have a year long schedule.

When asked about the situation, Wells replied: "When we head down to Manila, we'll get ourselves some exhibition games against PBA teams. There is no better way to prepare but to play against teams from the top league in the country that we're playing in."

In addition, Kenny Boyd will not be competing for Brunei's first professional basketball team but instead Chris Garnett is set to join the family.

"Chris will excel in the team. He can do the high or low screen and roll as well as work without the ball. There should be no problems," said the Wells, who has coached Garnett previously in the Dominican Republic. Garnett was named the Honourable Mention NAIA All-American for his junior and senior seasons for Indiana Southeast University. The 6ft 11in centre moves well for a big man and plays with his back to the basket. The 30-year-old American played for the Seoul SK Knights in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) last season and averaged 10 points per game.

Other players on the Barracudas squad include American import, Chris Commons, and trio of Asean imports of Kevin White, Bryan Faundo and Chester Tolomia.

Other local members on the roster are Esmond Tan, Benjamin Lim, Xavier Fong, Lim Aik Hock, Presley Ho, Hj Md Badri Hj Suhaili, Jamri Ramlee and Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin. Present as the guest of honour at the event was Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid Hj Mohd Jaafar, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

The Barracudas will kick off their campaign against defending champions Philippine Patriots on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in the Philippines.

The ABL will officially start with the match between the Thailand Tigers and KL Dragons from Malaysia at the Nimibutr Indoor Stadium in Bangkok on Saturday.

The Brunei Times