Latest news with #Slingers
Straits Times
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Adroit's ex-internationals hope Singapore basketball can rise despite baptism of fire in regional tourney
Adroit's Ng Han Bin taking a shot in the 105-65 loss to New Taipei Kings in their Basketball Champions League Asia - East Group B game in Taiwan on April 29. PHOTO: FIBA SINGAPORE – Midway through the first quarter of their game against New Taipei Kings on April 29, Singapore's National Basketball League (NBL) champions Adroit were leading 14-10, with Leon Kwek grabbing seven points. Their brief lead during their opening Basketball Champions League Asia-East Group B match in Xinzhuang Gymnasium, Taiwan, brought back memories of a time when professional basketball in Singapore existed and flourished with the Singapore Slingers. Alas, despite featuring several former Slingers like Jay Shay Lin, Ng Han Bin, Toh Qing Huang and Kwek, Adroit remain an amateur side training just once a week to face professionals. The local players met imports Ihor Serheiev, Sergeii Pryimak and Oleksandr Kolchenko for the first time on match day, eventually losing 105-65 to the Taiwan Professional Basketball League leaders. Adroit coach Ng Choon Hong said: 'We are not a professional team, so we train very little and it's hard to compare with the opponents, whose stamina is very good and shooting is very sharp.' Kwek, who registered a team-high 18 points and five rebounds, added: 'Once everyone settles into the game, the team chemistry, habits and structure come into play and that's where the Kings showed the difference. 'We just want to showcase how Singaporeans can play at the international stage even though many of us have retired from the national team. I feel for the younger generation, because they need to have something to work towards and this is the challenge for Singapore basketball to navigate and get there.' In 2023, the Asean Basketball League stopped play indefinitely after 14 years, leaving the Slingers in dormancy. Since then, the only regular competition local basketballers could get was the NBL. Adroit's victory in the domestic league in 2024 earned them a spot in the Champions League Asia-East, giving the players more game time. Ng, who scored 15 points and six rebounds against the Taiwanese side, hopes something can be done for the next generation of Singapore players. The 36-year-old personal wealth director said: 'For the Slingers to work, we required the sponsorship from Mr Wee (Siew Kim, former Slingers owner), (former general manager) Michael Johnson being away from his country for so long to run the show, coach Neo (Beng Siang) coaching selflessly, and the players putting in the time and hard work. 'Now, there are academies run by former national players like (Wong) Wei Long, Leon, Larry (Liew), (Wong) Zhong Han and Kelvin (Lim). I believe with the help of the authorities, they will be open to work together to create a pipeline for the younger generation. 'If we really want to build a professional pathway, the focus must be on the young players from age 10-14 so we can give ourselves some time to build something together.' While pursuing careers off the court, the ex-internationals still aim to perform well in the BCL Asia-East tournament, featuring eight clubs from East and Southeast Asia. The top two teams from each group reach the semi-finals, with the best two advancing to the Basketball Champions League Asia. In a double round-robin format, Adroit will face Thailand's Hi-Tech and Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos in Bangkok on May 2 and 3. They're playing home games there as no suitable venue in Singapore met Fiba's seating and broadcast standards, and the OCBC Arena was unavailable. Kwek, the 28-year-old founder of True Grind Basketball academy, said: 'The main challenge will be in the logistics and we have to figure out a lot of things on the fly, but the Thai counterparts have been very helpful. We know it's going to be tough, but we want to give a good account of ourselves and go for a win.' David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
USA Today
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Slingers Cocktails are big, slightly concerning
Welcome back to FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey. I love a good king can. Especially if it's filled with a truly stupid malt beverage. Slingers only hits one of those targets. It offers classic cocktails 24 ounces at a time, promising a one-stop shop to point your boat toward Drinkin' Island for the night. At eight percent alcohol by volume (ABV), it should only take a couple cans to bend your reality toward a more pleasant state. The options are all drinks you'd find at a beach bar. I drank them on a two degree Wisconsin night. It may have impacted my review. Let's begin. Bahama Mama: C- It pours with a light level of carbonation, which is a bit surprising — my limited experience with this beach drink was decidedly un-bubbly. It also looks like a blood orange variant of Fanta, which is… slightly concerning? It smells fruity and, undeniably, boozy. There are no ingredients on the can, just the promise of 'malt beverage,' which sets a ceiling on this but doesn't mean it won't be good — just that it won't have clear, distinct cocktail flavors. Despite the bubbles, it's very light on carbonation. It's a bit thick as it leans into the fruit juices of the cocktail that inspired it, it's not as dense as you'd think on your tongue. Not seltzer-light, obviously, but not a soupy, sticky mess either. There's a mélange of anonymous tropical fruit — orange, pineapple — but a current of coconut lingers throughout each sip. Despite the eight percent ABV, it's not very boozy at all. This dense, syrupy fruit justifies that light carbonation. If not for that, this would be sloppy and sweet at the end of each gulp. The bubbles help it finish a bit more cleanly and up the replay value. Which is a good thing, because it comes in a 24 ounce can. That's a lot of beverage for a drink that's very sugary sweet and loaded with juicy flavors. I'm only a few sips in and I'm getting a bit tired of it. Being in a king can means it warms up quickly, which isn't a point in its favor. This isn't beating the allegations that high-booze drinks in big cans are a bit janky. It's fine, just not something I'd seek out. Pineapple Punch: B- This also pours a dense chemical color and with a light carbonation floating skyward. That makes more sense here, since pineapple punch usually has ginger ale/Sprite/whatever in it. It smells remarkably like the Bahama Mama. In this case, having one dominant flavor is a plus. Rather than the muddled tropical fruits of the last can, this is focused pineapple. It's sweet but not as sticky as the Bahama Mama. It's also got a bit more boozy flavor toward the end of each sip. It feels like vodka but it is probably closer to the neutral spirits you'd find in a mass produced canned cocktail. Which, again, is fine if unremarkable. That boozier finish actually makes it a bit easier to drink, or at least come back to. While the last can was sweet upon sweet (and dense), this has a little bit of sharpness that snaps off each sip a bit more cleanly. That said, 24 ounces of this is still *a lot.* Peach Screwdriver: B- The sound of cracking the king can is wonderfully satisfying. A loud, metallic thud. The pour itself is not; all three of these look like something that leaked from a neon bar sign. It's *so* much. We're on now to Peach Screwdriver, which I always assumed was just a fuzzy navel with stronger booze in it. As expected, it smells like gummy rings and a little bit of alcohol. For a drink that's just peach there's more depth than I thought I'd get. It starts sweet and a little boozy before taking a swing toward tart while leaning into its carbonation for a solid finish. That makes it more refreshing than the other two. It also holds up better when warm. But also, it's 24 ounces of peach. That's a lot of peach. Too much peach. Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's? This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Slingers over a cold can of Hamm's? There's a benefit here. You're getting a lot of booze in a can that, again, I truly enjoy holding and sipping from. If I was late to a tailgate and needed to gas up quickly? Sure. But for the most part, no.
