Big tournament, slim hopes

SINGAPORE — The Republic’s men’s basketball team is set to make a return to the FIBA Asia Championship this month after a 14-year hiatus, but preparations for the biennial competition in Hunan, China, have not gone according to plan for the cagers.

Among the chief concerns facing head coach Neo Beng Siang is the loss of four key players ahead of the Sept 23 to Oct 3 tournament. Rising stars Larry Liew and Wu Qingde are serving National Service, while Khaw Yeong Wooi and towering forward Russel Low have been kept busy with work and studies, respectively.

The quartet were part of the Singapore team that finished third at the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Championship in May — a result that earned the Republic a berth at the Asia Championships — as well as the bronze-medal winning SEA Games squad.

Neo also revealed that the attendance for the national team’s training sessions has dwindled drastically since they resumed in July after a month of rest and recovery following the SEA Games. Only 10 players, or about half the squad, turn up for each session, on average, he said.

“Our preparation for the Asia Championship has been far from ideal,” said Neo, who is considering stepping down after his contract with the Basketball Association of Singapore finishes in February. “Now that the SEA Games is over, a lot of these players cannot commit to training full time and have other commitments like work and studies to fulfil.

“So players can’t come on a regular basis and sometimes we have less than 10 players coming for training, which makes it hard to work on things like team play,” Neo said. “But these are circumstances beyond my control. I can only send out the training schedule in advance and rely on the players to manage their time to make it for training.”

Added co-captain Desmond Oh, 29, who is expected to lead the team in China: “I feel the team is still very raw at the moment because of the poor attendance and commitment. We gelled well together with the four players who left us, and it’s quite challenging to re-form the team, especially ahead of a tough competition like the Asia Championships.”

The FIBA Asia Championships will see Singapore taking on Group C opponents Jordan, South Korea and China. The top three teams in each of the four groups will progress to the next round, with the winner of the tournament qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Among the notable names set to feature in the tournament include former NBA stars Ha Seung-Jin of South Korea, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2004 to 2006, and Iranian Hamed Haddadi, who previously turned out for the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns.

In the face of such strong competition, Singapore forward Ng Han Bin admits modest targets have been set for the team.

“It has been a long time since Singapore has competed in this competition, so this is a good chance for us to see where we stand against the rest of Asia,” he said.

“Realistically speaking, we’ll find it hard to win any of our games but that doesn’t mean we will go out with the mindset of just minimising our losses.”

Despite the recent setbacks to preparations, Neo insists he will stay positive and is hopeful his charges can spring an upset or two during the tournament.

“I’m expecting a very tough time in China,” he said. “But the team is training hard and I’ll be upping the intensity soon to get them in shape for the tournament.”