Defensive lapses, poor team chemistry and lack of fitness have been blamed for Beruang Blazers  two opening defeats in the Kuching circuit of the Yuwang EBL basketball championship.

The Brunei side managed only one win -against Labuan Wasps - and suffered losses to KK Eagles and Kuching Lord Tigers.

Beruang Blazers coach Ryan Yusof said, "We have made many unforced turnovers in the games.

"We are back in training today to try to reduce such errors in our next match.

"There are a lot of things that I need to work on like rebounding and defence.

"On the offence we did pretty well. I hope the team understands that to win game, we have to be focused and run for the entire 40 minutes. We can't just play one good half of basketball.

"Our team was not used to that kind of intensity at the tournament. We played three days in a row against teams which are used to playing in the league."

"There were moments when we did play good basketball but our defence could not cope because our fitness levels were not on par with the opponents."

On the defeat by KK Eagles, he said, "It was a tough loss. We were the better team that night but in the fourth quarter, there were too many turnovers in their favour."

On Lord Tigers, he said, "They play like a champion team. They are coached by Kevin Reece, the former national coach of Brunei.

"They have a solid game play. They were running the whole 40 minutes of the game on their home court and they were on form that night. Our players didn't expect the intensity.

"We need to rotate all the players to have fresh legs on the court. The coaching staff is trying to figure out the best combination of players.

"The Kuching circuit was a good eye opener. It's a work in progress." he said.

"The import players did well but I need to speak to some of them to share the ball and pass if there is double team.

"The faster we move the ball, the harder the opponents are made to chase."

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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