Little Chee Wei shows he won’t come up short in duels with taller cagers

PETALING JAYA: Never judge a book by its cover.

Basketball player Lim Chee Wei may be smaller in size compared to other cagers but he is not someone you under-estimate on court.

It is undeniable that there are disadvantages of being short but Chee Wei is quick-witted in using other ways to beat his opponents.

“To be honest, we’re somehow restricted by our height and are at a disadvantage because tall cagers are difficult to defend,” said Chee Wei, who stands only 1.70m (5’5’’).

“However, I will use other tactics such as move faster than them, defend aggressively and attack smartly and use more pick and roll to make up for the shortcomings.’’

Chee Wei has joined NS Matrix to compete in the third circuit of the Asean Basketball League (ABL) at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

He was chosen based on his good performance in the Major Basketball League where he was named as the player of the game a few times.

Chee Wei is grateful for the opportunity to compete in the third leg after missing the first in Singapore (Jan 2-8) and the second in Batam, Indonesia (Jan 12-18).

Despite his excitement about competing in this championship, Chee Wei admitted that it was not an easy task for him due to his overwhelming emotions and the limited time he had for team preparations.

“I’m very happy and grateful that Matrix coach Jeff Viernes gave me the opportunity to join them and compete in the ABL, the highest-level tournament that I’ve participated in so far,” added Chee Wei, who is currently studying for a diploma in Information Technology in UCSI University.

“I entered this championship with a learning mindset, hoping to learn from Matrix players, coach and also opponents.”“I had to attend classes during the first two circuits, so I could only start training with them after they returned from Indonesia.

“I think I didn’t perform well on court as I was nervous and didn’t know how to cooperate with my teammates and was afraid of making mistakes.

“I’m not used to their style of playing, unfamiliar with their strategy and couldn’t combine perfectly with them yet due to the short period of training together.

“But I will do my best to build chemistry with them and become familiar with their style and strategy.’’