AYG FIBA 33 Basketball: Singapore boys beat Uzbekistan to claim first victory

Story by Alan Chiang/Red Sports. Photos by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports and Vanessa Lim/Red Sports

Anglican High School, Thursday, July 2, 2009 - Donning the famous red Singapore jerseys, our nation's boys posted their first victory in the Asian Youth Games FIBA 33 basketball competition with a convincing 34-9 win over Uzbekistan.

They reached the 33-point mark within the regulation time and had more than two minutes of play to go on.

Feeling no sense of fatigue even though they played and lost to China yesterday, the boys started brightly as Russel Low (#5) won the tip and scored Singapore's first points of the game. The duo of Jabez Su (#4) and Larry Liew (#11) also made their mark with their 6 and 3-point contributions respectively in the first period. Moreover, they managed to silence their opponents as they led 14-0 after the first period.

Uzbekistan came into the game early in the second period with the first two points coming from Khabibulin Al-Shakhinc (#14), their most productive source in the centre. But Singapore’s captain Jabez answered accordingly with a strong drive to the basket. Khabibulin had more chances cancelled out after missing two free throws and a shot ruled out for a shot-clock violation.

With 1:33 left, Russel took a breather as Goh Kong Tat (#12) was introduced. He came on to good effect as he combined well with his Catholic High schoolmate Jabez for more valuable points. Singapore's lead quickly extended to 22 points at the end of the second period.

However, Uzbekistan improved their game and began the final period with positive plays. An under-basket attempt from Shengeliya Vladislav (#8), together with an acrobatic shot from Kotlomeer Yuriy (#5) propelled Uzbekistan to a 4-0 run. But their efforts were cancelled out by Larry who was on target from beyond the 3-point line. He made three consecutive from downtown to take Singapore's tally to 34 points even before the end of the final period.

This victory has certainly built confidence among the Singapore squad after a disappointing game against China yesterday.

Singapore’s captain Jabez was relieved with the victory, and he said, "We did our best and played more as a team." He added, "I guess we performed better today partly because our momentum kept us going."

He also reserved some comments for his opponents, stating that, "Both sides had equal chances to win and they (Uzbekistan) showed good fighting spirit."

Larry Liew, who contributed 17 points in the victory, said his training sessions paid off, "Whenever I'm free, I will go to the nearest basketball court to practice shooting for at least 1 to 2 hours."

Neo Nam Kheng, the Singapore coach who was delighted with the win, said, "We were confident to win this match as compared to the China's game yesterday."

He definitely did his homework and briefed the boys on various tactics to stop today's opponents. He said, "We know that they (Uzbekistan) will double-team Russel in the paint, so we asked him to pass the ball out to Larry and Jabez to shoot."

On the next opponent, India, he said, "They are a team who focus on shooting and penetrating the paint, a very different perspective compared to China."

Match Statistics:
Scores by period:
1st: UZB 0 - SIN 14
2nd: UZB 3 - SIN 11
3rd: UZB 6 - SIN 9

Scorers:
UZB
Khabibulin Al-Shakhinc (#14) - 4 points
Kotlomeer Yuriy (#5) - 3 points
Shengeliya Vladislav (#8) - 2 points

SIN
Larry Liew (#11) - 17 points
Jabez Su (#4) - 12 points
Russel Low (#5) - 5 points