Despite being the youngest head coach in the second Yuwang EBL Basketball League, 36-year-old Ryan Yusof of Beruang Blazers is well known in the local basketball scene.

He has built a respectable reputation for himself, having achieved a list of honours from local competitions.

Ryan's interest in basketball coaching began in 2011, and he sought wisdom under the tutelage of former national coaches Kevin Reece and Nomar.

He was the coach of Sin Tat, who won the FBA Cup this year.

He was also head coach of Easyway, who lifted the SpeedSend Cup that took place in conjunction with His Majesty's 70th birthday last month.

Beruang Blazers will first play Labuan Wasp in the Kuching circuit August 26 and Ryan is optimistic of his team's chances.

"I am optimistic but also realistic. I don't want to set the bar too high.

"If we can play the way that I think we can, we can really get some good results.

"We can give a good challenge to the teams. Once the first circuit is over, we will know which teams are the best and how to come up with strategies to overcome the opponents.

"To be honest, I know that other teams in the semi-professional league are strong, I just hope that my imports and the local players play their best basketball.

"I would like to see the local players give everything they got in the competition and one day, they can look back at winning the EBL.

"The advantage that we have is experience. We have the experienced Ben Sim as our captain.

Yap Chun Ping and Choo Yung Jian are also experienced players who have played at the national level."

With the confirmed imports of Lyndon Sayson Gudez and Hernal Razo Escosio from the Philippines and Delvin Goh Kok Chiang from Singapore, he said, "We believe that the imports compensate our weakness in height.

"Lyndon is a superb scorer and all around solid player. I am excited and I can see the potential of the locals playing with the imports. I believe we can play good basketball.

Majority of the players in Beruang Blazers are from Easyway. Ryan believes this can play a major part in the chemistry of the team.

"I understand each player in the team. My job is to find the balance and right chemistry on court with the three imports.

Ryan said he had been "pushing players to the limit" during training in preparation for the tournament.

"But we have to flexible with the players. Coaches can be strict and hard on the players but I understand that players have to work in the day time and then train at night."

"The players that I have worked with have a good understanding and when the players are practising, I always want the players to train 150 per cent," he added.

Besides his coaching experience, Ryan has also attended numerous workshops and trips to upgrade his knowledge on basketball.

He visited 15 universities in the Philippines to learn about coaching in June this year.

He noted that Brunei needed to start in grassroots and encourage children learn the fundamentals of the game.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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