Story by Yvonne Yap/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.
KL Dragons fans make the trip to Singapore to support their team. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, 22 November 2009 – Around 60 KL Dragon fans travelled across the Causeway to catch the team play against the Singapore Slingers. It was their first road trip to support their team. Even though their ride to the stadium was late, the Dragon fans did not let the hiccup dampen their spirits and were duly rewarded with a 84-74 win by the KL Dragons.
The KL Dragons fan club is based online, reaching out out to fans via a blog and offering them special ticket rates. It was founded by Ahmad Salman Othman, Ahmad Taufek and Syed Zainal Aljunid. Most of the members are working adults and they have a current strength of over 200 members.
“It is made up of basketball fanatics in Malaysia,” Salman, 38, revealed about the fan club. He expressed his support for the ASEAN Basketball League as a platform for both Malaysian and regional players to gain more exposure and an opportunity for them to make professional basketball as a career.
Salman, along with Syed, 39, are two of the pioneers of basketball support in Malaysia. Basketball players usually start off playing for clubs or states and take part in leagues. Although it is a popular sport amongst the Chinese in Malaysia, other sports such as badminton and soccer still rank above basketball in terms of popularity.
“Prior to the ABL, most people (in Malaysia) thought that basketball was only in China, Philippines, US. The ABL gives players a chance to develop and expose them beyond national levelm” said Salman. He also beamed with pride when he share that two of the KL Dragons, Batumalai Guganeswaran and Chee Li Wei played for Swoosh Basketball Club, a club he manages.
“We can still have more support for basketball in Malaysia. There is also a lack of basketball facilities in Malaysia for players, such as indoor basketball courts,” Salman commented about the support for the sport in his country.
Among the KL fans was Muhammad Haziq Bin Muhammad Alif, 20, with some of his friends from Drumline, a percussion group which performs at games to encourage the team on. He pointed out Rudy Lingganay as his favourite player. “I like the way he plays and his performance on court!”
To travel to Singapore, each of the KL Dragon fan paid 30 ringgit for the coach and ticket, with the KL Dragons helping to organise and subsidize the trip. The KL fans arrived just in time for the game and returned by bus immediately after the game.
“It is out of our love for the game,” Salman quipped when asked why the fans spent the time travelling to Singapore for the basketball match.
Second name should be Ahmad Taufiq. I know him from the fan club, they sure put it plenty of effort to organise this thing, kudos to them.
30 ringgit for coach and a premium seat behind the bench. Who wouldn’t want to pay for that? That’s cheaper than a premimum seat itself priced at $18 in Singapore. Slingers should do something like this for Slinger fans too. KL Dragons almost made the SIS their homecourt because of that good deal.