Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
BASKETBALL fans will be a treated to a mouth-watering clash when Easyway and Fitness Zone (FZ) battle in Group B of the YOU.C1000 Cup on Monday night at 7pm.
The encounter is a repeat of the 2019 Phase 1 final which FZ (then known as FZ-Juramas) completed a 70-65 comeback victory.
Both teams won their opening games with Easyway running away with a 102-67 win over TK Tea House while FZ made easy work of a short-handed Klimzon Engineering 115-71.
Easyway captain Ben Sim highlighted that eventhough they are the same teams for the encounter but the rosters have been revamped.
“Same team but different players, almost half of the team has changed for both sides,” said Sim in an interview with BruSports News on Sunday.
“We are rebuilding and going with younger guys. Like in our last game against TK, our young guys showed a lot of heart and didn’t back down. We want to bring that forward to all our upcoming matches.
“Bench is always important for any team. We believe in our young guys and expect everyone to be on the same page come game time,” added the 35-year-old.
“As long as we execute our game plan, we will have a good shot at winning the match,” he continued.
When asked on what are the key battles for the match, Ben replied: “There aren’t any clear battles as most teams play zone defence and matchups rarely happen. A key for us as a team would be limiting our turnovers.”
On the other hand, FZ skipper Alvin Goh also knows that the battle this time around is much different.
“2019 was a while ago and essentially both teams are different now. We are taking it one game at a time and we hope to be in a good position to challenge for the Cup,” said Goh.
“I think that eventhough we are early in the group stage, the one that we are drawn in is tough. Essentially we knock a competitor out or we get knocked out. So every battle is key.
“Starters or bench players all have important roles to play. We will win or lose together as a team,” he added.
Decorey Jones will be a key figure for Easyway after he put up 27 points in the opener against TK.
When asked on how they will look to close out the 6’7 American, Goh replied: “Our focus is not on containment but to play solid team defence overall.
“It is a work in progress and we hope to get better as the tournament proceeds,” he concluded.
