Basketball: Hosts Singapore off to brilliant start - Seagame 28 news

Men's: Myanmar struggle to contain host 

With the recent injury of a key player in the team, Singapore managed to hold their own against an up and coming Basketball threat in South East Asia, Myanmar.

Shengyu Lim, suffering from a torn ligament in his right ankle which kept him from participating in the 2015 SEABA Championships, came back just in time to contribute to the Singapore team at the 28th SEA Games.

The Singapore Men’s Basketball team won Myanmar in a 131-33 beat-down in the men’s preliminary rounds. The game was dominated by Singapore from the moment the first-quarter began. The point difference kept extending throughout the quarters and Singapore did not let-up the gas. Guard Russel Low and Captain Desmond Oh shared the brunt of the points with 17 and 16 respectively.

When asked if he was satisfied with Sheng Yu’s performance after the injury, Neo Beng Siang, Coach of the team said: “Actually Sheng can give us a lot more, but he’s a bit conservative on both ends especially on defense. If he can really stand out in defense he’ll be better for us.”

In the other match Thailand beat Cambodia 78-66 and Indonesia beat Timor-Leste 135-21.

 Enguio Ebrahim Lopez blocking a shot. Photo by Edwin Koh/SINGSOC

Women's: Singapore Overcomes Vietnam

In the game of basketball, where a single point can be the difference between victory and defeat, many may think that the best way to ensure a victory is to activate the after burners and dedicate all the efforts of the team into making baskets, but that may not exactly be the way to win at times.

The Singapore Women’s Basketball team edged their Vietnam rivals in the round robin with a score of 99-58. The heated match saw many skirmishes and fouls committed by both sides in an attempt to get the upper hand, but Singapore managed to maintain the lead that they held in the first quarter. The Vietnamese played their hearts out in the next three quarters, but could not close the large gap.

Singapore forward, Sarah Tan, who contributed 33 points, a third of their total, said: “I don’t think we think about points when it comes to these games. Defense is always more important."

"We went into foul trouble every quarter. We definitely should not be in that situation especially when we are leading," she added. "We should be doing better in our defence and our offence always comes from defence."

Adding that the team probably could help each other a bit more and communicated better on defence, Tan believes that watching their fouls committed would serve the team beter in future matches.

Sarah, who has never played Vietnam before, also added that the win was a definite morale booster, but that they were not going to take things easy and rest on their laurels for the other matches because it will progressively get more tiring as the tournament progresses.

When asked what her team’s expectations for the SEA games, she said, "We are definitely aiming for a bronze. I think for all of us, for most of us, this is the first time competing at the SEA games so a bronze would be really great for us."

In the other women’s match Thailand beat the Philippines 62-57 and Malaysia beat Indonesia 70-45.