Saturday September 26, 2009
Malaysianssurrender even before Basketball Championships begins
KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Malaysia have thrown in the towel even before the Malaysian International Basketball Championships get under way at the Maba Stadium from Oct 7-11.
The national team won the six-team competition last year with the help of two foreign cagers – Australia-based American forwards Jamal Brown and Brad Bridgewater.
Jamal Brown But this year, the Malaysian Basketball Association (Maba) have opted for an all-local line-up.
The other teams in the fray are Chinese Taipei Pure Youth Construction, Hong Kong, China Zhuhai Duty Free Enterprise Group, Philippines Pharex and Korea Chosun University team.
National coach Goh Cheng Huat said their performance would definitely be affected without the foreign imports.
“Don’t expect us to win any matches with only local talent,” said Cheng Huat, who guided the team to victory last year.
To make matters worse, the national team have lost the services of three experienced players – Soo Eng Heng, Tan Kian Hoong and Ooi Ban Sin.
Cheng Huat said that the injured Eng Heng would assist him in training while Kian Hoong and Ban Sin had prior work commitments.
“However, we welcome the return of two players – Chai (Chze Hian) and B. Guganeswaran, who are good point guard players,” said Chen Huat.
“I expect my players to give their best against the other teams, who have foreign players.
“We will use the meet to prepare for the international tournament in Taiwan (from Oct 14-18) and also the Asean Basketball League (ABL), which will begin next month.”
This year’s edition will also see four women’s teams competing. Besides the national women’s team, the others are the Chinese Taipei Li Hai San Senior Middle High School, China Guangzhou Youth and Singapore Home United.
Maba will also hold two basketball carnivals – in Bukit Bintang Plaza (today and tomorrow) and One Utama shopping mall next week (Oct 3-4) as a run-up to the championship.
Among the activities lined up are 3-on-3 competitions, video games, inflatable basketball hoops and coaching clinics for children.
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