Former footballer Madelin Lock shoots for honours at NBA Rising Stars Invitational
A former Lion City Sailors academy player, the midfielder scored a hat-trick in her final game for the club's under-16 team in 2023.
And on May 23, the Hwa Chong Institution basketball captain, 18, led her team to the National School Games A Division girls' title.
Football and basketball are her favourite sports, but in 2023 the Singaporean quit football to focus on the latter as she wants to 'pave the way' for the next generation.
'I realised that in football, a lot of my teammates want to go pro, and there are a lot of opportunities given to footballers, such as the Unleash The Roar! (scholarship), and people like Danelle Tan have already paved the way,' said Lock, on the sidelines of a clinic held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at Spectra Secondary School on May 30.
'So I was hoping that, since I had the option, that I could do either one… I wanted to try and pave the way for basketball, because basketball has a very special place in my heart, I just love training by myself, and I feel I could train for hours.
'I feel that since I am fortunate enough to try, I might as well just try and pave the way for future generations.'
The 1.60m point guard will be part of the Hwa Chong team who will compete in the NBA Rising Stars Invitational, the league's first regional basketball tournament for youths aged 18 and under, from June 25 to 29 at the Kallang Alive precinct.
Spectra Secondary School students participated in a basketball clinic conducted by Natalia Andre (centre) from the NBA Asia's basketball operations department.
PHOTO: NBA
The event will feature high school teams from 11 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific, with Singapore's A Division boys' champions Anglo-Chinese Junior College and United World College South-east Asia Dover joining the mix.
Sheila Rasu, NBA Asia's head of marketing communications, said: 'Doing events in Singapore was just part of our commitment to be entrenched in the community here.
'There have been discussions over many years about what we can do here, and that was the genesis for us to create this high school tournament. It's a first of its kind. Our ambition for this particular tournament is that it becomes the premier tournament for high school kids.'
The Karim Family Foundation (KFF), which also sponsors the Singapore Badminton Open, have also come on board as a community partner for the tournament.
KFF principal Cindy Karim said: 'My family and I have always believed in the power of sport to inspire ambition, build character and unite communities.
'Through Karim Family Foundation's support of the sporting community, we hope to encourage young athletes in Singapore to pursue their dreams professionally and to see sports as a meaningful and fulfilling career path.'
Noting that the NBA event is a 'great opportunity' for her, Lock is also looking ahead to her basketball future.
She added: 'I do have the option to play in America right now, but this year, I will focus on my A levels and focus on getting better, and then next year I might go overseas, go to America and attend camps and try to find the most suitable option for me.
'I want to make sure that I'm very comfortable with the school I'm going to, at the same time, I'm also open to playing in other countries like in Europe. At the end of the day for me, the goal is to play professionally, be it in the WNBA or the Euro League.'
Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times.
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