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Let go! Phua De Keong looks like a solid monster

Yes indeed. He's trained locally by Changi Muscle Ball too! Maybe he is trying to emulate Jokic xD

Tonight's game saw Kok Loong An make a return to the U21! I managed to get his manager to play him for only 2 games per week, so he has finally improved in GS! Despite the loss, which was expected, he put up some pretty decent numbers, almost getting a double-double with 17 point 9 rebound effort. He forced his way to the line a few times by bullying opposite number Roberto Queirós, who had trouble keeping Kok in check. Xue Xiangjun followed up with his impressive performance in the last match with another impressive performance, once again leading our team with 22 points. He was also one rebound short of a double double and was aggressive on the offensive boards. Nathan Maclin also did pretty well, putting up an efficient game, hitting 50% of his field goals for 15 points.

It was great to see them stepping up in place of Phua De Keong, who, after an impressive run, suddenly fell flat and hit 13% of his shots. Missing even easy dunks and open shots under the basket. Ironically, he has the best game shape in the team. That said, he did pick up a couple of blocks and contribute on the defensive end.

Our next game will be against Bosnia & Herzegovina U21. It won't be any different from tonight's match tho. Stay tuned for more action!

Our boys struggled in offense last Monday as they were served their biggest defeat in a very long time by Bosnia & Herzegovina U21. Almost everyone shot blanks most of the time, as we only hit an abysmal 24% of our field goals, and 6% from 3. Chan Jun Ying was the only one who had an efficient night, hitting 4 of 5 of his shots.

However our boys relentlessly attacked the basket and managed to force our opponents into sending them to the line. It did help, gifting us 21 points from 32 attempts, although I should say our accuracy from the charity stripe can still be improved on.

Kok Loong An once again put up a decent display. Despite his horrible shooting percentage of 14%, he provided hustle on both ends of the floor, ending the game with 10 points and 19 rebounds. Phua De Keong was still plagued by offensive problems which suddenly hit him in the last game, scoring only 1 of 7 and losing the ball 3 times. However he made himself useful on the defense with 2 steals and a block, and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Hopefully this signals the end to his decline.

We will be facing another superior opponent in the form of Ukraine U21 next. Let's hope we can improve on today's game and put up a decent fight.

I've always preached about the importance of game shape, and tonight's game was a testimony to it. Pakistan U21 were visibly superior to us - two 20k players and two other players earning more than 15k... Our highest paid player, Phua De Keong, earns less than 5 of their players. However, we managed to come out tops thanks to our superior game shape. Of course, a tactical masterclass by me saw us go into garbage time after 3 quarters, but it was only possible thanks to their good game shape.

Speaking of tactics, what happened in our last 2 games was part of a much bigger plan which started from the start of the season. After scouting all our opponents, I realized that other than Wales U21, every other team had more quality than us, meaning that on paper, we would only have 1 win. But games aren't won on paper. We were lucky to have a favourable schedule - Ecuador U21 and Pakistan U21, two of the weaker opponents (again not counting Wales U21) were coincidentally scheduled to face us in the last 2 games. This meant 2 things - we could save up our enthusiasm all season long and unleash it on them, and I could also play LI throughout the season to bait Ecuador U21 (which I deemed the stronger of the two) into setting their GDP to counter us (and hopefully also run 2-3).

Sadly, Ukraine U21 put them on alert by hitting us with GDP, which made me decide to not do any post game writeups, as I was hoping no one would notice that and cause Ecuador U21 to expect another offense from us. Sadly they did. If the GDP didn't happen against Ukraine U21, I would have ran reverse patient (which I used tonight) against them then hit Pakistan U21 with RNG. But since they might suspect that I would change up my tactics as a knee jerk reaction to the Ukraine U21 game, I decided to go RNG against them in hopes that they would still run 2-3 despite not going forward with GDP. The move paid off as Xue Xiangjun torched them with 46 points as our boys pulled off a massive win in OT.

Xue was also impressive tonight with 37 points in 28 minutes, shooting 54% from field and 67% from 3. Defense definitely carried us the whole night, as their players dominated the posts to pull down 19 rebounds in our half - there was even one point where they had 6 consecutive possessions, only for it to end in naught. Our boys forced them to turn over the ball (8 steals and causing 14 TOs), swatted away their shots (11 blocks), and forced them to take desperate heaves near the end of the shot clock. We were so dominant that we had to empty our bench for the whole 4th quarter - even then their starters had trouble dealing with our subs.

Well, that spells the end to our journey in the Consolation Tournament. In overall, I am pretty satisfied with our game record. Despite having to call up extra players throughout the season to cover for game shape deficiencies, we still managed to pull through in the end.

Moving forwards, I will begin to scout for next season's squad, as well as keep a few other players on the team as thanks for their services. Let's have fun and enjoy the scrimmages in the coming weeks!

Before I start disbanding the team and scouting players, time for the end of the semester report card! Let's take a look at how our boys have been performing individuall. Let's break them down by front court and back court.

Front Court
Phua De Keong
Our most reliable player, started all 9 of the games so far. He leads our team in rebounds, pulling down 10.2 rebounds per game. He was impressive on the offensive front early on in the season, averaging 17.5 points in the first 4 games, however his shot has deserted him in the second half of the season, as he only hit 5.4 points per game. Even then, he still completes the season averaging a double-double (10.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG).

Kok Loong An
I exiled him from the U21 after having poor game shape due to his manager's insistence on playing him for 3 games a week (even scrimmages). Thankfully after one season of persuasion, his manager finally conceded, and boy has he not looked back. He started 3 of the last 5 games, and was a valuable asset on offense. He put on a great show against Portugal U21 and Bosnia & Herzegovina U21.

Nathan Macklin
Finishing behind Ang An Da and Chua How Feng in the scoring charts last season, everyone believed that Nathan was in for a breakout season. Being able to guard from 1 through 5, Nathan Macklin was the best two way player of the team. However, game shape issues started to hamper his progress near the end of his season, and he became a non-factor to us. While he failed to challenge the all-time scorers list, he will always be remembered for his great performances, particularly that double-double against Scotland U21.

Li Wai Soon
So young, yet so talented. He was only called up after a void was left in our team after the opening day scrimmage. However, he certainly did not disappoint. With 4 starts in 8 games to his name, he was solid at the post and produced for us when we needed him to. He was also red hot in the game against Ecuador U21, blocking 6 shots and grabbing 23 rebounds to make it into the top 10 game high rebounding record for our U21.

Loh Ah Heng
He was added in to increase our depth, and he fit in that role perfectly. Although he didn't stand out in any way, but he was there when we needed him, playing 6 games and starting 2.

Loo Rong Liang
Called up at the same time as Li Wai Soon to address the shortage at the post. Although often relegated to a bench role behind Li and Phua, he still managed to put up some exciting performances, particularly in the game against Pakistan U21. We are definitely looking towards having a solid double-L twin tower frontcourt in two season's time.

Yau Kim Hui
A last minute callup at the end of the season to feature against Pakistan U21, so he has only 1 cap under his belt. His projected build is somewhat similar to Nathan Macklin, Phua Tse Heng, and Fong Kum Hui. Let's see how he pans out in the following season.

Back Court

Chan Jun Ying
Thrown into the role of the floor general after Tan Yeng Shi got dropped from the squad, he was pretty dependable for us, featuring in 8 games and starting half of it. The guy who was projected to be our 6th man ended up exceeding all expectations and led the line when needed.

Xue Xiangjun
Our secret weapon for the season. Xue has been putting up big numbers at club level, and he has consistently performed well as a starter. But nothing could compare with his 46 point outburst against Ecuador U21. He probably could have equaled that had garbage time not set in after the 3rd quarter.

Tan Yeng Shi
He has handed he keys of the offense this season, and he responded well by dropping 27 points against Tunisia U21. However, game shape issues marred his season after that, and he was omitted from the team for a few games. That said, he came back stronger. Although he never had anymore scoring outbursts after that, but he was still played a important role in our team on both ends of the floor.

Enamul Morshed
His debut season was hampered with problems as mismanagement from his club, but looks like those days are now over. He was ever present for us this season. Despite being a role player of the team, he still had some notable highlights, including tonight's game against Pakistan U21 where he hit 24 points off the bench.

Phua Tse Heng
His 32 point debut against Tunisia U21 convinced everyone that he would be our go-to scorer. However bad game shape and poor management at club level caused him to be dropped from the team. Thankfully, he found his form during the all-star week, just as we needed someone to lead the backcourt in the crucial tie against Ecuador U21. He certainly didn't disappoint, putting up a stat line of 15 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. He's definitely our lucky charm, winning all 3 matches he played in this season.

Abdur-Razzaq Jalil
He was added in just to ride the bench this season because he has been pretty encouraging during training and he has a good track record in terms of game shape. But his game shape has been faltering recently. Will he make the team next season? It looks possible, but he would have to have his game shape fixed. That said, he had a pretty clean game against Tunisia U21, scoring 8 points on 100% shooting while dishing out 3 assists.

Kok Loong An.. remind me of a ex player ang kok loong.. BB name generation system starting to repeat.. hahah

Hahahaha yea. Makes me think of him every time xD