Youth Olympic Basketball: Singapore boys fall four points short of Turkey

Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Marvin Lowe/Red Sports

*scape Youth Park, Sunday, August 15, 2010 – Despite a solid performance, our Singapore boys fell to their second defeat in the Youth Olympic Games FIBA 33 basketball competition when they lost 24-28 to Turkey in Group B.

After falling to the Central Africa Republic 17-25 in their previous match, the host’s chance of making it to the next round looks over as they have yet to play favourites, the United States of America.

Singapore were out-rebounded 21-14 against Turkey and they shot a dismal 32% from the field. However, they did put up a good fight and there were moments in the match when a victory looked possible. Their efforts were undone by their lack of fitness as they started to tire towards the end of the match. Turkey then took the lead and held on for the match.

Although Turkey had a distinct height advantage with an average of 1.98m, Singapore took the lead when Russel Low drove to the basket for a layup in the opening seconds. Turkey quickly replied through Geyik Samet and they continued to score another four points to establish a 6-2 lead.

Compared to the first game, Singapore were clearly playing with more confidence and they soon began to string together a run. They tied the game 6-6 through Russel Low’s four points before a pair of free throws from captain Jabez Su gave Singapore the lead midway through the first half.

Jabez added another two with a driving layup for a 10-6 lead as Singapore’s tight defense saw Turkey shoot blanks from the perimeter. Turkey finished with just one three-pointer from seven attempts.

Not to be outdone, Turkey fought back and managed to take the lead at the end of the first half. Although Larry Liew nailed a trey towards the end of the match, Hotic Kerem (Turkey #9) hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Turkey a 17-13 lead at the interval. That was to prove costly for the hosts.

Both teams were very equal after the restart as they traded points. A Jabez trey brought Singapore to within one point at 17-16 while Turkey restored a three-point lead with a layup at 19-16. Jabez then made two athletic driving reverse layups to give Singapore the lead at 20-19.

Although Turkey managed another two points, Russel put Singapore in front with less than two minutes remaining as both teams traded the lead. However, Singapore soon ran out of gas and they allowed Yildizli Burak Can (#15) to make a three-point play. With a 22-24 deficit and the clock winding down, Singapore failed to close the gap as Turkey scored with another two layups.

Jabez airballed a three-point attempt with less than 30 seconds remaining, but managed another layup at the end as Singapore lost their second match of the tournament.

“Sian ah!” described Russel Low about how he was feeling. “I think our lack of fitness was the reason for our defeat today. Playing well for 8-9 minutes isn’t enough to win a match, but we tried our best and gave 110%. Our next match is against Israel and we’ve seen them play. They play really aggressively and go all out on defence.”

“Putting up a good fight is always the main objective,” said captain Jabez Su, looking at the defeat in a positive light. “That is always the first thing on our minds and we did that today. Winning is just a bonus. When playing against taller players, I just have to play with confidence and play with a big heart. I’m given this build and that’s all I can do. So I’m not really disappointed.”

“Save for the United States, all teams are quite equally matched,” continued the Hwa Chong Institution (JC) student. “Against Israel, we will play with confidence and aggressiveness and try to tear them down.”

Team manager Mr Khoo Hwa Pang was proud of his boys despite the defeat, saying: “Today we played with confidence that we didn’t have in our previous game. I think we were quite nervous in the previous game. Everyone played well today and played to the level that we know they can play at. Nobody said that you must win if you play well,” added Mr. Khoo.

“We must really thank the people at Singapore Sports Council,” replied Mr. Khoo when asked about how they prepare for their matches. “They really help the boys recover by giving them massages and hot and cold bathes. That played a big role in the team’s recovery.”

Team Singapore next faces Israel on Tuesday 17 August.

Turkey v Team Singapore 1st Half:

Turkey v Team Singapore 2nd Half:

Philippines v Virgin Islands 2nd Half:

Israel v USA 1st Half:

Israel v USA 2nd Half:

Argentina v Panama 1st Half: