KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Dragons coach Chris Thomas took a sly dig at Saigon Heat's foreign-laden roster as they prepare to face the Vietnamese club in an Asean Basketball League match at the Maba Stadium on Wednesday.
With up to seven-foreign born players in the Saigon squad, Thomas could not resist having a go at a team heavily dependent on foreign talent.
"I hope all seven have their US passports with them, I hope they all get through security (immigration clearance) in time. That is a little bit of travel advice for them because the lines can be very long," said Thomas after Sunday's 84-74 win over Formosa Dreamers in Kuala Lumpur.
"I'm serious, I'm not joking around. We're going to have a blast. We're going to be ready. The rules are what they are and they are not doing anything wrong with having seven imports."
Saigon have American Maxie Esho and Jamaican Akeem Scott in their roster as well as Americans Moses Morgan and Michael Williams, with Thai and Filipino heritage respectively, who qualify under the Asean import quota.
David Arnold, who previously played as an Asean import, joins American-born Vietnamese Stefan Nguyen and Horace Nguyen in meeting requirements to be classified as local players.
In contrast to the Heat, Thomas is happy to play his local players, epitomised with Ivan Yeo playing over 30 minutes as cover for AJ West when the American was in foul trouble against Formosa.
"We'll be on full steam ahead on Wednesday and give the home crowd a good performance. Don't think for one second that I don't have the equivalent of seven imports," said Thomas.
"I'm proud of my roster, I'm proud of my Malaysian guys. I'll play the locals because you can win basketball games in many ways. Our style is one way and their style is another way."
The Dragons (2-4) are looking to build on their first home court win of the season while the Heat (4-2) handed Chong Son Kung Fu their first defeat with a 96-93 win on Saturday.