Brunei basketball is in good hands

THERE is a bright future ahead for Brunei Basketball.

The national under-23 side playing under the banner of Easyway/CK Tang provided more than just a thrashing but a 112-35 demolition of Seria-based side NVP in the final of the Brunei Under-23 Basketball Tournament 2011 at the Kampung Baru basketball court in Seria earlier this month.

It is one of the most lopsided victories for a final in recent memory and it is one that foresees a bright future for basketball in the country.

They followed up that win with a tough loss to their seniors in the Aewon Cup 2011 Basketball Championship Tournament losing 65-59 in Group C.

The seniors themselves, 14 players in total, only had an average age of the 25.2 years old.

National basketball coach Kevin Reece felt that it was a win-win situation with the juniors giving the national cagers a good game.

That is exactly what the American expected and he believes that there is plenty left in the tank for the youths.

Reece took over at the helm at the end of 2009 and recently made history by leading the national side to their first victory in the 13th Borneo City Men's Invitational Basketball Tournament 2011 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Aug 6.

The trio of Choo Yung Jian, Han Ming Kwang, Ching Wei Ming and Soon Kian Leong are the under-23 cagers that were part of the squad that made history.

Despite the rapid rise of Brunei basketball, Reece believes that there is still one major problem that has to be addressed. The issue of grooming the Sultanate's next qualified coach.

"I think that it is time for the coaches to get qualified by at least obtaining a level one Fiba cert. I'm challenging the basketball community to get that done," said Reece during a recent interview with The Brunei Times.

"Even some of the players are already in the process of doing that. They are with high IQ and probably can be the next coaches in about five years time after their career," he said.

"We definitely need more of these certified coaches so that they can go out for Fiba sanctioned tournaments such as the SEA Games, Asian Games or even the Olympics," added the 51-year-old.

According to the Los Angeles native, it is unfortunate that as of now there are only two individuals in Brunei are certified coaches, Reece himself and coach Lim Soon Hock.

"We need these coaches to have a positive attitude and there is plenty of work to be done. They need to be on the same page and do it for the country," said Reece.

"It is my hoops dream to win a championship and now I'm just giving back to the community for they have given me a chance to coach here," he added.

"I'm really fortunate and blessed to continue doing something from my childhood dreams," concluded the LA Lakers fan.

The Brunei Times