ITB all business against Business School

THIS is what happens when you pit men against boys.

Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) overpowered Business School 74-22 to clinch Group C of the UBD Cup 2011 last night at the Multipurpose Hall of the UBD (Universiti Brunei Darussalam) Sports Complex near here.

It was a no contest right from the start and Alex Soon provided the most firepower to lead ITB with a game-high of 18 points.

Jeremy Fong also had a good shooting-game, scoring 16 points and Glen Chong chipped in another 10 points in the victory.

Leong Ching Onn was the only bright spark for Business School, dropping 15 points to the losing cause.

The outcome of the match was never in question, in fact a simple look at the lineup already gave away who would emerge victorious in the match.

Choo Yung Jian, who was the hero last Saturday scoring the game-winner to lead the national cagers playing under the banner of Easyway/CK Tang to a 71-69 over D'Babes/Sharks in the final of the Aewon Cup 2011 Basketball Championship Tournament at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat, spearheaded ITB's campaign.

He need not do much as their opponents were not only undersized but also inexperienced.

The difference in age was also a factor.

ITB were always in the lead and had no trouble putting the ball through the hoop in the opening stages of the match, recording a 12-4 lead by first quarter's end.

Defence was something that Business School didn't play while their opponents did.

ITB were constantly on the attack, running up the floor quicky to score on the break while also doing a good job on the boards.

The gap had ballooned up to 34-9 at halftime.

The points disparity was something that the Business School could not recover from as they looked lost on offence, often relying solely on Leong to put up points onto the scoresheet.

ITB were just a class above their opponents as they went on to pick up their second straight win to top the group heading into the second round.

According to Choo, the cagers of the team have been playing together for some time and the gelling is already there.

"We have been playing together for years already so we know how each other plays. We want to beat (Md) Zainul (Ashyraf Hj Hussin) of UBD in the later stages because we had lost to them in the Inter-Faculty tournament earlier this year," said Choo.

Asked about the second round, Choo replied: "We will just have to improve our defence because we haven't really been tested yet with stronger teams."

The earlier game saw St George's School (SGS) thrash Chung Ching Middle School (CCMS) 69-22 in Group A.

Only one more group stage game is left in the tournament and it will be between SGS and Science College with the winner through to the next round. The match will tip off at 7.30pm on Saturday.

A total of 13 teams separated into four groups are competing for top honours in the annual competition.

The hosts have won the tournament four times in a row.

However, the second round will only start on Sept 8 to give way to Muslims celebrating Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

The Brunei Times