by Lee Mink Kok
Delvin Goh will be the youngest player to suit up for a team in the ASEAN Basketball League
This time last year, Delvin Goh was a starry-eyed spectator at the Singapore Indoor Stadium as he watched the Singapore Slingers do battle in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).
Next month, he will line up alongside his idols for the league’s third season as its youngest player.
The 16-year-old Secondary Four student at Unity Secondary School has landed a seven-month contract and one of eight coveted local slots with the Slingers – Singapore’s first and only professional basketball outfit.
“Every young basketballer’s dream in Singapore is to play for the Slingers,” he said before a training session at the Tanglin Trust School yesterday. “I still can’t believe I’ll be playing Professional Basketball. Earlier this year, I was just competing at the National Schools.”
According to Slingers’ General Manager Michael Johnson, the teenager’s contract is similar to a sports scholarship, in which he will be paid a four-figure monthly allowance. The 1.99m centre will also be given time off from the squad’s training sessions to attend school as he will be taking his O levels next year.
Significantly, Delvin, who was in the Men’s National Team at last month’s SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, was signed ahead of seasoned faces, such as 2.02m-tall forward Pathman Matialakan. He will fly to Bangkok for a pre-season tournament.
Johnson, who first spotted the young player during a 3-on-3 local competition two years ago, said the signing was a “no-brainer”.
“He has enormous potential and I expect him to be the cornerstone of the Men’s National Team for the next 10 to 15 years. We were keen on getting him into our training program early and expose him to top-level competition.”
While teams in the ABL are allowed to sign up to five foreign players for the 12-man squad, the Slingers have a policy of having just four to give the locals more playing time.
Next year’s tournament will be expanded from six to eight teams. Each team will play 21 games and top four progress to the Semi-Finals. The Slingers will start the campaign against Indonesia Warriors at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Jan 15.
Already, Delvin’s teammates have been impressed with his skills. This includes newly-signed 2.10m American centre Donald Little.
“When the kid got into training last week, I was asking ‘who’s this guy?'” said the 33-year-old who has played Pro Basketball in France, Greece, Russia, Spain and the Middle East. “Delvin’s a remarkable player… Give him another two years and he’s going to be a real star.”
Still, the proudest individuals are his parent’s, from whom he has inherited his towering frame. Said Delvin’s 1.92m-tall father, Production Supervisor Goh Swee Tong: “It will be a proud moment for me when I see him wear the Slingers jersey and play a game.”
