“… there needs to be someone to work with the athletes in an elite environment …” Slingers head coach Frank Arsego

By Les Tan and Koh Yizhe

Frank Arsego took the Singapore Slingers to a 10-5 win-loss record and second place during the regular season of the ASEAN Basketball League. The Slingers eventually bowed out of the semi-final playoffs after going down 1-2 to Satria Muda BritAma in a best-of-three series.

Arsego resigned his position as head coach of the Slingers to return to Australia to be with his family. Before he left, he gave this exclusive interview to Red Sports.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: What’s your take on the basketball scene in Singapore?
Frank Arsego: The word I would use to describe the basketball industry in Singapore would be potential. I do see tremendous opportunity and potential for basketball in Singapore, especially for the men's side. They now have a fully professional team which young guys have something to aspire to within the region and the opportunity to represent Singapore.

There are also a lot of good foundational building blocks in place. Singapore has an established association, a good school system and basketball is one of the number one played sports in the schools. They also have a national team program as well as junior programs (U-15 and U-17 national teams). All these blocks mean … certain pathways for players to develop themselves and move into a professional environment.

But there needs to be someone to work with the athletes in an elite environment, bringing the athletes together with more coaching expertise. Also, to educate them in the skills required to be a professional athlete. If they (Singapore Basketball) can do that with the younger guys, before some of the little things like deciding their education paths and National Service in the later years, it would be great for basketball.

These programs have to be for the 13-18-year-olds. These ages are the most crucial for the athlete as these are the years that most greatly influence and develop the athlete. There might also be athletes of this age group that can go further up the learning scale because of their mentality and passion for the sport. It is for these athletes that there should be an elite training environment.

For the younger ones like those under 13, you want them to enjoy the sports and have fun. At the same time, it also needs to be educational where they are learning the basic fundamental steps to playing basketball in a fun environment. Then as they grow older, there is a more serious look at the development of the fundamentals in a more competitive environment.

The biggest thing would be to maximize the potential and this would be done by working with coaches to send the right messages to athletes to develop their fundamental skills and the whole package of the game.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: What are some of the highlights for you working with the Slingers?
Arsego: A personal highlight for me would be the opportunity to put together the first ABL team for Singapore.

Another, of course, was finishing second in the regular season with our 10-5 win-loss record. That was a very special highlight because it is an indication and a tremendous reward for the five and half months of work.

There were many smaller individual highlights during certain games and with players stepping up and delivering.

But the main highlight would be taking this group to another place of high standing within the region. Some say that the Slingers got where they are now because they have imports, but the reality is, every other team have imports as well. It was a very even playing field in my eyes and we move through all that with the resources that we have.

We climbed from where people think we might be, maybe fifth or sixth, to being one game from being the top team in the competition. So that, to me, was one very special highlight.

The final one would be having a group of guys, getting a product out of them and getting our basketball community in Singapore excited. The highlight would be creating a greater interest that might not have been there in the past and getting our name out there.

Last night I went to a function at Swissotel and the doorman grabbed me as I was getting out of the cab and said, "Slingers! I had a great time this season and I love the games! I can't wait for next season!"

When you meet people like that, you feel that you have made a connection through sports. A coach wants to be successful and win championships but if a coach doesn't make a connection with your fans, he is not really doing his job.

Another would be getting Singapore fans to learn how to be involved and learn from the other fans that come into the stadium. As we were fighting on the court, the fans were doing the same thing in the stands! Not in a physical manner, but you know what I mean!

Les Tan, redsports.sg: Did it cross your mind to bring your family over to Singapore?
Arsego: We have a unique family dynamics. I am really outgoing, love travelling and meeting new people. At home, we have my wife – who is the most beautiful girl in the world – who enjoys her job and love the people she is around. While I have my coaching career, she has her own career in human resources - and she is very good at what she does. So for her to come over would be a major decision. Then my son is entering college so his school environment is very important to us.

For us, it wouldn't be a pack-your-bags-and-leave decision. There are a lot of things to consider.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: Why did Hong Wei Jian get the Slingers’ Most Improved Player* award?
Arsego: At the start of the season, he was part of our starting five. Midway through the season, we wanted to give other players an opportunity to show their mental toughest or skills and some did have their moments. But eventually, Wei Jian became the most consistent.

He had the ability to come in and make something happened - whether it was good all the time is debatable, but he always came in with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence. Generally, I would say, good things happened when he came on. From that point of view of being able to play at a consistent level, he showed me that he was developing himself into a player that could be relied on.

Wei Jian has an inner confidence - something inside him that sets him apart from the other boys. If that was to come out and spread throughout the group, that would help the group further along. His improvement was also able to be shown during the ABL competition and that made him a worthy candidate.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: How about Marcus Ng? Why did he deserve the Best Defensive Player* award?
Arsego: He was a guy that was regularly expected to match up with one of the imports from the other team. I think his competitive nature and his defensive fundamentals warrant him as our best defensive player.

People think that imports that are brought in are expected to have 20 points every game, but Marcus brought another dimension to the group that helped us immensely. Going to every game knowing that you have to defend the best player - it requires a mental toughness and characteristic about you.

There's no question that throughout the season if Marcus had not done certain things, games would not have went the ways we wanted to.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: How about Jeffers? An automatic choice for Most Valuable Player*?
Arsego: When people think MVP, they automatically go to the stats, the numbers, and what happen on the court. But with Kyle, he could give us the numbers consistently, and also contributed to the team in other ways. He would only be second to Jason Dixon in relation to what Jason did for the Patriots. It was about where the team went with having him as our center.

There was a lot that Kyle did behind the scene that was really important for the club. Most importantly, it was what he did on the court but not only that, his work ethics, being role model for the local boys and an ambassador for the Slingers to the schools and community, made him a really worthy choice.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: What are the Slingers doing for youth development?
Arsego: I think there are some preliminary plans in the works, but I am not too sure about that. If someone gave me six youth players as part of Slingers' academy, I would definitely spend time with them. In a roundabout way, I sort of did.

With the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS), I spend time with the U-17 boys and some lads that might be playing in the YOG (Youth Olympic Games) and realistically, they are potentially future Slingers. So it wasn't exactly a Slingers academy, but just spending some time with the boys which could move into something more structural - something where time is set aside for professional coaches giving guidance or whatever is need. I like to think something like this is being done behind the scene and maybe during the off season.

Les Tan, redsports.sg: How would you compare Singapore with other ASEAN countries?
Arsego: Everyone who is in sports knows that it is a work in progress in Singapore. Form a cultural perspective, sport is not a high priority. It is there, as a means for people to have recreational activity, but the actually ability to drive athletes to an elite level and take them forward is only just starting to come around. The Singapore Sports Council and people that work at that level of the sport are keen to introduce sports as part of the culture.

It just needs to find some great souls that want to make a commitment to sports. Having a structure like the ABL definitely helps.

Although there are full-time jobs for coaches, but it is just a job. What they need to do is to ask, "Can I take a person that is in this school and move him through to the possible pathway of the national U-17 and then the national team and then the Slingers? Can I do that? Do I have the time, the knowledge, the skills to move certain players to that level? Or is my agenda just to be successful for a year then find other good players for the school?"

I don't blame coaches if they think like that, but if you want athletes to be prepared to play professionally, it has to be more than that. Whether it be through the BAS creating training centres, or the Singapore Sports Council creating an institute where basketball is a chosen sport where an athlete can study the sport full time - whichever would be fantastic.

I am a bit disappointed that basketball isn't one of the sports in the Singapore Sports School because there are boys that can really benefit from that kind of environment. © Red Sports

*These are awards given out by the Slingers management. They are not ABL awards.