YOG basketball squads warm up at FIBA 33 challenge

Story by REDintern Ivan Ong. Photos by REDinterns Derek Quah and Thomas Tan

Scape Youth Park, Saturday, May 29, 2010 — With the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) approaching in less than three months, Singapore’s YOG boys’ and girls’ squads pitted their skills against older and tougher opponents at the 2010 Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS) 3-on-3 Challenge.

Played in two halves of five minutes, the tournament followed the rules of FIBA 33 where the first team to 33 points within the time limit wins the game. The playing court is half of a normal basketball court and the shot clock is 10 seconds.

“The purpose of this tournament was to act as a warm-up for the Youth Olympic Games,” said Mr Seah L.B., competition manager for this tournament. “Many of the YOG players are not accustomed to this three-on-three format and we hope they use this as a chance to get used to it.”

The tournament, held at Scape Youth Park, was played over two days on the last weekend of May.

The YOG Boys had their fortunes split in the morning’s matches. The quartet of Larry Liew, Jabez Su, Russel Low and Tan Jun Wei won their first match, registering a 27-16 victory over Tawaga, but were immediately brought back down to earth by Team Chew, a team which consists of older national youth players like Edwin Low and Ang Wei Xian. Team Chew won 25-18.

Decked out in the Republic’s trademark red outfit, the YOG Boys then overcame the Singapore All-Stars, the national under-18 squad, in the blistering afternoon heat. The YOG Boys raced to a 6-0 lead early in the first period, courtesy of impeccable shooting from Jabez Su (#4), who would later go on to amass a total of three 3-pointers in the match. The Singapore All-Stars team managed to narrow the gap, ending the first period trailing 8-12 to the YOG Boys.

As the second period wore on, however, the superior fitness of the YOG representatives saw them pull away, ending the game with a comfortable score of 32-12.

In a later match, the YOG Boys faced off against underdogs Tagawa again. The game started off with a flurry of missed shots and opportunities before Russel Low (#5) broke the deadlock a minute and a half into the game with a layup. Near-perfect shooting by the YOG Boys, betraying hours and hours spent training, saw the team garner a comfortable 14-6 lead at the interval. The YOG Boys continued the momentum, attaining an eight-point streak after the restart, extending their lead to 22-6. The game ended 22-8.

As the afternoon heat dissipated, giving way to the gentle warmth of the evening sun, what was perhaps the most interesting game of the tournament so far commenced. In their last match of the day, the YOG Boys were pitted against Team Chew again. Could the YOG Boys make up for their earlier 18-25 loss to the same team?

The game started off cagily with each team failing to get a clear advantage over another. Edwin Low (Team Chew #6), who single-handedly scored 10 points in the game, including five from the charity stripe and a 3-pointer, was instrumental in keeping his side in with a chance. The first period ended deadlocked at 12-12.

The game restarted just as it had ended — neck-and-neck. At this point, a bizarre turn of events ensued. A Team Chew player collapsed to the ground in agony, unable to continue playing.

Without any substitutes to replace him, Team Chew was forced to play with a handicap – two men against three. The YOG Boys wasted no time capitalizing on their numerical advantage, making full use of the court and stretching the remaining two players to their physical limit. The disparity was evident, as the YOG boys started on a 12-point scoring streak, extending their lead to 28-16. Team Chew were simply unable to keep up, and lost the game 21-34 as the YOG Boys exceeded the 33-point score limit, granting them automatic victory.

The girls’ YOG team had similar fortunes as their male counterparts. Despite competition from more established teams, the girls held on, emerging victorious in all but one of their matches.

In a match against Team T-Net, the YOG Girls fell victim to some careless defending, and trailed 2-4 early in the evenly-matched first period. However, they managed to claw their way back into the game to lead 16-12 at the interval.

The YOG Girls started the second period brightly, sinking a three-pointer amongst other well-placed shots. Team T-Net, not to be outdone, replied with another 3-pointer. Eventually, dogged attacking by T-Net saw them reduce the lead to a 19-21. The late introduction of team captain Hannah Ng (YOG Girls #4) proved to be the game’s turning point. Assisted by an array of solid passes, blocks and shots from the Raffles Institution player, the YOG Girls ended the game with a 12-point scoring streak, settling the score and game at 33-19.

In one of their other matches, the YOG Girls also triumphed over Team Comets. A taciturn start to the game gave way to a distinct ebb and flow between the two sides. The game momentum shifted hands constantly, each team having their moments at different points.

With the game tied at 5-5 two minutes in, a 10-point scoring run by the YOG Girls extended their lead to 15-5, only for the Comets to narrow it to 15-10 at the interval.

The start of the second half saw both sides scoring freely, albeit evenly, as the scores remained close. The YOG Girls led 25-22 and it seemed like the game was heading toward a nail-biting finish, but the YOG Girls held their ground, largely assisted by the intimidating physical presence of their centre Zoe Eng (#9). The game finished 30-24 in the YOG Girls’ favour.

Alanna Lim, who is part of the YOG Girls’ four-player squad, said: “I don’t think we played very well today, but we’ll try harder tomorrow!”

When asked about the level of competition she expected, she replied: “The real Youth Olympic Games will be much tougher. Today was just a warm-up. This tournament has given us some valuable exposure, including a chance to play against the senior women’s team.”

The girls lost their first and only game to the senior team 20-30. Overall the YOG Girls are placed second heading into the final day of competition, behind the senior women’s team, who are playing under the name Team Bingo.

YOG Girls v Bingo 1st Half

YOG Girls v Bingo 2nd Half

YOG Boys v Singapore Youth Boys 1st Half

YOG Boys v Singapore Youth Boys2nd Half

Singapore School Girls v T-Net 1st Half

Singapore Schools Girls v T-Net 2nd Half

Singapore Schools Boys v T-Net 1st Half

Singapore Schools Boys v T-Net 2nd Half