Women’s basketball team hope bronze-medal success paves way to SEA Games nod

SINGAPORE – Please send us to next year’s South-east Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur because we think we can win a historic medal there.

That’s the message that the Singapore national women’s basketball team wants to send to the Singapore National Olympic Council after finishing third at the South-east Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Women’s Championships in Malacca last week.

In the seven-nation tournament, the Republic pulled off surprise wins over strong teams like 2015 SEA Games silver and bronze medallists Indonesia (71-68) and Thailand (76-67) respectively en route to their podium finish.

Traditional powerhouse the Philippines won the tournament while reigning SEA Games champions winners Malaysia finished second.

With their bronze-medal capture, the Singapore team are hoping to boost their case to be sent for the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Last year’s SEA Games on home soil was the first time in eight years that Singapore sent a team for the women’s basketball competition.

Prior to that, the last time the women’s team took part in the biennial Games was in 2007. Singapore did not win a medal on both occasions, and finished fifth out of six teams last year.

“It is not a nice feeling to be snubbed again and again for the SEA Games, and to watch athletes from other sports getting to go for it instead,” said Singapore captain Lim Jia Min. “So we wanted to prove a point at this SEABA Championships.

“We are very happy that we’ve bagged a medal because hopefully, this will boost our case for (inclusion in) the 2017 SEA Games.

“We played our hearts out and trained very hard for the 2015 SEA Games, but the results weren’t what we wanted.

“The SEA Games is like the biggest tournament to us, and we want to go for it for a second consecutive time.”

The Singapore national women’s cagers - unlike their male counterparts - usually have just one competition to look forward to each year: either the SEABA Championships, or an overseas invitational tournament.

In contrast, the players in the national men’s basketball team get more playing opportunities in a year.

Many of them are part of the professional Singapore Slingers team that competes in the Asean Basketball League.

The Slingers also recently participated in the Merlion Cup, the international club tournament which was revived after a 20-year hiatus, and which is set to be an annual fixture.

The men’s team also competed in last year’s SEA Games and South-east Asian Championships, winning a bronze at both tournaments and also took part in this year’s Asian Championships.

“It is not easy, because we don’t (want to) train five times a week for nothing,” said Lim, 25. “We want to gain experience and exposure, and get out there to compete.”

Thanks to their newly-won bronze medal, and new national coach Kirk Murad’s arrival in June, team confidence and optimism have surged. American Murad was previously the coach of the women’s basketball team at Windham Technical High School in the United States, and was in charge of a local basketball club here before he joined the Basketball Association of Singapore.

According to the players, they are hoping that Murad will take them to a historic SEA Games medal, and that he will stay on as their head coach for long. The team has had several coaching disruptions over the years, as they seen a change in head coach “every one or two years.”

“I think we are now playing with a lot of confidence and with a mission, because we have our eyes on making it for the 2017 SEA Games. Our goal is to definitely to medal, and if we can sneak in a silver, that will be great,” said Cheryl Poon, 29.

“As long as the players are hungry and dedicated, the sky’s the limit for them,” said Murad.