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Away vs Argentina U21: 71-99 (L)
Well I would say that it took me by quite a surprise. I expected the game to be over real early but our boys did a decent job until the 4th, where they crashed and burned badly. Still, it was a great effort, considering our team was far more inferior on paper. In fact I had to reach so far into the roster to hand Liew Lai Sze his first cap. It was cool tho, as he had 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Ng Lee Han also did some amazing stuff at the post with 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. Another standout performance was Kwa Ming, who has been pretty volatile. He could either be our best scorer, or suddenly not score anything. He was the latter that night, shooting 0-11 from the field, but he contributed with 7 assists.

This was also the first game since the opening friendly which I had all 3 of our best paid players in the squad, although Cai Ze Leng and Chen Shi Jing both came off the bench. They were decent tho, Chen Shi Jing scored 10 points while Cai Ze Leng had an amazing defensive performance by blocking 4 shots.

We will face Czech Republic U21 in our last official game. We will be missing Cai Ze Leng, Albert Joseph, and Ng Lee Han have unsatisfactory GS, so I won't be expecting much. Let's hope our boys perform well in their absence!

Home vs Czech Republic U21: 96-92 (W)
Wow! Amazing! Incredible! Our boys might live to fight another day!

We started off terribly, going down 13-23 in the first and even 2 timeouts couldn't save our boys. Frankly speaking, the offensive flow was there, we were forcing the ball out of their hands, we were fighting for second chance points. But our shots weren't falling. Even open dunks bounced out of the rim. To be honest, I totally gave up after the first and stopped watching the game. No top scorer Albert Joseph. No top rebounder Ng Lee Han. No star Centre Cai Ze Leng. I should have expected this outcome.

But surprise surprise, our boys pulled off an upset. Liew Lai Sze showed off what we have been missing throughout the season by hitting 28 points off 42% shooting. He was on fire from outside, hitting 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. Anthony Samuel made sure we didn't miss Cai and Ng, finishing the game with a double double: 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists. Chen Shi Jing helped him inside, pulling down 14 boards himself as well. Despite that, we were still out rebounded by the Czechs 69-54.

One thing I'm really proud of tonight was our offensive flow. Kwa Ming and our floor general Poh Sze Jian were largely responsible for that, dishing out 5 assist each. We had only 1 turnover in the first quarter, and managed to get 3 steals. In the end, we finished the game with 2 turnovers compared to 10 from the Czechs, and we assisted on 61% of our field goals. They were also constantly sending us to the line, which our boys took advantage of, scoring 14 of 20.

Well folks, let's hope we make it to the knockout rounds. If we do, it will be our first time since Season 59, where we managed to win home court advantage for the Asia Qualifiers in the following season.

And we're through! 30th place with a 5-3 record, we face 3rd seed Turkey U21 next! Let's hope for a full squad :D

omg... let go!!! GOAT time.. u making history!

Last edited by LDS at 2/25/2025 7:39:37 PM

Haha, actually the real GOAT is Big Ben. But I will try my best to bring us back to our glory days. Hopefully I will have the chance (I think at least need 2 more terms tho, my Utopia team isn't ready to be a top tier farm yet. Haha)

his history abit hard to beat. somemore his win/lost ratio is way too hard to overwrite haha

I'm not too worried about win/loss ratio actually, because it's very misleading. I probably have the worst win/loss ratio among all NT coaches, but that was mainly because previously most of the tine I would scheduled U21 friendlies against top teams. I also have a habit of dropping players at the end of the season to try out U20 squads after all official matches have finished.

In recent seasons I have started scheduling games against lower tier teams and retained some 21 year old players and my win/loss ratio actually improved. Hahaha. Although scouting still takes up enthusiasm, so there is where we take the hit (sometimes even losing to lower teams). It would be easy to match LDS' win/lose ratio, but there is no merit in trying because it's counterproductive if we look at the larger picture.

But to win one silver trophy and bronze trophy... And the credit for Paul Tan's bronze finish should actually go to him as well, because it was Paul's first season, so the players were mainly developed by Ben... That itself puts him at GOAT status. Hahaha. Especially that silver trophy, I don't even know how he won it (I think I have stopped playing the game by then).

Now I look back, that golden season. I totally forget my ex player LLK was under my care that time. I guess that was the moment that give me motivation to make a great guard for the nation. I still rmb those owner that time NEWBak Ku Teh Kings, Compassvale United.. those guys

It also that period I need to take a break from this game due to my outside life. By the time i came back, Ben and the rest they all stop playing :(

btw. last time you are which team?

My last team wasn't in Singapore, so you probably might not know it. I only got to know Ben because we were both long term U21 managers. We were kinda like allies. I quit the game largely because I felt betrayed with my previous community and lost my motivation to play. After moving here, I decided to play again on a random day and here I am now. Hahaha.

I don't know many managers here. I can just remember Eric, SHP... I don't even remember PhantoMech actually, hahaha.

Haha well I was struggling between SBBL and the lower leagues for many years in the early days, and wasn't among the really active ones in forum I guess. Ben will forever be the legend but SG is lucky to have you join us and I'm glad you are continuing to take the team further.

Hahaha, now you're one of the more active ones here, plus a major contributor to our U21 :D

Anyway, we got kicked out of the Consolation Tournament this morning after being thrashed 61-101 by Turkey U21. With PH being the only Asian country making it to the next round (Argentina U21 is giving our neighbours a beating as we speak), looks like we'll be having the Asia Qualifiers there this year.

This season was really riddled by inconsistencied throughout the whole season, at this point we only have 2 players who have showed up every single game: Poh Sze Jian and Anthony Samuel. Albert Joseph, Kwa Ming, and Leow Heng Dong were close as they missed one game each. The rest missed at least 3 games.

Moving forwards, I'll probably keep the 5 above, including some potential NT players, while dropping the rest so I can start scouting for next season.