By Ian Chew
Singapore Basketball Centre, Tuesday, June 2, 2009 – There is a quiet revolution going on in the Singapore National Men’s basketball team.
Explained head coach Neo Beng Siang: “Of the team that has been representing Singapore for the past years, only two senior players are left (Pathman and Michael Wong).”
“In their places, we have exciting young talents in the form of Steven Khoo, Wong Wei Long, Desmond and Wei Jian, just to name a few. They are easily the most committed bunch of players I have seen so far in my years as the national coach.”
The injection of new talent into the Singapore national basketball scene certainly bodes well for its future, especially for the upcoming SEABA (South East Asian Basketball Association) tourmanent in Jakarta, Indonesia from 4-10 June.
The top two finishers in the competition will guarantee themselves a spot in the Asian Basketball Tournament later this year.
Yet there is more at stake apart from qualification for the Asian tournament and playing on a bigger stage.
“We also hope that a good performance in the competition will act as a springboard for the upcoming SEA Games in Vietnam,” he continued.
The Singapore men’s basketball team has failed to earn a place in the South-East Asian (SEA) Games for quite some time.
Pitted against regional powerhouses Philippines and Malaysia as well as hosts Indonesia calls for some realistic expectations of the local boys though, especially in the current state of renewal.
“We are taking the tournament one game at a time,” said Pathman, easily the team’s most experienced player who also features regularly in the professional Slingers team.
Schedule of matches:
6 Jun (Sat) @ 8pm: Indonesia v Singapore
7 Jun (Sun) @ 6pm: Singapore v Malaysia
8 Jun (Mon) @ 6pm: Singapore v Philippines
9 Jun (Tue) @ 6pm: Final
SEABA 2009 Men Basketball Team
4 Edwin Low – Guard
5 Wong Wei Long – Guard
6 Tan Chin Hong – Forward
7 Lim Min Jie – Forward
8 Desmond Oh – Forward
9 Lim Hong Meng – Centre
10 Hong Wei Jian – Forward
11 Wong Soon Yuh – Forward/Guard
12 Teo Chun Hoe – Centre/Forward
13 Steven Khoo – Centre
14 Lim Wai Sian- Forward/Centre
15 Pathman – Centre
See highlights of the training session – Game 1:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrepgLgTb9c
See highlights of the training session – Game 2:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aieFX-R6mCo
the very basic fact that singapore basketball cant achieve much is because our government is a selfish government . they are not giving the BAS enough budget to organise matches to give fees for referees .. a normal school in secondary school , loses in first round will get only to play 5 DAMN ROUNDS IN A YEAR ! look at it !! . 5 rounds .. the government not giving enough budget to school to get more coaches and upgrade the coaches .. i believe everything thing we learn in school should have an industry in singapore . the government is giving a false impression that sports are going to grow in here .. damn it ..
Distillers is the Champ for BBAXN 2008/9
if they can be thrashed by AAA ….
How can they match A div teams…?????
I will buy national team to win them by more than 20 pts despite having shorter players….
Francis: Are you sure no team in Singapore can beat the BEST Filipino team here??? I think you need to check the BBAXN website as there’s a team(AAA Basketball Club) in Season 7 (in 2008) who has beaten them in all 3 games they met with big margin.
http://bbaxn.com/fixturesdivarchive.asp?leagueNo=83&divNo=1
Fan…you have to accept the fact that Singapore will still have a long way to be a winning team in South East Asia. its not about the players or the coaches…its the system. philippines, malaysia and indonesia have a pro leagues…and players are paid well just to play basketball…that is whats not in singapore. you have S-League (football), but no pro-basketball…so, who would take basketball really seriously? only the real basketballers i guess…and those are not even tall players…
if you watch NBL in singapore, there are not much tall players. i even think that no Div. 1 team here can go up against the best Filipino team here (Distillers)…coz this team’s got height and skills…and experience as well…
expose the national team to teams like these…let them compete even in the filipino leagues here (as guest team), just for them to gain the experience, the rough play…dirty tactics… would really help make them ready…
.. well say..u ask michael jordan coach also no use la…our tallest player only Pathman…how to compete with those like kerby raymando? i think Kerby will eat him alive…
player standard is just not there la…sad to say..
I’m very disappointed with the Singapore’s basketball team. You have let us down time and time again. We don’t need to groom a homogeneous team, cuz it can’t win. I’ve just look through the shot selection and I realised that everyone is taking about the same number of shots. You mean the team has no go-to-guy or dependable scorer to take on the scoring load?
Singapore’s basketball needs to wake up. Stop playing nice and lose games. Be more aggressive and we can beat Philippines. We don’t lose much in skills. We lose in heart.
in my opinion singapore national team doesnt have enough exposure.we should have our very own proffesional league.if not,we will be losing year in year out,giving the same excuses.the coach doesnt matter,it’s the team.the PLAYERS.even if u call phil jackson(LA Lakers) to coach the singapore team,i’m sure there wouldnt be much of a difference.simply put,there is not enough games for players to improve.how many games do we have per year?compared to the other neighbouring countries?the difference in the number of games is beyond imagination.
y not, Gyus, u give some suggestions of coaches that can bring the team to glory…come on shoot…
all coaches want the best for their team of course. if singapore only has a league that would have at least 30 games per team per year…i think it would improve singapore basketball. also, if there would only be a company or individual that would finance the national team on a long term basis, then it would really be helpful. the Philippine Developmental Team under the SBP is sponsored by quite a few companies. The players have 3yr contracts and would compete internationally more often than the usual. with a similar program, singapore national team would gain the exposure and experience they would need in order to be competitive enough in the international arena.
the current line-up is good. i have watched them play and they have good potential given the right exposure. I have to mention Steven to be one of the most consistent players in the recently concluded NBL Div.1. its no wonder they won the crown. path should work more on his speed. among the players, he’s had the most experience playing internationally/competitively.
lets just hope all the best for the future of singapore basketball. i may not be singaporean, but am saying this for the love of the game…
tell me which coach doesn’t want the best for their team?
no offense but i totally agree with Francis. in our time now, its all about commitment, supports from management etc. ought to look at the efforts the players put in, they could have use it to achieve more things in life. why should they get stuck in this never arising game? its sad, but we should continue to give them our support.
for we love this game, for the passion we have. don’t be critical in just thinking coach is not good enough nor deserving players ought to be in the national squad. they deserve to be if they wants to work their way up. lingering around and expecting to be in the squad.?
basketball is never a fair game, good players get all the good stuff. its feels terrible ‘warming’ the bench! take up the challenge then. train hard!
Heard that Coach Neo going to quit national team after this tournament?? Is it true??
gyus: I have worked with coach Neo in Div. 1 NBL, and he’s a very good coach. If you know basketball well, you have to take a look at many aspects of a team. Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia all have regular pro-leagues, and they put in their nationals the pros. Singapore only has the NBL and its just about 8 games a year…look at the experience, the height and the skills. How can a 5″6 point guard go up against a 6’1″ point guard? How can a 5’9″ small forward go up against a 6’4″ small forward…totally a mismatch. Singapore only has Path, Steven and Hong Meng who are above 6 feet. and all are playing center. Philippines has a 6’8″ forward and a 6’10” center. How can you win against a team with players who play almost all year round…
Malaysia has the same…they have the height…and so as Indonesia.
In all fairness, Singapore lost to Malaysia by only 12pts. and against Indonesia by 14pts…I was expecting a 60++pt blow out by the Philippines…but they lost by 48. I believe, coach Neo has done a great job the fact that the members of the Singapore national team either have a day jobs, or students. They all have done a great sacrifice and hard work.
BAS should give a big support to the coming Asean Pro League. This would give the local players (for the Slingers) the experience they would need to become competitive in the international arena…at least in SEA.
Conclusion is, its not about Coach Neo…its about the experience of the team…the competitiveness…
gyus : can you even coach? goodness, sounds like your so against the national squad where everyone one else want the best for them.
everyone is trying really hard to move this game to a higher level in singapore. doubt you can even make your way up national squad i suppose.
Its unbelievable that the Neo Beng Siang who has not won ANYTHING at all with the National Team is still reamining as the National Coach.
Till now the national team has no result since he took over in 2001. BAS must think that he is Alex Ferguson as it took Fergie 8 seasons as manager to finally win his first championship.
Any comments ….
This is a young team, hope they could use this tourney as a learning experience.
Wow.. What a good outing for Singapore.. Hopefully, BAS can continue to keep the squad and also add new players (Hopefully well-deserved players will be call up) : )
Hi,
Here are the results for the round robin.
June 6 Malaysia 73–100 Philippines Angkasapura Lanud Hall, Medan
June 6 Singapore 65–79 Indonesia Angkasapura Lanud Hall, Medan
June 7 Singapore 70–82 Malaysia Angkasapura Lanud Hall, Medan
June 7 Philippines 103–64 Indonesia Angkasapura Lanud Hall, Medan
June 8 Singapore 69–117 Philippines Angkasapura Lanud Hall, Medan
June 8 Malaysia 67–74 Indonesia
Guys,
Here are the link that you can view the stats for Phi vs Sin.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8505/statsgame3.jpg