BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier) -  Brunei Darussalam has a population of only around half a million people and the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) is on a mission to convert as many people as they can to become basketball lovers. It has been difficult to build momentum for the sport in the country with a limited fanbase, but through hosting and participating in several basketball events, basketball has grown to become one of the more popular sports in the country.

“OUR PARTICIPATION WILL ALSO PROVIDE BASELINE MEASUREMENTS ON WHAT WE NEED TO WORK ON GOING FORWARD. - WIRA PORI

 In order to keep the momentum going, it seemed about time that Brunei returned back into action in FIBA competition.

 “After such a long absence from FIBA international competition, we need to re-instill a sense of hope for our young players,” says Wira Pori, Secretary of Brunei Basketball Association. “The Brunei Basketball Association will do all we can to provide the opportunity for our youth to represent our country; being more active in the FIBA events is a good start as it would be a great chance to promote basketball in Brunei.”

 Brunei had a recent appearance in the SEABA Championship 2015, which was a surprising move after having been absent for over a decade. They finished dead last in 6^th place, but will be looking to display progress in their participation this time around.

 “The Federation started planning for the [FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier] since last year,” Pori adds. “However, we were only able to gather the team to start training in March. For a small country with a small population and limited expertise, there is a lot of room for improvement in term of team preparation. ”

Pori and the BBA knows that they will have to slowly build up their program. They will continue to figure things out here as they get a practical gauge of where they are and what they will have to work on.

 “The Brunei National Team is just starting to establish its footing and this tournament will provide valuable learning experience not only for our national team but for Brunei national basketball federation as well,” says Pori. “Our participation will also provide baseline measurements on what we need to work on going forward. Bear in mind, Brunei is a small country compare to others and there is really a small amount of Bruneians that do play basketball. Our direction is trying to attract more kids to start loving about basketball in order to build a better team which will be able to compete with others in the region.”

“Honestly, we still have a long way to go. Although basketball is already a popular sport in Brunei, we will be putting measures in place to attract younger players - the establishment of a youth academy for the grassroots program by the federation is really good to see such enthusiasm. We also need to train more coaches in order to expand the width and depth of our player pool.”

Still, it’s not a complete start from scratch for Brunei. They will be parading some experienced players on this team, whether it is from the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) or from previous events.

“[Benjamin] Sim, our team captain and one of the former Brunei Barracudas [of the ABL], is one of our most versatile players on our team. We are also expecting good contribution from our point guard Ahmad Termizi Noordeen and center Zainul Hussin.” 

“Zainul was our big man who participated in 2015 SEABA championship, averaging a double-double in that tournament.”

“We can’t be expecting too much but I believe our boys will show a good fight and good spirit to all teams in this event.”

 FIBA