The Singapore Slingers will be back on court after not having any competitive action over the last two
years due to the Covid pandemic. The Slingers will be one of 14 teams participating in the inaugural
ABL 3X3 International Champions Cup in Bali, Indonesia from April 16 to 17.
The Slingers will be fielding a mainly local lineup that include Delvin Goh, Lim Jun Yuan, and Tay Ding
Loon. They’ll also have the help of import Jemell Swafford who has based in Singapore for several years
running his own personal coaching.
The 3X3 International Champions Cup will also give Slingers fan the first look at local player Navin
Crump. Navin led the SAFSA Basketball Team back in 2015 in the National Basketball League qualifying
rounds to the final stages before his two-year military obligation came to an end and Navin will be a part
of the Singapore National Team at this year’s SEA Games in Vietnam.
The ABL 3×3 Cup will see the Singapore Slingers going head-to-head with some teams from throughout
the region. The Slingers are grouped with Ahmedabad 3BL from India, Vietnam Red Gold, and
Surabaya Louvre from Indonesia in Pool A. The Slingers will begin their campaign on April 16, 2022, at
8:45 AM local time when they take on Vietnam Red Gold followed by Surabaya Louvre at 3:00 PM,
and Ahmedabad 3BL (India) at 7:15 PM to finish off Day 1 of the tournament.
Should they finish first in Pool A, they’ll go straight to the quarterfinals where they will await the
winners from the round of 16 match between the second-best team in Pool C and the third-best team in
Pool D. Otherwise, the Slingers may face the third-best placed team in Pool B should they finish second
in their group.
In a short interview Slingers guard, Lim Jun Yuan said, “After such a long break without playing we are all
looking forward to some high level competition again and the ABL 3×3 Cup will be a great start.”
Coach Neo Beng Siang also welcomes this tournament as something to get the gears running for the
Slingers after more than two years away from competitive basketball. “The ABL 3×3 Cup is our first
opportunity to get back into International competition and this tournament in Bali has some quality
players attending. The 3×3 format is something we have not spent a lot of time on, so we are using this
tournament as a way of giving our local players exposure & experience for future ABL 3×3 events.
