Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE national basketball team is all set to compete when Brunei hosts the Borneo Cup at the BBA Court in Batu Bersurat at the end of month.
The selection pool consisted of some 25 players training together over the past few months and was eventually trimmed to 12.
The returning cagers from last year are Lim Liang Wei, Jonathan Lim, Chan Yung Ken, Jaron On, Darren Lee and Wong Lih Shean.
On the other hand, Ahmad Termizi Hj Noordeen, Devon Lim, Jake Chong, Jayden Chen, Joseph Newn and Marcus Lim are the others completing the roster.
The going has been tough for the Sultanate as they have yet to get in the win column post COVID.
National basketball coach Ben Sim is aware of the situation and is hoping to turn things around on home soil.
"It wasn't easy as we had some tough choices and made some hard decisions. But these are the 12 players we are going with," said Sim in an interview with BruSports News after a training session on Friday night.
"We are trying to win in every tournament that we play in. Especially with our lacklustre outings in the last couple of years, we are trying to improve and go for the win," he added.
It is notable that the roster may be a bit lacking in size and height.
When asked if that will be an issue, Sim replied: "We will try to counter that with our physicality and pace. I told the guys we have to be a little bit smarter on the way we play.
"Any team we play are just like us as they are human too. Size does help in basketball but sometimes we can overcome that with other attributes.
"Just the toughness and much better chemistry, we have the system set up where our guys can really get with each other and trust each other," he added.
"We don't always go with the best players as we want those who can accept their role and play.
"That is the difference and everyone understands what they need to do to be part of the team," concluded Sim.
Brunei last hosted the competition in 2018 where they went on to win the title for only the second time in their history.
