Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Clara Yuan/Red Sports and Laura Lee/Red Sports
Delvin Goh (SIN #23) competes with Oo Aung Kyaw (MYA #14) for the rebound. Delvin managed to tip the ball towards him before it fell into the possession of team Myanmar. (Photo 1 © Laura Lee/Red Sports)
OCBC Arena, Tuesday, June 9, 2015 — Seven players scored in double digits while all Singaporeans made the score sheet as Singapore started their Southeast Asian (SEA) Games basketball tournament in blistering fashion, beating Myanmar 131-33.
A balanced and accurate scoring effort by Singapore was key the victory as Singapore shot 60 percent from the field. Centres Russel Low and Delvin Goh were joint-top scorers with 17 points each while Desmond Oh scored 16 points. Larry Liew, Lim Sheng Yu and SEA Games debutant Leon Kwek picked up 15 each. Another rookie, Khaw Yeong Wooi, netted 11 as well.
Said Leon after his first match of the SEA Games, “I was really nervous at the start but I felt I was not alone playing out there. I had the country, the fans, and the home crowd behind me. As the game went on, the nervousness left me. I really need to thank coach Neo for the opportunity. Defensively, I can do a lot more and I have a lot to improve on.”
Singapore sprinted to a 12-0 lead at the start of the match before Myanmar scored their first point after 3 minutes and 15 seconds. That, however, did little to change the direction of the match as the outside shooting of Liew, coupled with the inside presence of Russel Low, was simply too much to handle for the visitors. Singapore accumulated a 41–10 lead after 10 minutes.
Neo opted to give Singapore’s bench players time in the second quarter and they seized the opportunity, adding to Singapore’s lead. Leon Kwek, playing in his first ever SEA Games, was particularly impressive, scoring six points in the second half as the team grew in confidence.
Singapore led 77-20 at the half, shooting 73 percent from 2-point range.
Much of the same followed in third quarter as Singapore walked through Myanmar’s defence. A layup from captain Desmond Oh with one minute remaining in the third broke the 100-point mark, putting Singapore 101-26 up.
Sheng Yu, coming back from injury, completed his double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds in the fourth quarter as more players scored in double digits in the final period as Singapore eased to a 131-33 win.
“I would say so,” said head coach Neo Beng Siang, when asked if this was the perfect start to the SEA Games.
“We wanted to give everyone court time and get everyone warmed up for this tournament. We are taking one game at a time and we did not want to sit the starters too long because we needed to warm them up too. Some of the players need more confidence, they put too much pressure on themselves and need to work on that. This match was good for that,” added Neo.
Singapore will hope to continue their good work in the next match against Vietnam on Wednesday, June 10 at 8pm.
“We still need to work on our defense in our coming match,” said joint-top scorer Delvin. “I don’t think we are celebrating this win. This match was a good win for us, but we can’t lay back. Instead, we must keep focusing on the next game.”
Scoring by Quarter
1st Quarter: 41–10
2nd Quarter: 36–10 (77–20)
3rd Quarter: 25–6 (102–26)
4th Quarter: 29–7 (131–33)
Singapore Roster
Desmond Oh (#2), Wong Wei Long (#5), Wu Qingde (#7), Toh Qing Huang (#8), Leon Kwek (#10), Larry Liew (#11), Lim Sheng Yu (#12), Khaw Yeong Wooi (#13), Russel Low (#15), Ng Hanbin (#17), Delvin Goh (#23), Tan Chin Hong (#83)
Myanmar Roster
Wai Yan (#5), Aung Myint (#7), Justin 1 (#9), Zar Ni Tun (#10), Ah Chan (#11), Aung Phyo Wai (#12), Nay Myo Min (#13), Aung Kyaw Oo (#14), Kaung Myat Aye (#15)
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