Dragons struggle to fill roster for MPL

PETALING JAYA: The Westports Malaysia Dragons are hoping to field a mixed team of youth and experience for the Malaysia Pro League (MPL), which will be held from Oct 13-29.

The Dragons, who are competing as the KL Dragons Basketball Academy, are having a hard time filling up their 16-player roster.

At their open trials last weekend, 31 players showed up on Saturday and only 24 on Sunday.

Among the more experienced faces who turned up were 36-yearold John Ng, Tung Chee Keong, Izran Edika Kamaruddin and Ong Wei Yong.

The 1.65m Chee Keong, Muhd Syahmi Nor Mokles and brothers Yasier Rashid Ahmad and Helmi Rashid Ahmad impressed the selectors.

The Dragons hope to get two experienced centres – 34-year-old Chee Li Wei and 33-year-old Chan Kek Thai – who played at the KL SEA Games, to join the squad.

The pair are believed to be interested, although they didn’t show up for the trials due to work.

“The tryouts were rough because it’s always tough to only have five hours to showcase your talent,” said Dragons head coach Chris Thomas.

“But there were some surprising performances, especially from Chee Keong. He’s tough and he puts in a lot of effort on the floor.

“He also talks and communicates, which is something we lacked. A player like him could help some of the younger guys we’re trying to bring in.

“I’m looking forward to the MPL. It’s still a trial run, but this level of competition is good as it gets the guys out of their comfort zones.

“Ultimately, the league is also about expanding basketball in Malaysia. We want to expand the pool for the national team and also for the Dragons in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).”

The other teams competing in the MPL are the PRG Eagles, the Penang Stallions, Verve Club, Perak Farmcochem and the Kings Pinas Asia.

It’s always tough to only have five hours to showcase your talent.

Chris Thomas