EasyWay with the guest of honour and members of the Brunei Basketball Association

The prize giving ceremony

Easy won the hard way. What an intense final!!! I missed the commotion where a few players were ejected. I came right after half time of the finals between defending champions Fu Zhou and favourites EasyWay. Mike Pilgrim of EasyWay was ejected out for landing a punch on Narcisco Llagas (also ejected) and it led into a mini brawl where another official from Fu Zhou (Erwin) was also ejected after his punching efforts on EasyWay’s Ah Giap face.

There has been a huge question mark on the match officials in controlling the match and this also boils down to the Brunei Basketball Association. The standards of the officials and the discipline still needs some fine tuning. Yes, there will be reasons for having low budgets to provide appropriate training from the officials. I still find it ironic that some teams are able to fork out loads of monies to lure in import players but some are closely related to the BBA and having good relations, they would see this as an important growth for the country for the sports of basketball. You will see tons of banners here and there and corporate companies fork out monies to be part of an event. I seriously am not sure how the BBA works in Brunei but judging from the commotion last Wednesday, it gives the association a bad after taste. Something must be done to stop this from repeating.

The guest of honour was the Acting District Officer of Brunei-Muara and it was such a shame that he had to witness it. Players will take action (and play vigilante) if referees fail to make obvious foul calls and that’s where things can get really, really ugly. BBA members, officials, referees and even the policemen will turn peacemakers when things get out of hand just like last Wednesday. There were even signs of provocation from other teams to incite more heat and I thought that was unnecessary and unprofessional.

Even the venue at the Batu Bersurat Basketball Court is not ideal to hold such a large number of crowd. The players don’t have any allowance outside the boundary of their court zone and bystanders can turn into human cushions to stop the momentum. I mean, I was excited for the huge turn out but feel conflicted due to the safety of the people inside the basketball court. I believe the human count exceeded more than 200% and sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The memento for the guest of honour from BBA

There was a delay during the third quarter due to a brawl

Mike Pilgrim with his fans

Just look at the Batu Bersurat Basketball Court

Wow, I can’t believe I’m ranting on all these instead of posting how cool the match was. Anyway, let’s talk about the match itself. Yes, it was absolutely thrilling and it was end to end stuff. EasyWay was on top form and even star player Geve Leones wasn’t featured due to a sprained ankle. But EasyWay had the depth in squad. They have the likes of three impressive imports – Charlie Bolias, Robert Hite and Mike Pilgrim and not forgetting Elvin Requintin. The local players are also made up of competitive players (captain Ben Sim, Md Zainul, Yap Chun Ping, Choo Yung Jian and Jamri Ramlee. Now that’s what you call #strengthinnumbers

Defending champions Fu Zhou put up a great fight but only came close when they stole the lead in the third quarter. It didn’t last long as they suffered from the ejection of their key players. With three minutes remaining, EasyWay increased the gap and deservedly had the victory over their opponents in 89-77. EasyWay became the only team to be undefeated in the tournament.

Mike Pilgrim did wrote an apology on his Facebook Wall, “Last night was a great experience to win a Championship with a Class A organisation but I would not be correct if I didn’t take the time to apologize for the part I played in the brawl last night. As we all know there was a lot of dirty playing taking place last night and I have been more than patient with the referees and the teams as well, but I don’t blame them for my actions of retaliation to the dirty play. So to all of you especially the kids in attendance, I sincerely apologize for my actions and no matter how annoyed or frustrated I should have never let it take me out of my game or my character, so the Fu Zhou players and fans, I sincerely apologize.”

The same went for Erwin Velez who wrote on the Brunei Basketball Facebook Page, “Congratulation to Easyway for winning championship 2015 Sultan Cup, you guys deserved it, you guys put in a lot of dedication. What happened last night was much regretted, we don’t take it personally, we hope you guys don’t too. Just like your team, we are very passionate about basketball, for me personally eventhough I was not able to play this year, I still flew back to support my team in the finals. Sometimes, in the heat of our passion, we do things beyond our control which we regret later on and last night was one of those moments. My sincere apology to you guys, Specially Boss Ah Giap, I’m sorry It was a random swing and unfortunately I hit Boss Ah Giap. I hope that I can talk to you personally to apologies on my action. To Coach K and Wira Pori my sincere apologies on this matter. To Easyway family and friends my sincere apologies. Sincerely yours, Erwin Velez.”

The schedules for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-14 Regional Festival of Football 2015

His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) with AFC Festival Manager Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad

For the development of football. This is such a great idea that Brunei Darussalam is hosting the ongoing Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-14 Regional Festival of Football 2015. This is the first time that Brunei is also hosting an AFC event of this magnitude. For the country, this is a great milestone as this gives confident that Brunei Darussalam is confident in running this non-competitive event for the development of football for the youngsters locally and internationally.

The launch of the event took place last Tuesday and the football festival was officiated by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD). Also present was AFC Festival Manager Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad who shared a welcoming remark and praised Brunei Darussalam for hosting the 5-day event.

The match kicked off with Brunei Darussalam the host bowing down to the improved Philippines team with a 3-0 score line. The first two goals came less than 10 minutes into the game as the host lost concentration. The visitors were very solid in midfield and bossed the pitch, making it difficult for Brunei to win possession. The Philippines sealed the deal after the break with a sublime finish as Captain Van Vincent Nico Quintana scored a curler to add to Brunei’s misery.

However, it was a much better outing for Brunei Darussalam in the second match despite going down to Myanmar 3-2 last Wednesday. This shows that Brunei is still capable to score upfront but just need more composure when it comes to defence. They have conceded six goals so far in two games.

Brunei still have hot favourites Malaysia and the rising star Timor Leste tonight and tomorrow evening respectively. Malaysia had scored 10 goals in two games and they have been very strong upfront. Despite playing earlier this morning with a 8-0 victory over Myanmar, they will have their second match tonight against Brunei Darussalam at Belapan Sports Complex. Will Brunei able to contain the attacking prowess of Malaysia?

Do refer to the poster above for the schedules and there is also lucky draw for every match. The closing ceremony will be at 9:30pm on Saturday, 22nd August at Belapan Sports Complex.

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah launching the event

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the match officials

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the host nation

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the team from Myanmar

Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad delivering his speech

The fans from the Philippines

Head coach of Brunei working extremely hard for the past few months

It all starts from grassroots level

The working committee for the football festival

It’s great to see Thailand’s participation despite the sad news of the bombing in Bangkok

Brunei in action against the Philippines. Brunei lost 3-0 in the opening game.

Brunei in action against Myanmar but lost 3-2. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times.

Brunei in action against Myanmar but lost 3-2. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times

Earlier this morning, Malaysia dominated as they beat Myanmar 8-0

One of the saves from Myanmar keeper from a Malaysian attack

Timor Leste looked solid against the Philippines and won in a thrilling 4-2 victory

An own goal from Timor Leste to make in 3-2 but Timor Leste scored a minute later to restore the cushion for a 4-2 victory

Timor Leste’s Rivaldo Dos Santos Periera scored the final goal

Good sportsmanship shown after the match against Timor Leste and the Philippines

The customary handshake after every match.

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BIBD with the sponsors and corporate partners of BIBD CE-ALAF during the press conference last week

After missing out on last year’s calendar, BIBD has brought back the BIBD Charity Expedition where the main objective is to raise funds for the ALAF participants. ALAF means Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future and now it has been rebranded as CE-ALAF. Every year, there will find ways to collaborate with strategic partners in ensuring that it’s not just about raising funds but to synergise the strengths in enhancing the study programmes for the under privilege students until they graduate with a degree.

I totally love this idea when they introduced this a few years ago. The progress and success rate have been encouraging as well for the students selected under the CE-ALAF program. The funds raised are allocated for tuition fees and counselling services. The applicants will be screened by government agencies from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs and despite being given 100 students per year quota, only 50 students and 34 students met the requirements for year 2014 and year 2015 respectively. Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar, Head of BIBD Corporate Social Responsibility, did hint that the criteria will be reviewed once again with the relevant agencies and stakeholders. It was good to highlight that some of the students from the program achieved distinctions in the PSR examinations. Giving education to under privileged student is a thoughtful gesture but for them to go beyond the expectations such as passing with flying colours is an awesome bonus indeed.

Javed Ahmed, Managing Director of BIBD, explaining to the press on the CE-ALAF program and how it has benefited the students

Members of the press and partners were present

Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar, Head of BIBD Corporate Social Responsibility (2nd from right) briefed more on the BIBD CE-ALAF initiative

The medals for this year’s event

Check out the categories

That’s the gist of the background for CE-ALAF. Now it’s the actual event of the BIBD CE-ALAG event which will take place on 25th October 2015. The registration is already open and it will close on 20th September 2015.

The only one missing from the running + cycling event is the full marathon (42km). There will be a 21km, 10km and 5km competitive categories with the addition of the fun-run of 3km. Let’s not forget the cycling category as well.

You can now register at their website link – www.bibdalaf.com – and it’s also required that you present with with a donation card which can be deposited into any BIBD branch counter via Cash Deposit Machine (CDM), ATM, online banking or CE-ALAF account number 1018181811.

Let’s hope with the funds raised that it can hope to help reduce poverty, leading the country towards a more prosperous and peaceful future where Brunei is populated with educated, highly skilful individuals on par with internationally set standards.

Every donation counts for the betterment of our future leaders. Thank you, BIBD, for making noble cause a lasting one and I’m pretty sure that the Brunei Government are happy with your initiative.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Regional Festival of Football 2015 is set to hold its Opening Ceremony, 4:00 pm, on Tuesday, 18th August 2015, at the Track and Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex.

The first match to be played will be from Group A, Philippines against Brunei Darussalam kicking off at 4:35 pm. This match will be played at the Track and Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex straight after the Opening Ceremony. At the Berakas Sports Complex, Group B will kick off its first match seeing Vietnam playing against Singapore kicking off at 4:40 pm.

Members of the public are welcome to come and watch all the matches of the festival, which will be held at Track and Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex and Berakas Sports Complex. The ticket entrances for the Festival matches are free and there will also be some lucky draw prizes to be won during half time at every single match throughout the festival to the first 50 people who come to the matches.
The AFC U14 Regional Festival of Football 2015 held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam is supported by the Department of Youth and Sports of the Ministry Culture, Youth and Sports and sponsored by Kuang Wei Advertising and Display Sdn Bhd, Ideal Group Holdings Sdn Bhd, NBT (B) Sdn Bhd, Orchid Garden Hotel, Superwater Marketing Sdn Bhd, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Brunei Times Sdn Bhd, Aewon Brunei, Magic Media, Kingston Beverage and Creamery Sdn Bhd and Ranoadidas.

With the support from the government and local companies, NFABD would like members of the public to continuously support the National Under 14 team, the Tabuan U14, led by Head Coach Takao Fujiwara that will be participating in the festival.

For more info on the festival, please visit www.nfabd.org

NFABD welcomes team from Timor Leste

NFABD welcomes team from the Philippines

NFABD welcomes team from Thailand

Nuraziemah Hj Zulkifli winning the Kia Caren EX, the grand prize of the Kia Hari Raya Promotion last weekend

Masnah Hj Sabtu, winning the Kia Cerato Sedan for the 2nd prize

Previously Grand Motors Sdn Bhd gave away a home and a few cars as part of their 30th anniversary. Last week, Grand Motors presented four cars from KIA for the lucky winners of the “Kia Hari Raya Promotion” and also “Cerato for the Young and Young-at-Heart” promotion.

So who won the grand prize of the Kia Caren EX? It now belongs to the new owner – 23-year-old Nuraziemah Hj Zulkifli. Second prize belonged to Masnah Hj Sabtu, winning the Kia Cerato Sedan; the third prize went to Harun Hipnie who won Kia F/L Rio and the fourth prize (another car) went to Norasikin Aslan who won Kia Picanto M/T. The other remaining from the short listed winners of 10 walked way with cash vouchers.

Another shortlisted winners was for the Cerato for the Young and the Young-at-Heart promotion and there were 10 people who were drawn. Chan Siang Wei walked away with one unit ASUS Ultimate Fighting Machine Laptop 8gb and Hjh Mahani Hj Dagang won herself one unit ASUS Ultimate Fighting Machine Laptop 4gb. The third place winner, Iskandar Hj Alias won himself one PS4 Gaming Console 500gb and the fourth place went to Maimun Hj Serudin who brought home one XBOX 360 with Kinect Console Bundle.

The remaining winners won themselves a GoPro Hero 4 each. Awesome consolation prizes I must say.

All in all, it was a successful campaign as Grand Motors had 500 eligible customers who bought a car from 1st May to 31st July and 200 customers for the Cerato for the Young and the Young-at-heart promotion which ran from 1st April to 31st July. Present during the draw were Frankie Ho, Managing Director of Grand Motors Sdn Bhd, Hj Shaiful Rizal Bin Pehin Dato Dr Hj Ahmad, Executive Director and Jacqueline Koh, Kia Sales Manager.

Group photo with the winners and the management of Grand Motors and representatives from the financial institutions

Harun Hipnie who won Kia F/L Rio as third prize

Norasikin Aslan who won Kia Picanto M/T as fourth prize

Hjh Mahani Hj Dagang won herself one unit ASUS Ultimate Fighting Machine Laptop 4gb

GoPro Hero 4 winner

Another GoPro Hero 4 winner

Irwan bin Lamit, Managing Director of BIBD At-tamwil drawing the short listed customers few days before the actual draw

Representatives from BIBD At-tamwil and Baiduri Finance with the management of Grand Motors

During the Berinai ceremony last night

The beautiful Nisaa

Nisaa and her SF buddies

The car for tonight

Don’t forget to tune in to my social media updates for tonight’s Azeez & Nisaa’s Bersanding event

During the launch of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referee Preparatory Course for the AFC Under-14 Regional Festival of Football

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referee Preparatory Course for the AFC Under-14 Regional Festival of Football was launched at the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) headquarters in Berakas earlier this week.
Fourteen young referees from Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part in the five-day programme that will conclude today.

The course aims to prepare and assess the participating referees for the festival that will be held at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports and the Berakas Sports Complex from August 18-22.

The course will be conducted by two referee instructors; Mohammad Rodzali Yacob and Michael Hanania.

NFABD General Secretary Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani in his welcoming speech highlighted the importance of having the course for the upcoming festival.

“I understand that prior to the AFC Festival, an AFC Referee Preparatory Course is to be conducted first whereby the referees are from the participating countries,” said Hj Muhd Zamri.

“I believe this course will be beneficial to all participating referees as part of their individual development as well as for the development to their respective countries.

Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam are the among the countries that will compete in the tournament.

Among the aims of the festival are to provide a continuous player development pathway from the grassroots at the school level to the elite level and ensure a smooth transition for elite players to the national team.

Sanctioned by AFC, the festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and other related government agencies.

Admission is free and a lucky draw will be held during the event.

The referees for the upcoming AFC Under-14 Regional Festival of Football

Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani, NFABD General Secretary (centre) with the organizing committee and referees

Yves Grosjean, General Manager of Total E&P Borneo B.V. in green attire hosting guests at Total Hari Raya Open House

Recently Total E&P Borneo BV celebrated their Hari Raya Open House for their clients and guests. It has become an annual event as they host a corporate open house. The host was Yves Grosjean, General Manager of Total E&P Borneo B.V.

Total has been have very busy this year alone. Earlier in the year, Total has achieved 15 years in recording zero Loss Time Injury (LTI) and they have operated at least millions of man-hours in several operation sites, drilling campaigns, repair and modification operations, oil platform operations, logistical operations – including the use of helicopters – and other kinds of operation. Good job to the staff and contractors of Total.

Also recently last month, Total launched the jacket of the third platform of the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam (MLJ-3) field. Jacket I am referring to is a steel frame fixed to the seabed, forming the support structure of an oil production platform. . The jacket was on the Muara Yard in just one year. It is 100% Brunei made and it required around 500 000 man hours of work. Great work by Petrovietnam Technical Services of Vietnam (PTSC M&C) with the assistance of Sahid, Adinin, Megalift, Teca, Velosi and Petrokon.

Keep up the great work, Total.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office during the launch of the Load Out of the MLJ-3 Jacket last July

Muhammad Radzuan bin Hj Madali, the chairman of the AFC U-14 Football Festival 2015 in Brunei Darussalam

It has to start somewhere.. Back to basics. Even in sports. It’s good to know that NFABD the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam is working its way up to improve the development of our popular sport in Brunei – football. Things have been definitely improving and it’s never easy as 1-2-3. It’s not just about the results and performance. It’s also about the development of the sport. So I’m quite happy to know that Brunei Darussalam has been given the opportunity to host the AFC U-14 football festival for this year and next year as well.

Yesterday was the first official announcement from NFABD chaired by Muhammad Radzuan bin Hj Madali, the organising chairman for the AFC U-14 football festival. The press conference took place at NFABD House yesterday for the members of the media.

For NFABD and Brunei Darussalam, this is considered a huge opportunity as Asian Football Confederation has entrusted Brunei to host such event. This is also the first time that Brunei host such a prestigious sporting event.

According to the chairman, there will be no competition or a trophy to play for despite being drawn into two groups. The objective of the football festival is to expose the young footballers to play against another regional country and gain more experience which can help the development of football for the future.

The chairman is thankful for the media for the coverage. Check out today’s newspapers too.

Fadhil Yunus asking a few questions to the organising chair

Holding the official match ball for the football festival

The official ball Lotto

The AFC U-14 Football Festival will take place from 18th August to 22nd August 2015 where it will have the opening and the closing ceremony. The participating countries apart from the host Brunei Darussalam will be Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste.

The Chairman also pointed out how the other youth team has shown improvement recently as the score lines were very minimal despite all the loses. On previous years, the gap of the score lines were bigger. This time round the U-14 Brunei team will consist of 18 shortlisted players and in this football festival, every listed player will be given the chance on every game as part of the rules sanctioned by AFC.

The current players are under the guidance of Takao Fujiwara who have been training the boys tirelessly for the past few months. They have been placed at the Games Village and undergoing intensive training. I’m very pleased to know how serious NFABD is in developing the young players especially at a very young age. Give it another few more years, we will definitely see results especially performance wise.

Brunei Darussalam will be grouped together will Malaysia, Timor Leste, the Philippines and Myanmar.

For your info, the matches will only be 30 minutes per half with a 15 minute break. The match field will be smaller than the usual standard.

Entrance will be free and it will be played at both at the Track and Field of Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex and the Berakas Sports Complex.

I’m quite excited and I can’t wait to see the boys show all the training put into the matches. Good luck.

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Download SnapFeed app on your smartphones and check out the latest deals in Brunei and also get rewarded from respective merchants such as BurgerKing, KFC and Sushi Tei to name a few.

 

Brunei team posing with visiting team from Chinese Taipei in this morning’s press conference

This is it!!! Brunei is confident that they will get a result out of tomorrow’s big clash with Chinese Taipei. They have initially won the first leg 1-0 away in Chinese Taipei last Saturday. It was a historic moment for Brunei Darussalam as it is their first competitive victory in the pre-World Cup qualifying and the best part is that they achieved the result with a clean sheet away from home.

They have won have the battle but tomorrow is the bigger day. They will need to at least get a draw to get pass Chinese Taipei. The match will be held tomorrow at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium at 8:15pm. Entrance is FREE and tickets will be available at the entrance. Yes, at the entrance and the gates are opened at 5:45pm tomorrow. For the record, there are 10,000 tickets being issued though you can still enter the stadium without the tickets but the tickets printed are part of the requirement from FIFA to calculate the number of attendance for tomorrow’s match.

Of course, the maximum capacity is 20,000 and they will have proper management of allowing spectators to enter the stadium.

Azwan Salleh, captain of Brunei Darussalam, Hj Mohd Noor Hj Hamid, the team manager for Brunei Darussalam, Ameer Lani, Marketing and Communication Executive of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam, Chen Kuei-Jen, Head Coach of Chinese Taipei and Chen Yi-Wei, Captain of Chinese Taipei in today’s press conference

Azwan Salleh, captain of Brunei Darussalam exchanging hand shakes with Chen Yi-Wei, Captain of Chinese Taipei

Azwan Salleh addressing to the media

The media at the press conference

Hj Mohd Noor Hj Hamid, the team manager for Brunei Darussalam, believes a draw is sufficient for Brunei as they have a goal advantage. He expects Brunei team to give a better performance as this will be a historic moment if they go through the preliminary stage of the World Cup qualifiers. The team manager shared that Chinese Taipei had many scoring opportunities in the last game but it was the heroics of Wardun Yussof in goal and the defence that made the victory. He encourages all the Brunei supporters to come tomorrow to catch the match against Chinese Taipei.

The Chinese Taipei head coach is also confident that they can get a result tomorrow and his players are well acclimatized to the humid weather in Brunei. Of course, he felt disappointed after the 1-0 loss at home but during training the next day, they just forget about the past and focused on the upcoming game as the 2nd match is more important than the first. He believed tomorrow’s match will be exciting for the fans of Brunei and Chinese Taipei and to the fans of football.

Azwan Salleh, the captain of Brunei team, expressed how the matches against Chinese Taipei is the biggest match of his life because it’s a qualifier for the World Cup and this is the biggest tournament that he has ever been in. He shared that this opportunity doesn’t come to Brunei all the time.

I will be expecting a full house attendance tomorrow and the crowd will be filled with yellow and black tomorrow. Can Brunei make it through the pre-qualifying stage? We shall wait and see. Good luck to the players tomorrow.

Get your tickets tomorrow at the entrance. This will be a good souvenir to keep for a very long time.

A few nights ago, Brunei made history when they scored an away victory. Can they repeat the same thing again tomorrow and qualify?

 

Catching Cinderella with my siblings last night at The Mall Cineplex. A highly recommended movie for all ages and if you like Frozen, you are in for a better treat.

Check out my full review on my podcast (The Popcorn Panel) on SoundCloud on Disney’s Cinderella 2015.