New and faster Barracudas

Yee Chun Leong BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, November 14, 2009

photo by: Yee Chun Leong       

REGGIE LARRY the Barracudas new import hopes he can help the Brunei team stop the rot when they take on the Thailand Tigers in their Asean Basketball League (ABL) match at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas tonight.

"I'm all ready and excited for the game. It's good that there is no jetlag and that I'm in good shape. I'm just anxious to see what there is on game day," said Larry in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.

"I was told that the crowd is great. I'm looking forward to it (his first game with the Barracudas) and I am very excited to play," added Larry.

However, having only arrived in the Sultanate on Wednesday evening, the 23-year-old American doesn't quite know what to expect from the ABL.

      

"I don't know what to expect. I'll just do what the coach wants me to do. I'm going to do whatever it takes to grab the first home win for the team," said the former Boise State Broncos player.

Larry hopes to bring something different to the team, who were recently reduced in 'height' after seven-footer Lonnie Jones was shown the exit on Sunday his 30th birthday after a 97-62 thrashing by Satria Muda BritAma in Jakarta.

"We are a bit shorter now that we don't have a seven-footer on the team. Mike (Pilgrim) did say that we're now faster as a team. We can get back on defence much faster and push the ball up the court faster, too. So it's gonna be points on both sides for us," said Larry.

Barracudas head coach Bong Ramos is confident that Larry can help the team end their three-game slump against the visiting Tigers.

"Hopefully we can overcome the Tigers. I expect them to come out tough as they have been improving from game to game. With Reggie on the team now we have good energy and hustle. We are now a quicker team," said Ramos.

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source: The Brunei Times

Reggie ready to rock

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, November 13, 2009

BRUNEI Barracudas' latest addition Reggie Larry looked fresh and energetic in his first practice session for his new team yesterday.

"I thought I was out of shape and would have trouble re-adjusting to the climate after returning home to the United States," said Larry, who until recently was playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

"But I felt good today (Thursday) after a good sleep," said the American in an interview with The Brunei Times at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas yesterday.

"I feel like I'm getting the hang of it and hopefully I will be fresh for the game on Saturday," added the 23-year-old American.

The Barracudas host the Thailand Tigers in the Asean Basketball League tomorrow.

Larry, who was born in Newark, New Jersey, is expected to don the No 24 jersey as he is an avid fan of Richard Jefferson, who is a former New Jersey Nets player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Asked about his first practice session with Brunei's first professional basketball team, the former Boise State Broncos player said: "I'm just following what the coach wants me to do. Hopefully I can fill the missing piece in his game plan and turn things around for the team."

His compatriot, Mike Pilgrim, who will not be playing at the centre position after the departure of seven-footer Lonnie Jones, feels that the addition of Larry to the squad is very positive.

"He is a good player with a lot of energy. He's pumping all the energy into the team which really helps a lot. He looks in decent shape as well, " said Pilgrim.

"We will just have to wait and see till he gets into the game. He's very active and that's exactly what the coach needs," added the 25-year-old Pilgrim.

Asked to compare Larry to Jones, Pilgrim said: "We can't compare them since they play in different positions. Larry plays at either the four (power forward) and probably guards the three (small forward) whereas Lonnie plays the straight five (centre).

"Lonnie is a good player but this is going to be something new and Larry will bring a different style to the team."

The Barracudas' head coach Bong Ramos is delighted with the team's latest addition saying that the team are looking forward to the 'energy' the American will bring to the side.

"From what I saw, the energy is there just like what I wanted. However, it is not going to be an overnight thing.

"I see all the positive signs in him and now we will just have to push our focus on how we can upset the visiting Thailand Tigers in our next game," said the 40-year-old Filipino coach.

"The way I look at it, he just arrived yesterday (Wednesday) and he looks in shape. I'm happy that he managed to keep up and complete the whole training session as well," added the ex-Indonesian national coach.

Asked about the strength of his 6ft 6in import, Ramos said: "He can do almost everything. He can shoot, play outside and in the post and dribble as well. We can even make him our swing man to play either at the three, four or even five."

Ramos also highlighted that with Larry in the squad, the team had become more of an offensive side.

The Barracudas hope to end their three-game losing slump when they meet the Tigers for the first time tomorrow at the Indoor Stadium.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 8pm.

The Barracudas are currently in fifth place in the six-team table with six points while the Tigers are bottom with five points.

The Slingers are currently at the helm of the table with nine points followed closely by Indonesia's Satria Muda BritAma with eight points.

The Patriots and KL Dragons are tied for third with seven points.

The Brunei Times

New Barracudas import arrives

Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Thursday, November 12, 2009

BRUNEI BARRACUDAS will parade a new import when they meet Thailand Tigers on Saturday at the Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex in Berakas.

Reggie Larry, who will replace the seven-footer Lonnie Jones, arrived last night and was met by head coach Bong Ramos.

According to the rules of the Asean Basketball League (ABL), each team is only entitled to two international imports. "I had been resting and nursing an injury prior to coming here. I was just waiting for something to happen and the Barracudas offered me to come and I accepted gladly," said Larry in an interview with The Brunei Times .

"I've been to Asia before and I enjoyed it. So I thought why not come back again to try it out," added Larry.

Larry played for the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) before a finger injury early this year kept him out of the game.

"I just want to play the best that I can. I need to give the coach a good impression of what I can do despite knowing that the season has started. I'm going to get a good vibe going here. I'll try to fit in the team as I know I'm a player who likes to fight and hustle to score and rebound," said Larry, who is a power forward but also plays small forward.

"I can shoot and also put the ball on the floor as I can rebound and move faster than the biggers players," said the 23-year-old who was born in Newark, New Jersey. He studied at the Barringer High School and played for the College of Southern Idaho from 2005-2006.

Larry was named to the Western Athletics Conference (WAC) All-Newcomer Team in his junior year with the Boise State Broncos. He also won the award as the Best Rebounder for the season.

For the 2007-2008 season, he topped the rebounding with an average of 9.2 and was third in scoring (19.4 points). He was Most Valuable Player and was named to the first team of the All-WAC for the same season.

Larry was also the first player to put up more than 1000 points over two seasons for Boise State. He also played in Cyprus and France before playing at the PBA.

Barracudas head coach Bong Ramos feels that the main feature about Larry would be his energy when he plays the game.

"I know the main thing about Reggie is his energy. That's the reason why I chose him. I've talk to his coach at Purefoods before and I was told that he has very good work ethics as well," said Ramos, who also coached the Indonesian national team.

Ramos hopes that Larry's energy will be a plus factor. "He'll be a good partner to Mike (Pilgrim). Both are young but I know that we are going with a smaller line up this time. We are going to be a faster and more aggressive, which is important for me."

"We'll be seeing a different Barracudas but it won't be an overnight project. I can't assure victory on Saturday but I'm positive about the change," he added.

The Slingers currently lead the league with nine points followed by Satria Muda with eight points.

The Patriots and KL Dragons are tied for third with seven points, Barracudas are fifth with six points and Thailand Tigers are at the bottom with five points.

source: The Brunei Times

FBA-LBC cup 2009: Warriors seek first win vs El Tigre

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

THE Warriors are all hyped up and ready to notch their first win in Group A of the regular seven stars category of the LBC Cup when they take on El Tigre Marshalls tomorrow at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

"The team is doing fine and we have been undergoing some practice sessions and are hoping to grab our first win of the tournament," said Michael Juan, playing coach of Warriors.

"I see that the team is getting to know each other's role now and we'll be banking on our defence to help lift us in Thursday's game," added Juan.

The Warriors have been handed the toughest task in the group thus far going up against two of the tournament favourites, ABMS and Palm Cafe, in their first two games. ABMS eventually thrashed them 103-74 and Palm Cafe left it late in their match to come up on top 111-96.

"In our previous two matches we had to go up against the favourites. It is quite unlucky that we have been placed in the difficult group.

"The thing is that we haven't gelled together properly yet prior to that and we lost some key players in the final moments of the match against Palm Cafe," said Juan.

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Brunei Barracudas hoping to end slump

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A BAD day was exactly how Barracudas head coach Bong Ramos described their disastrous game in Jakarta which was a 97-62 thrashing to Satria Muda BritAma last Sunday in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) at the BritAma Arena.

"We started flat in that game and we eventually gave up. We came out ready to play after preparing hard in training but it was just that the players weren't in good shape for that day (Sunday)," said Ramos in a telephone interview with The Brunei Times.

"It was just a bad day for all of us. It was just like them (Satria Muda) when they played against the Singapore Slingers where they lost badly," added the Filipino mentor in reference to Satria Muda's 96-72 thrashing at the hands of the Slingers at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Nov 1.

The Barracudas had come up short of the Slingers in their home game with a 80-82 defeat on Oct 24.

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HBMS staff do battle on the court

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, November 9, 2009

THE Hyatt Borneo Management Services (HBMS) basketball tournament tipped off last night with two games at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

In the opening game, New York Stallions edged RS Knights 55-52 while in the second match Izzah Renegade opened up their campaign with a 54-30 victory over VIP Queenielin.

Organised by the Hyclub Committee, the competition is held as an annual event for the staff working at the company.

"This is part of the activities for the staff to help bring them closer and foster relationships," said Eddie Estrellia, head of the organising committee.

"This year we've got better response compared to last year when we only had four teams," added Estrellia.

The tournament sees five teams the other being The Hoopsters battle it out in the seven-day competition.

The tournament continues tonight at the same venue with VIP Queenielin going up against The Hoopsters at 9pm followed by a matchup between RS Knights and Izzah Renegade at 10.30pm.


source: The Brunei Times

ABMS, Palm Cafe still unbeaten

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, November 8, 2009





ABMS were in a league of their own as they demolished Pinoy 1st Edition 114-81 last night to stay undefeated with four wins in Group A of the regular seven stars category of the LBC Cup at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

Four players were in double digits for ABMS with Roldan Binas leading the way with 28 points.

Don Dadis Mordeno finished with 21 points while Rhoy Binas contributed 20 points and Joseno Mangoroban chipped in 18 points.

On the other hand, Mike Nuguid led Pinoy 1st Edition with 15 points and Joel Valdez scored 13.

Pinoy 1st Edition managed to press break earlier on in the opening period as ABMS applied full court pressure from tip off taking an early 22-15 advantage into the second period.

ABMS exploited the lack of depth on the Pinoy 1st Edition bench and further extended their lead to 50-33 heading into halftime.

One of the tournament's favourites, ABMS quickly shifted gears in the third period as exhaustion crept in for their opponents allowing them to move towards the blowout victory.

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source: The Brunei Times

Patriots get back at Slingers

(The Philippine Star) Updated November 08, 2009 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Patriots, getting a big lift from Elmer Espiritu, got back at the Singapore Slingers, 70-53, in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) yesterday at The Arena in San Juan.

The high-flying Espiritu dished out a splendid game and himself came through with the crucial baskets clinching the Patriots’ vengeful win.

It was the second straight win and third overall in four starts for the Patriots, who handed the Slingers their first defeat in five games.

The Patriots avenged their 74-69 defeat to the Slingers in their first meeting three weeks ago in Singapore.

The Patriots, co-owned by Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero and businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco, collide with the Kuala Lumpur Dragons next week in Malaysia.

The home team rattled the Slingers with a methodical defense, limiting the visiting squad to only four points in the last five minutes of play.

After falling behind by 18 points in the second quarter, the Slingers closed in at 42-50 on three straight charities by Singapore import Michael LeBlanc.

But a completed three-point play by Espiritu ended Singapore’s bid to move closer.

With their hot shooting, the Patriots coasted to a 36-23 lead at halftime with American import Brandon Powell leading the team’s assault with 10 points.

The Patriots converted 16 of 32 tries for an impressive 52 percent shooting.

A spectacular shot by Powell off a perfect pass by point guard Froilan Baguion gave the home team their biggest lead in the first half at 28-10, with 6:57 remaining in the second period.

In sharp contrast, the Slingers struggled offensively in the first two quarters, bungling 21 of 31 shots for a 32 percent shooting while turning the ball 12 times, four from Filipino import Al Vergara, who was playing in pain.

Vergara, the lone Filipino player for the Slingers, suited up despite injuring his left knee during their 96-72 rout of Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma last week.

Unlike the first time they clashed, the Patriots showed cohesion, with Baguio and Warren Ybanez combining for 13 assists.


source: The Philippine Star