Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
EASYWAY Basketball enter the YOU.C1000 Cup as favourites but it will be no stroll in the park to the title.
The four-time winners of the competition, which is held annually in conjunction with His Majesty’s Birthday celebrations, have been drawn in the ‘Group of Death’.
With the seeding system thrown out the window this year, Easyway were drawn in Group B with two other contenders Fitness Zone - Phase 1 winners of the 2019 edition - and TK Tea House - champions of the YOU.C1000 Fuzhou Cup.
Fayze and Klimzone Engineering are the other two teams in the group.
They will open their campaign on Saturday against TK at 8.30pm right after the opening ceremony at the BBA Court in Batu Bersurat.
Easyway captain Ben Sim has played down their tag as the team to beat.
“We respect every team in this tournament and it will be challenging as there will be great matchups early on,” said Sim in an interview with BruSports News yesterday.
”We will take it one match at a time and execute our game plan.
“It’s not always about winning championships as we are playing for something bigger than ourselves, but as long as we execute the game plan, who knows maybe we will be lifting the trophy at the end,” he added.
Easyway are hot coming off winning the National Basketball League title last month - without dropping a single game.
They have kept most of the roster and bolstered it this time around most notably with the addition of 6’7 American Decorey Jones as well as the duo of Khoo Chin Kai and Chris Chiew.
“Having the additions to our team is great. The way the team is built now is a mixture of veterans and young guys, “said Sim.
“We took a break for Raya and got back as soon as we could get the team together.
“Training has been great as veterans like Eugene and Zainul and myself are there to there to guide the young guys of Easyway Basketball,” he added.
”We have a culture where anyone who wants to learn and get better at basketball can come join us and play,” continued the 35-year-old.
When asked on areas that require tweaking, Sim replied: “There are always things a team can always improve on to get better and it’s a never ending cycle but if there was one thing right now that we should get better is our conditioning.”
Being the most senior player on the squad, Sim is also thankful for the opportunity.
“(I feel) blessed to still be able to play the game I love and looking forward to battling with great teams this coming tournament,” he concluded.
