By reader Steven

Since the tip off of the National Basketball League (NBL) on April 10th, we have seen exciting close games between old rival powerhouse teams and the return of our local Slingers. The intensity of the competition is definitely higher as compared to last year.

The teams have put in effort and hard training and basketball fans definitely appreciate the show they have been putting on so far. A round of applause is due to all these teams and their coaches.

I’ve decided to do a short compilation of all teams and hope that this post will encourage more readers to know about our local basketball scene and come down to the Singapore Basketball Centre to support them.

Whye Nam (win-loss record: 2-2)

Once a household name in the local basketball scene, the team has gone through a lot of ups and downs throughout their history and have finally gotten promotion back into DIvision 1 this year.

Hong Weijian, who plays for the Singapore Slingers, plays for Whye Nam. A young team with a strong offense and pace, they are led by Weijian and two Filipino players in their attacks and so far they have been rather effective.

They beat strong local teams Tong Whye (92-72) Minyi (91-79) in their first two games but then lost to last year runners-up Home United (67-92) and Siglap 47-74.

Can their combination of play continue to lead them through to the semi-finals? If their combination play proved to be effective for the remaining rounds, they are one of the favourites to proceed to the semi-final stage.

Tong Whye (win-loss record: 1-3)

Tong Whye is a traditional powerhouse that used to produce many elite local basketball players. This year, they have revamped with many youngsters coming in to replace departing experienced players.

The experienced Slinger Pathman Matialakan still plays for Tong Whye to guide the team but presently it does not look good for them with so many inexperienced youngsters up against the old boys who have been playing for years in the league.

One of their upcoming youngsters is Jabez Su Ming Rong who is in the Youth Olympic Games national basketball team but Tong Whye will still more years to nurture their batch of youngsters.

Here is hoping that they can survive the onslaught from the experienced players in order not to get relegated to Division 2.

Min Yi (win-loss record: 2-2)

The Min Yi squad is well known for its strong determination and synergy. The team are playing without Wong Wei Long and Mingjie because of National Service commitments, as well as Wei Xiang because of injuries. Touted as relegation candidates, they have proved critics wrong with their play so far.

Weilong and Wei Xiang were part of the Slingers squad for the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League season but their absence is now filled by two national players, Edwin Low and Tan Hong Guang, who have done pretty well so far.

With the team determined to do well and their fast-pace game, could they just clinch a berth in the final four and just maybe, even win the championship?

Chong Ghee Sports Club (win-loss record: 0-4)

Despite all their losses so far, you have to give this Chong Ghee team credit for their never-say-die spirit.

They are a bunch of youngsters who are determined and cohesive. In terms of experience they may lose out, but they stand out with their passion for the game.

They never give teams they play an easy way out and fight point for
point, playing all the way to the last seconds. I would say they lose with pride and honour and though things are not looking good for them at the moment, who knows, they might just create a major upset in the remaining rounds.

SAFSA (win-loss record: 2-2)

The SAFSA team this year is new with many players from last year’s championship-winning team having departed.

SAFSA have drafted in Wong Wei Long, Lim Ming Jie and other familiar faces from the schools’ A Division basketball scene who are now in National Service.

This team is different from last year’s squad and their play revolves around Wei Long. They bank on outwitting opponents with their intensity of play and though they lack of experience, they managed to create an upset in their last game, beating the Eng Tat Hornets 89-86 after a devastating 58-85 loss to Home United earlier.

Will they be able to pick themselves up just like last year where they won their remaining games, clinched a berth in the final four and eventually became champions?

Siglap (win-loss record: 3-1)

Siglap are a much stronger team as compared to last year. A minor revamp was done when they brought in many good players like Slinger Steven Khoo, Hanbin and Derrick Aw Chi Tong to supplement an already talented squad.

Siglap are definitely one of the hot favourites for a final four berth. Though this team seemed to switch on and off at times during the games, they have managed to pull off a win most of the time so far.

Eng Tat Hornets (win-loss record: 2-2)

The Eng Tat Hornets are one of the powerhouse team led by Neo Beng Siang, the current coach of the Singapore national team.

This team is very well supported, with a lot of female fans cheering for them in their every games. Their performances so far though have been on and off. Despite having many good young players, they have not been playing well consistently.

Their wins depend a lot on senior players Ronglie and ex-Slinger Michael Wong. Slinger Desmond Oh also has not been putting in his usually good performances in the past few games.

After losing 86-89 to SAFSA, the Hornets picked themselves up fast to thrash Min Yi 80-58.

Given their experience, they should be able to make it for the final four. The question is, can they beat their nemesis, Home United, the team they have lost to in the past few years?

Home United (win-loss record: 4-0)

Home United are unbeaten so far in the NBL. They have come back stronger this year and are giving more opportunities for their youngsters to play the game. The team is a formidable blend of new and blood.

Koh Meng Koon is once again the guy to look out for in the team. Despite his injuries during the first game, he came back stronger in the next two to lead his team to big wins over SAFSA (85-58) and Whye Nam (92-67).

Once again, they are widely tipped as the hot favourites to win this year’s NBL if they continue to put in this overwhelming performance.

But will they once again let slip the championship if another SAFSA-like team were to appear like last year?

For fixtures and results, go to http://nbl.redsports.sg/