“That’s what I’m talking about, Slinger fans!”

Story By REDintern Shaun Neo. Photos by REDintern Vanessa Lim and Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

As I sat along the length of the court in the Indoor Stadium to experience my first Singapore Slingers’ match, I had to restrain myself from turning around to the stands and shouting, “That’s what I’m talking about, Slinger fans!”

Having read about the 5,500-strong Filipino crowd that lit up the Slingers’ basketball challenge, I was expecting yet another massive turnout for a match-up between the Slingers and Beijing Aoshen. Perhaps even a gigantic China flag to cheer the Beijing Aoshen team on.

Unfortunately, there were only 1,000 spectators this time.

Still, the fans showed that heart was more important than mere physical presence as they passionately cheered the Slingers on. Having played basketball at various competition, I could never imagine any team in Singapore, apart from schools, having so many supporters behind them. I was stupefied.

Even the thousands of supporters during a national inter-schools final would have lost the energy to scream at the top of their lungs by the third quarter. This, however, was not the case for the Slingers’ fans. With the team establishing an early 10-point lead, the fans exploded emotionally as they prepared for a sweet victory, especially after losing the previous game.

It could only get better as the game progressed. As the Beijing Aoshen inched their way back into the game, the Slinger fans were motivated to cheer more aggressively. In the intense fourth quarter, the fans were a decisive factor. With the teams separated by just one point, the game boiled down to a mental battle – the first to succumb to pressure would face disastrous consequences.

With the crowd against them, Beijing Aoshen lost their cool as loopholes in their defensive plays were readily exploited and offensive plays lacked the cutting edge, only ending in turnovers. On the other hand, the Slingers performed even better and took home the win with a stunning 12-0 scoring run.

It was a scene like no other. The fans were absolutely fantastic.

On a more serious note, my first Slingers’ experience also raised the issue regarding the standards of our basketball officials. Having positioned myself beside the Beijing Aoshen’s bench, I could sense the frustration of Beijing Aoshen head coach Paul Coughter as he was unable to see eye-to-eye with the officials.

Of course coach Coughter’s opinion may be seen as biased but having experienced and witnessed the lack of professionalism of the officials myself, I was sympathetic. Fortunately, a fair call by the official that even coach Coughter could not argue with managed to salvage some respect for the referees.

The Singapore Slingers do set the benchmark for a realistic and attainable standard for both players and officials in the local basketball scene.

I, for one, am looking forward to the next game.