Photo by Lee Suening

This is their third meeting, the first was on 14 October at MABA Stadium, Malaysia, which saw the Brunei Barracudas beat the KL Dragons 94 – 76. The KL Dragons met the Brunei Barracudas at the Brunei Indoor Stadium for their second meet, and had their revenge by winning the match 76 – 73.

Brunei Barracudas started the match with imports Michael Pilgrim, Reggie Larry, Francis Adriano, Leonidaz Avenido, and local player Esmond Tan. KL Dragons fielded Jamal Brown, Roel Hugnatan, Fhadzmir Bandaying, Rudy Lingganay and Chris Kuete as their starting lineup.

Brunei Barracudas Michael Pilgrim won the jumpball against Jamal Brown, and Barracudas’ Reggie Larry opened the scoring for the team. The Barracudas took a 6-point lead within the first 2 minutes of the match, but the KL Dragons did not allow them to go any further. At the end of the second quarter, Brunei Barracudas lead the KL Dragons 22 – 19.

It was the same in the second quarter, with both teams pushing hard, and the Barracudas managed to sustain their 3 point lead, ending 45 – 42 against the KL Dragons at halftime. Brunei Barracudas’ Michael Pilgrim and Reggie Larry lead the team with 12 points each, whereas KL Dragons’ Chris Kuete had 19 personal points and 9 rebounds.

In what seemed to be an equal match, the Brunei Barracudas and KL Dragons were still quite even in score, with the Barracudas leading by only 6 points, ending the quarter 59 – 53. It was in the fourth quarter that the KL Dragons seemingly loss their fire and allowed the Barracudas to take charge of the game.

With 5 minutes left on the clock, the Barracudas surged forward and lead the KL Dragons by 12 points, and continued to add another 4 points to their lead with 2 minutes to go on the clock.  At the final buzzer, the Brunei Barracudas took the match with a 17 point lead, ending the match 80 – 63.

Brunei Barracudas Leonidaz Avenido lead the team with 21 points, followed by Michael Pilgrim with 20 points. Pilgrim also lead the team with 15 rebounds. KL Dragons Chris Kuete lead the team with 24 points and 17 points followed by Roel Hugnatan with 12 points.

KL Dragons will be feeling the pinch of today’s loss, especially after winning the match against top seeded Singapore Slingers on 22 November. The outcome of today’s match sees KL Dragons drop to sixth position in the League Standings, and Brunei Barracudas taking fifth place.

For more information, please contact Mr Kuhan Foo, Chief Executive Officer of the ASEAN Basketball League at +6012 331 1398 or email kuhan@aseanbasketballleague.com, or Samantha Surin, Marketing at +6016 219 8847 or email samantha@aseanbasketballleague.com.

League Standings As At 9 December (Round 9)