| Fadhil Yunus |
EASYWAY preserved their unbeaten record in the MK Group Cup after downing rivals Street Roc 99-75 in Group ‘A’ at the Brunei Basketball Association Court in Batu Bersurat last night.
In what supposed to be their biggest test in the competition so far, they passed with flying colours and head coach Xavier Fong said that they could not cope with them in all four quarters.
Fong acknowledged his players for their patient approach after Street Roc briefly led but knew that they always had the game under their control.
Easyway’s import duo of Justin Howard and Avery Scharer were simply too good for the Street Roc defence in every department. Avery was a joy to watch with his repertoire of skills while no one could contain the strength of Justin.
Meanwhile, local player Ben Sim was at his vintage best and every single player in the Easyway express in the same breath as the trio hardly taken a foot wrong.
However, despite a straightforward night which arguably decided the group positioning, not all was plain sailing for the defending champions as work is still needed to be done particularly in defence.
Asked on the gravity of the defensive concerns, Fong said, “I think these are just tiny details. At the moment we are just overcommitting so when we overcommit, they (Street Roc) can actually penetrate and the defence collapsed basically.
“If it is a shooter, we actually have to go out and stretch out but at the moment they are not shooting at each and every open position, it is going to be a three-pointer.
“They’re getting very close to the opponent and when you do that just one step the whole defence collapses. We shouldn’t allow that.
“This is still the round robin game. I believe if we’re going to go very far into the semi-final and the final we really need to work on our defence. That is something we have to address,” the head coach said.
Easyway’s Justin Howard recorded a game high of 30 points while Avery Scharer contributed with 17 points.
Easyway will seal top spot in Group ‘A’ if they manage a victory over against Em Prez Sdn Bhd, who beat CK & Associates 105- 103 in an earlier tipoff tomorrow.
The competition continues tonight with Juramas looking to seal top spot with a win over Walltique Sdn Bhd while Hainan play Tutong basketball team.
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