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