Hong Kong Eastern coach looking for beauty in simplicity ahead of new basketball season, but winning is still everything
- A new coach and new approach will guide city’s only professional side this season
- But dominance of local game will underpin what Mensur Bajramovic hopes to achieve with club
For Mensur Bajramovic the most beautiful basketball is often the simplest, and it is that ethos the new Hong Kong Eastern head coach wants to instil in his team.
But with the new domestic season starting on Wednesday, the Bosnian said he was still working to change attitudes at a club he only joined earlier this month, and called his team’s Senior Shield clash with Hon Friends “bad timing”.
Still, Bajramovic’s determination that the city’s only professional side should be a dominant force means developing that approach has to sit side-by-side with winning now.
“Changing players’ habits and the way they play require time, but at the same time, we have the obligation to win,” the 57-year-old said.
“So I am trying to get them ready to play, it’s not an easy job for me and the players, but we go on daily and try to be better than we were yesterday.”
Bajramovic, who guided local A1 Division rivals South China to play-offs champions in 2019 during his three-year stint with the team, also wants his players to be smart on the court – knowing when to shoot, drive, or pass.