By REDintern Gan Yu Neng
Tan Seng Giap (#5) scoring an easy 2 points for Yio Chu Kang in the Community Games 3-on-3 tournament. (Photo 1 © Chong Ng/Red Sports)
Singapore Basketball Centre, Sunday, July 15, 2012 — “Do not look down on basketball,” Seng Giap told me solemnly in Chinese.
Yio Chu Kang CSC Team A is seated just beyond the bounds of the court. The veteran boys are watching their compatriots, YCK Team B, beat Ang Mo Kio-Hougang CSC in the Community Games Men’s Masters Basketball 3-a-side tournament. Having just beaten Team B themselves, Team A would proceed to top the cluster and proceed to the Singapore National Games scheduled for September 1st to 9th.
Tan Seng Giap (#5), who is in his 50s, is talking to me about basketball, the way it changes with experience. As he speaks, his teammates nod and chip in; our conversation is a mix of Chinese, Hokkien, and occasionally English.
“There is a clear difference between those who only start playing at secondary school, and those who have been playing since primary school,” he continued.
He should know. Seng Giap has been playing basketball since the age of nine. Today he is in his 50s, and spends some of his weekends advising young players and helping with their training.
His teammates are also doing their part to pass on the love of basketball to the next generation: Sim Chee Siong (#25) is the coach for the North Vista Secondary School basketball team, as well as Serangoon Garden Secondary and Punggol Primary. Tan Chun Hock (#3) coaches Presbyterian High.
In Chinese, Seng Giap explained to me: “The sports environment is different now. People only start playing basketball when they are in secondary school. No longer starting from a young age.”
“But sometimes, the international schools for instance, they will bring their kids, do some basic basketball drills, some footwork and passing and shooting. That, is good.”
“You cannot take basketball as such a simple sport. It requires a lot of experience. What you see, is that players on the court are dribbling, shooting, but it’s not just that. There is a higher level for improvement.”
Seng Giap proceeded to teach me about the mindset of an experienced player — how he would assess the situation, decide whether to shoot from the outside or charge in and go for the lay-up; how if a player were daring enough, he would barge through the defense and maybe pick up a foul on the way to make it a three-point play.
“You start slow, but you take a lot of time to learn the more advanced skills. You need time to improve your skills, improve your judgement. Basketball is physical, yes, but it is also a sport that is played in the mind. There are so many things you can learn and improve on. You see the players who are more experienced, they don’t stall or think when they get the ball. They just pass, advance the ball very quickly.”
Seng Giap plays for Singapore in the 50-years-and-above bracket of the ASEAN Seniors Basketball Championship. Chun Hock also represents Singapore in the same bracket, while Chee Siong plays in the 40+ bracket (“Joining you soon lah,” he tells his teammates with a laugh).
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