SEA Games Basketball: Singapore beat Indonesia by 14 points for 2nd straight win

The Singapore players celebrate their win over Indonesia. Back row (from left to right): Delvin Goh, Khaw Yeong Wooi, Lim Shengyu, Larry Liew, Hong Weijian, Russel Low. Front row (from left to right): Chase Tan, Desmond Oh, Qu Qingde, Ng Hanbin, Wong Wei Long, Jabez Su. (Photo by Hugh Lim. Used with permission)

Myanmar, Thursday, December 12, 2013 – Singapore won their second straight game when they beat Indonesia 62–48 in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games basketball tournament. Indonesia had finished third in the 2011 edition of the Games. The win showed that their earlier victory over Malaysia on Tuesday was no fluke and improved Singapore to a 2–2 win-loss record. Singapore now sit at the top of the table. Singapore lost their first two games to Thailand (3–0) and defending champions Philippines (2–0) who have played fewer games so far. Thailand finished second in 2011.

Lim Shengyu said: “Following painful defeats to Indonesia and Malaysia in 2011, we worked hard for two years so that it will not happen again. We went into the game with the belief that we will beat this team with the confidence that we had after beating Malaysia. The entire team performed well today.”

Team manager Joe So said: “Defense on their point and shooting guards by Larry Liew and Desmond Oh made a difference. Russel Low had another big game as well with 11 points. Team support from the bench kept the group motivated.”

Wong Wei Long led Singapore with a game-high 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Teammate Larry Liew stood out with four 3-pointers to register 12 points in the game. Centre Russel Low was the third Singapore in double-digit scoring with 11 points.

Said Russel: “We did well in staying strong as a unit when we were down at the start and were able to hold onto the lead. Although there were some lapses in our concentration, we were able to hold on to the lead in the 4th. We managed to achieve the three defensive stops we always talked and trained for. We also managed to run our plays in crucial moments of the game to extend the lead. Overall, it was a good team effort!

Singapore’s field-goal shooting was 38 percent but they were hot from 3-point range, shooting 48 percent as they dropped 11 out of 23 3-point attempts.

It was a nervous and slow start for Singapore as Indonesia came out with a 9–2 run. However, Singapore clamped down defensively and started to relax on offense, with Larry Liew calmly stepping up to sink two consecutive 3-pointers to bring Singapore back into the game. This helped Singapore take a 13-point, 31–18 lead into half time.

Singapore extended the lead to 18 points midway through the third period. Heading into the fourth quarter, Singapore had an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but Indonesia made a run to trim Singapore’s lead back down to four points with 3-pointers and many offensive rebounds with put backs.

Singapore steadied themselves defensively and hit some key shots and grabbed some big defensive rebounds in the last three minutes to pull away from Indonesia for a 14-point win.

“It was a great team effort where no one really stood out but everyone contributed,” said Michael Johnson, the team’s technical advisor.

“Khaw Yong Wooi came off the bench late to grab some key defensive rebounds and hit two big free throws late in the 4th quarter to help us steady the ship. Super team win under pressure to follow up the win over Malaysia. We have improved and we still have a lot of improvement left with this group,” added Michael.

“Good defensive effort by the whole team,” said Joe So. “We made three good stops at the end of the game when it mattered. Patience and discipline when running the set plays and getting good looks at the basket.

“Khaw Yeong Wooi grabbed two monstrous defensive rebounds for us in that crucial period and that was big. We ran our set plays to great effect and Wong Wei Long hit a 3-pointer off one of the plays to relieve some pressure off the team,” added Joe.

Score by Quarter
Singapore vs Indonesia
1st Q: 11–12
2nd Q: 20–6 (31–18)
3rd Q: 17–19 (48–37)
4th Q: 14–11
Final Score: 62–48

Singapore
Wong Wei Long (#5) – 14 points (3 x 3-pointers)
Larry Liew (#11) – 12 (4 x 3-pointers)
Russel Low (#15) – 11
Desmond Oh (#8) – 9 (2 x 3-pointer)
Lim Shengyu (#12) – 7 (1 x 3-pointer)
Ng Hanbin (#6) – 7 (1 x 3-pointer)
Wu Qingde (#7) – 0
Khaw Yeong Wooi (#13) – 2
Delvin Goh – 0
Hong Weijian (#10) – 0
Chase Tan (#9) – 0
Jabez Su (#4) – 0

Indonesia
Prawiro – 9
Utomo – 9
Sitepu – 9
Dhyaksa – 8
Putra – 6
Ferdinand – 5
Gemilang – 2
Nugroho – 0
Pamungkas – 0
Gunawan – 0
Ruslan – 0
Siregar – 0

2013 SEA Games Men's Basketball Standings

2013 SEA Games Men's Basketball Fixtures