Tigers no longer the feared beast

16/10/1998

IT all points to a close basketball encounter as there is little to
separate Selangor Dragons, Perak Red Eagles, Sarawak Hornbills and Johor
Tigers in the semifinals at the Maba Stadium today.
"While Johor Tigers look good for their second Malaysian Basketball
League (MBL) title, it would be hard to separate the semifinalists until
they take to court," said foreign players co-ordinator Brian Lester.
"It all boils down to which team has a bigger desire to claim the
title."
Last season Johor Tigers denied Perak Red Eagles their hat-trick of
titles with a slim win but the statistics indicate that they will have a
tougher time making the final this season when they meet the Hornbills in
the semifinals.
Johor and Sarawak have met twice in the League and the score is even
with a win on each side. During the first leg at the Segamat Stadium,
Johor won 87-82 but the Hornbills scalped them 107-99 in Penang.
George Butler of the Johor Tigers is confident that they will make the
final and lift the trophy for the second year.
"We got off to a great start in Segamat but then slowed down a little in
the middle of the League, but right now we work and think like a team.
That is what is going to win us the title again," said Butler.
Butler and Chris Sneed are a lethal combination and they have been
working well with the locals especially Helbert Legada and Ng Joo Lay.
The semifinals between Selangor Dragons and Perak Red Eagles tilts
slightly in favour of the Dragons who topped the standings after the
preliminaries.
But the Dragons defeat by Penang Stallions in the last leg has shown
that they are not unbeatable. The Eagles will have to bring out their best
today and not just depend on their foreign players, Vern Robateau and
Derrick Leak, to sink baskets.
While four teams battle it out, newcomers Penang Stallions will watch
from the sidelines as they went down seven out of eight appearances.
But the Stallions did well considering that their team is made up of
juniors.
Today - Men's s-final: Selangor v Perak (7.0), Sarawak v Johor (9.0m);
Women: Perak v Johor (5.0).
Tomorrow: Men's final (8.0); Women's final (6.30).
(END)