The Singapore bench erupts in joy after beating Indonesia 71-68 to finish third at the SEABA Championship. (Photo 1 by Malacca Basketball Association)
Malacca, September 20-26, 2016 — Singapore defeated Indonesia 71-68 to secure the bronze at the 9th Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Championship for Women.
Singapore finished the seven-team tournament with a 4-2 win-loss record. Apart from Indonesia, they also beat Thailand (76-67), Laos (131-22), and Vietnam (92-32). Their losses came against the Philippines (43-69) and Malaysia (47-76).
“The feeling was great, amazing, awesome and everything nice,” said Singapore captain, Lim Jia Min. “Not so much about beating Indonesia but more like we fought really hard and earned ourselves a medal. It may only be bronze but I’m pretty sure if the spectators didn’t follow the games, they might have thought that we’ve won gold from our reactions after the game because that podium finish means a lot to us.”
Philippines, with a perfect 6-0 record, won the gold while Malaysia (5-1) finished with the silver.
Singapore had won the SEABA Championship in 2004 with a team that included six Chinese imports.
At the 2015 SEA Games held at home, Singapore had finished fifth out of six with a 1-4 record. Malaysia then had won the gold, Indonesia the silver, and Thailand the bronze.
“This Singapore team isn’t very different from 2015’s SEA Games squad, with only three changes, so the majority of them have actually trained together for a number of years,” said Leong Yin Yin, the Singapore team manager.
On the performance of the Filipinos at the SEABA Championship, Leong said, “I would say what gave them a leg up at SEABA is that they have a deep bench; everyone on their team can score, so their points off the bench is impressive. Our bench may not be as deep as theirs, but our women are not afraid to try and they work very hard.”
As for why Thailand went from a SEA Games bronze to fifth place with a 2-4 record at SEABA, Leong said, “Thailand didn’t send their SEA Games team, so the comparison cannot be made, but they still had some tall players and sharp shooters we had to be wary of.”
“Indonesia had pretty much the same line up as their SEA Games squad, much like we did. They were tough; it was a close fight all the way to the end with 13 lead changes and 11 times we tied. And I think really what gave us the edge over them was our great defense. We knew who the threats were and we closed them down,” said Leong.
“Like I said, our women were hungry and willing to work hard. They have their sights set on the 2017 SEA Games and that was a great motivational factor for nabbing a medal at this SEABA Championship,” added Leong.
A bronze-medal finish at the SEABA Championship strengthens the national women’s hope of getting approval from the Singapore National Olympic Council to play at the 2017 Malaysia SEA Games. Apart from the home SEA Games, Singapore women did not get SNOC’s approval to play at the 2013 and 2011 editions. There was no basketball at the 2009 Laos SEA Games. The last time a Singapore national women’s team played at an overseas SEA Games was the 2007 edition held in Thailand.
“We had a couple of memorable moments for the trip, apart from the pretty historic podium finish that we went crazy about,” reflected captain Lim.
“We came up with a team dance for the first time for the performance at the opening dinner and did pretty well even though we did not win the prize in the end. And not forgetting the party that we had after the competition. Fun and games over billiard and darts simply reinforces that sports is no doubt a platform to bring people together where friendships are formed.
“For me personally, being nominated for one of the top 5 players in the competition is extraordinary. It is truly my honor to be a part of that 5 and blessed to have the privilege to put Singapore on that stage. I couldn’t have done it without my team, I’m thankful for the opportunities and I hope we did us proud,” said Lim.
“Low moments throughout the trip would probably revolve around losing games and not playing well or not being good enough. I’m sure nobody likes to lose but that’s a good indicator to know more about our abilities and to identify correctable weaknesses. Now that we’re back, time to grind,” the captain added.
SEABA Championship Final Standings
1st Philippines (6-0)
2nd Malaysia (5-1)
3rd Singapore (4-2)
4th Indonesia (3-3)
5th Thailand (2-4)
6th Vietnam (1-5)
7th Laos (0-6)
Singapore’s record at the last four SEABA C’ships
2016 – 3rd out of 7
2014 – 3rd out of 3 (last)
2010 – 5th out of 5 (last)
2007 – 5th out of 5 (last)
Singapore Roster
Sharon Lee Mi Yun, Jacqueline Chu Jia Jia, Amanda Lim Zhi Yan, Lim Jia Min, Alanna Lim Rui Jia, Tang Choy Ting, Yukie Yoshida, Jayne Sarah Tan En-Min, Priscilla Han Meiqi, Koh Wei Bin, Cheryl Poon Shuwen, Shermaine See Kai Ting
Head coach – Kirk Murad
Assistant coach – Hannah Ho Yoke Mei
Team Manager – Leong Yin Yin
More photos next page
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