According to Barracudas management, this is not a decision that has been taken lightly and is not a knee-jerk reaction to the loss to the Singapore Slingers on Wednesday.

“This was a decision taken with careful consideration. Mike had been given chance after chance to improve his attitude but has failed to heed all warnings fired in his direction.

“We would like to thank Mike for his services to the Barracudas and wish him all the very best in the future,” said Benny Ang, the team manager for the Barracudas.

The 6’ 8” Pilgrim is a regular in the Barracudas starting lineup and has played in all 14 of Barracudas’ matches. Pilgrim is currently fourth in the Points Standings, scoring 231 points and making 113 rebounds. His season best was on 16 January when the Barracudas went up against Satria Muda BritAma at the Brunei Indoor Stadium, where he contributed 26 points to the team’s final win of 85 – 81 against Satria Muda BritAma. 

The Barracudas will be replacing Pilgrim with Australian center Simon Conn. Standing at 6’9”, the Barracudas are hoping that Conn brings some interior toughness to the Brunei team.

“Simon is not as explosive as Pilgrim but in Leo (Avenido), Don (Camaso), Kiko (Adriano) and Reggie (Larry), we have four good scoring options and just need Simon to shore up the interior with some tough defense. He is a workhorse and that is something we have been missing.

“Simon learnt his trade in college basketball in the States and I am hoping he will be a good complement to the other four imports in our team,” added Benny.

With one more game before the playoffs, the Barracudas desperately need a win against the Patriots in order to qualify as the KL Dragons are breathing down their necks with equal points in the league standings.