Aewon Cup semis tip off

THE beginning of the week saw the Aewon Cup 2011 Basketball Championship Tournament taken to a whole new level but the stakes are now higher and the competition has definitely intensified with the semi-finals ready to tip off at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

The pundits were right from the start with the four teams D'Babes/Sharks, MK Syarikat Jazmar, Bukit Ladang and Easyway/CK Tang all through to fight it out for a finals spot today.

The opening match will serve up a head-to-head battle between the only unbeaten team left in the tournament D'Babes/Sharks and Bukit Ladang at 7pm while the second game should also prove to be an electrifying affair between Easyway/CK Tang and MK Syarikat Jazmar at 8.30pm.

D'Babes/Sharks are looking like the team to beat in the tournament and much of that can be credited to big games by Don Mordeno.

Mordeno is packed with confidence and has been shooting the ball well.

He has come up big by scoring in the clutch on many occasions but many forget that he is just as deadly when it comes to running and setting up plays for his teammates.

He is backed by Marjomar Aying at the shooting guard position and has plenty of help with Elvin Requintin anchoring the defence.

Alnajer Daris will also be another player to look out, always a threat to score whose strength lies in attacking the basket aggressively.

Mark Del Mundo can also be a factor with his tall and lanky body helping him to send shots back into the stands.

Meanwhile, Bukit Ladang will definitely come out a different team than the underpowered side who competed in the second round due to Esmond Tan missing in action.

They will, however, still be heading into the matchup as underdogs despite Tan lacing up for the encounter.

"Tomorrow's (Friday's) match will be a tough one. They are a fast team on the break and we must try to contain them by making them play a slow game," said Tan, during an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

"But the pressure will be on them as they are the team to beat going undefeated so far," he said.

"We won't have a full team with some players suffering from injuries but we will have to fight and step it up on defence. We won't go down easy and may the best team win tomorrow," continued the 27-year-old.

They can also pack a punch through Xavier Fong, a deadly shooter from range whose size and strength, along with that of Presly Ho's, will give Bukit Ladang an intimidating inside presence.

Lim Aik Hock is the ball handler for the squad and they will also look to Lim Liang Wei to produce big numbers to lift them pass the Filipino-side.

In the other matchup, MK Syarikat Jazmar will try to make use of their size advantage in the encounter against their opponents but all eyes will once again be on high-flying Geve Leones who will be spearheading their challenge.

Leones has plenty of tricks up his sleeves and is hands down a tough assignment to guard.

The Filipino can slash to the hoop at will and has shown improvements in both his passing and shooting game.

He is backed up by a strong lineup with Jeff Paraiso providing additional firepower and also with Erwin Velez taking care of business in the paint.

They are also a force to be reckoned with from the outside with the veteran duo of Noel Grafil and Bernie Toledo also featuring in the lineup. Apollo Bibat will pick up where his teammates left off, manning the boards for his team and hustling for loose balls.

They are, however, sure to miss the presence of big man Efren Espiritu, currently back in the Philippines, to man the paint on defence.

Rounding off the semi-finals teams are Easyway/CK Tang who tasted their only defeat in the tournament so far, losing 80-68 against D'Babes/Sharks, on Wednesday.

Made up of national cagers, Easyway/CK Tang are a team centered around a suffocating defence but have to trouble putting up big numbers on the board as well.

They are led by captain Ben Sim who will shoulder much of the load for the team at both ends of the floor.

Choo Yung Jian will be tasked to handle and control the flow of the game whereas Muhd Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin and his height will be relied upon to haul down the rebounds while scoring under the basket.

Unfortunately, their bench is not as deep as they would have liked with two important pieces Esmond Tan and Benjamin Lim missing. Both players are lacing up for Bukit Ladang instead.

So when the dust settles, will it be an all-Filpino final or an all-local final?

Fans can only find out and not miss out on the action.

The final will be contested tomorrow right after the third-place playoff.

The Brunei Times