Teo out to prove he can be Dragons’ local asset
PETALING JAYA: Gone are the days when the teams in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) rely heavily on their imports.
Teams are banking more on local flavour to spice up their challenge and that was evident in the prominent showings of Hong Kong Eastern’s Lee Ki, Singapore Slingers’ Delvin Goh and Chongson Kung Fu’s Guo Kai.
And now, Westports Malaysia Dragons’ Teo Kok Hou hopes to step up too.
The 23-year-old, in his second year with the Dragons, has started the season well by averaging 29 minutes over three matches.
The 1.77m point guard certainly showed his reliability in the absence of injured star guard Marcus Marshall against Thailand’s Mono Vampire Basketball Club on Dec 2.
Although the Dragons lost that game 90-107, Kok Hou had a good outing with seven points, seven assists and two steals.
And Kok Hou, fresh from bagging the Most Valuable Player award while playing for Negri Sembilan at the Agong Cup National Basketball Championships last month, is hoping to keep up his good form when the Dragons travel to Manila to take on the Tanduay Alab Pilipinas tomorrow.
“I’m definitely feeling more confident.
The Agong Cup had no imports so we had to work out things our- selves,” said Kok Hou.
“I feel that I’m getting better. Winning the MVP award also gave me a nice confidence boost.
“I also believe us (Malaysian) locals are a match for the other teams’ locals. We may not match them in height and size but we’re not that far behind in terms of skills.
“What’s more important is that we have to be fearless when given the chance.
“Of course, I’m not aiming for any personal glory in the ABL. I’m just looking to do my best and help the team,” added Kok Hou.
The Dragons, sixth in the nineteam league, need a win against Alab to turn their season around as only the top six teams qualify for the playoffs.