Singapore

This is part I of II for Singapore. To read part II, go here!

I had the privilege to travel to Singapore for an entire month so I had plenty of time to explore the pickup basketball scene. Despite its size, Singapore is filled with numerous basketball courts, and I believe there is a court within 20 minutes of walking no matter where you are in the city. I played at multiple venues and pickup groups but I decided only two are worth reviewing.

This write-up will be on a more public group where anybody can go and play.

Next month’s write-up will be about a group that was a bit more private. And when I say private, I mean in a sense that I had to beg for 3 weeks straight before getting to play.

The first place I played pickup basketball was at UWC South East campus Monday night from 8-9:30pm. They are run by a basketball league called FastBreak and they supposedly play every Monday. I found them through a random Reddit thread, which eventually took me to their Facebook page. I say “supposedly” play every Monday because the person on FB chat (who actually responds very quickly…kudos there!), said they play every Monday, but when I went the first week, there was absolutely no one there. I missed the 2nd week, but the 3rd week was when I finally played. I went again the 4th week because it was a fun run but there was a FIBA 3×3 tournament happening so no chance at pickup basketball. But putting all that aside, the one day I did play, I will have to say it was one of the more competitive games I’ve played in internationally. Overall, a good competitive group of guys where anybody can seemingly go and play, but just make sure to message the organizer through FB to confirm people will actually play that night. Oh, and it’s $10.

Getting to the court

I will keep this section brief because you can put this school’s address into Google Maps and it will take you there. I took the blue MRT to Tampines and walked 20 minutes but you can just type in “UWC South East” into your map app.

The players

These guys come with all sorts of personalities. But overall, very nice guys who are very inviting (if you are decent). Ok, I just realized that sentence contradicts itself, so I do think you should have basketball experience before coming here. I arrived 15 minutes before the 8pm start time and there were 5 players waiting around already. I think they all knew each other because they wanted to play this 3 point shooting game where you pair up with one person, and then you shoot from the 5 spots around the 3 point arc. You can only move on after you make a shot, and the first team to go all the way around and back wins. Shooting 3’s isn’t my strong suit so I tried to stay away from playing, but because they had an odd number and needed one more, I was reluctant but obliged to play. Terrible decision on my part because 1. My stock is already low for pickup because I don’t look like a basketball player, and 2. I suck at 3’s. And it went pretty much as expected. My teammate was amazing and hit like 75% of his shots, taking a commanding lead, only to get to me where I shot maybe 5%. Long story short, we lost.

As for player talent, there were 2 incredible guys who could do literally everything. Drive off the dribble, shoot the 3 from deep, and defend all positions. Luckily these guys played on different teams, but they were on another level. There was a wide range of talent, size, and age in this group. The ages ranged from 18 to probably 40 with an average of 30. Height was 5’6 (me) to 6’5 with an average of 6’0. The older guys typically got more into it and you could see through their personalities (yelled at you if you suck). The younger kids had way more energy but also lacked experience (trying to dribble through double/triple teams). There were some big men, but they rarely showed any true post moves. Unfortunately, rarely did anybody go up strong unless it was a wide-open layup. If I’m able to get lots of rebounds, then you know someone’s not doing their job. The 3 point revolution was in effect here as there were many 3 point shots. However, I think because the 2 best players hit such a high clip, it made everyone else look bad even if they hit a respectable amount. I played my role by not turning the ball over, distributing the ball, playing defense and grabbing loose balls.

Gameplay

The first 10 people to show up shot for teams. The first 5 were a team, and then the next 5 were a team. They didn’t go in order to shoot, it was shoot randomly until you make it. I am actually against this method because since the first 10 know they will play no matter what, they can decide whether or not to shoot based on who has made it already. So if really good people want to be on a team, they can just not shoot or pretend to miss the entire time to be on the same team.

Games to 15 by 2’s and 3’s. We had 13 people there total, so if you lose, you would shoot for 2 and play with the 3 that were sitting. Ironically, I hit every 3 during the initial set up of teams, and after each losing match to continue playing in all games. In total, I played 5 games. Won 2 and lost 3. Games went by fast and because you didn’t wait more than 1 game at a time, you had plenty of games to play before it ended.

The gym

There were 4 basketball courts split into 2×2. The other 3 courts were open to anybody as only 1 court was being used. I thought this school was a college/university because of its amazing sports complex but I later heard from a friend that it was only a high school! It had an incredible facility and it still blows my mind this is not a college. The court itself was pretty standard. I think it was FIBA regulation with the international 3 point line. Standard indoor hoops, backboards, and floor.

Conclusion

Competitive basketball that is seemingly open to anybody. Show up, pay $10 and get a good run in. Even if you don’t play, I assume you could just go there and shoot because there were plenty of empty hoops. I will say you better be somewhat decent because if you aren’t, then you may have some people on your tail the entire night. For those of you looking for an easy in to playing indoor basketball in Singapore, definitely check this pickup!