Story and pictures by Les Tan
Shanghai University of Sports, Wednesday, May 21, 2008 – This was something you don’t see very often. Sheng Yu had made a nice move on a Chinese centre to open up the lane for himself. Moving into his layup routine, Sheng Yu suddenly found another Chinese player in his face and had the ball swept from his hand while he was airborne.
And that’s a taste of what Lim Sheng Yu, Calvin Chia and Khaw Yeong Wooi have experienced these last few days at the Shanghai University of Sports while attending the adidas Nations Camp. The three ballers are part of Asia Blue, a team made up of selected players from Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Korea and Australia. In a 20-minute scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon, the Asia Blue team were matched up against an all-Chinese team.
“They are very competitive, very rough. They shove us around, pull our jerseys,” said Sheng Yu, 17, who plays for Hwa Chong Institution. “I had to play forward. The last time I played forward was in Sec 3! My forward skills are really bad. I tried a three-pointer but it ended up as an airball. I was slower than the other forwards. In Singapore, I play centre.”
In terms of height, the Chinese team were averaging 1.8-1.9m. “Skills-wise, they are not so good,” said Sheng Yu, “but they are just tougher, stronger, physically and mentally.” The 30 Chinese players are fighting for limited spots on the Asia Red team.
“The highlight is playing against the Chinese opponents,” said Calvin Chia, 18, a point guard of HCI. “They are very tall and strong. We played very well against them. We proved ourselves. I went through a defensive training session today. I think the coach is very experienced. He’s very clear with what he taught us. If we make any mistakes, he is able to identify and explain to us.” The three players had their training sessions conducted by Bob Weiss, a former head coach of the Seattle Supersonics of the American National Basketball Association (NBA) and a member of the ’66-’67 championship-winning Philadephia 76ers team.
The strong physical play also made Calvin lose a contact lens. Said Calvin: “I stole the ball from a Chinese point guard and my contact lens fell out when his hand hit my eye.” Calvin made the layup, but spent the rest of the session shooting away through one good eye, not bad considering he has to wear 500-degree lenses.
Some readers accused Calvin Chia of arrogance and having no jump shot to speak of after a recent interview with him was posted on Red Sports. When asked about it over dinner, Calvin said matter-of-factly: “It’s true I don’t have a jumpshot. And when I play, I play with a lot of confidence, so some people say that I’m arrogant.”
Sheng Yu and Calvin will get on a plane this evening to return home to Singapore in time for the A Division Basketball Championship Final against Anderson Junior College tomorrow. When asked about a reader’s prediction that HCI would scrape by with only a five-point win, Sheng Yu said: “I disagree very strongly with the five-point margin. I think we’ll do better than that.”
The same reader had said that fatigue and the air travel would be crucial factors in the performance of both players in the final. In response, Calvin said: “I don’t think it will be a big factor. We play a team game, and so it’s not so reliant on the two of us.”
Ed’s note: More stories on the guys at the adidas nations camp coming up.
uncle les rocks!
uncle les rocks!
uncle les rocks!
Priorities Peter.. It’s not as if Uncle Les was there on a holiday….. He was “making money” to help keep the site running..
Peter,
adidas is an advertiser on Red Sports.
They extended an invitation to cover their regional basketball event and I accepted to support them.
Advertisers are my only source of income for Red Sports and declining their invitation would be quite churlish.
Are you suggesting I do not support my advertiser?
Les, I thought you once said you’re “very busy” and simply do not have much time to cover local sporting events, as exemplified by your rebuttal in the CJC/JJC Rugby Plate Final controversy? Why then were you overseas with the Singaporean basketballers?
Nobody cheering for Yeong Wooi? Haha. All the best to him too!
yeah ! you’re our glory =) sheng yu and calvin
SHENGYU AND CALVIN JIAYOU!!!
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so cool to train under Bob Weiss!!
There will be volunteers to cover the A Division Bball Final so you guys are covered there. 😉
Look out for more stories and videos regarding the camp over the next few days.
Oh Uncle Les, that’s really awesome!! Most of all, I think you’ve deserved it all to participate in such events!!! BRAVOs!!!
Please do try to come back and watch the finals of A Div’ Basketball Championship!!! YOU’RE THE BEST!!!
hi realcool, yes, i’m here courtesy of adidas Singapore. Cool of them to invite me.
uncle les, you went to the camp with them?? so cool