Cup Watch
Only 4 teams are left competing to raise the Singapore Cup. This round onwards there will be no HCA (all winners of the quarterfinals were the home team). It all boils down to the team's chemistry, the coaching tactics and the GM's player management.
Ranked 5 Singapore Showstoppers(SSS) will be playing against the only League II team left in the cup, ranked 28 Serangoon BBC. Don't be fooled by the rank or the players of Serangoon BBC. Certainly don't send the end of the bench "C" squad or attach 1-2 starters with low end "B" squad, because if it hasnt already been known, Serangoon BBC players can play good basketball and the last 2 SBBL teams that did that paid. In the last game, while Serangoon's 6'7" C Ignacio Donella had a 20-20 game (22pts, 20rebs) but it was the unsung hero, G Patrick Côtelle, that held SG Young Gun's G Marek Bujak to a disastrous 6-27 shooting night. He will probably try to stop the scoring prowess of recently named all-star, SSS G Ong Yi Ying, who dropped 18 against the Shohoku Backers last game. SSS's slender 6'11" F Noel Lima, will also certainly look to score (17.6ppg, 11.6rpg) and National Squad C Wang Xiangjia will keep Donella busy for the entire night. It is certainly very much agreeable that SSS got the lucky pick because they never kena powerhouses STN or CPU. However, as Flyer Sonic puts it "Don't underestimate a league II team". If SSS does send regular starters, the game should rightfully be his. Even so the ball is round, so we just might have that slight chance, that very very slight chance, that another "SLZH" is repeated.
And certainly the semifinals match of the night, ranked 1 Compassvale United (CPU) will be taking on ranked 3 Shwe Toe Ngal (STN). The last time the 2 teams clashed on 12/11/2012, it was broadcasted live all over Singapore. STN's Fake Korean, F-C Huang Tae Young, made opposing CPU F Tanausu Galeno look helpless on defence as he lit the Compassvale Indoor Stadium up with 34 pts and grabbed 13 boards. However, it was CPU that came up on top with a final score of 105-92 behind consistent F Ruudi Kallas' 28pts. Fans can be surely treated to a possible scoring contest between the 2 talented forwards in the coming cup game. It also seems that the rumoured contract talks of STN's F-C Velimir Kunić did not materialise and he's here to stay in STN. Though, it may just be a blessing in disguise as Velimir averages a team high 1.2blkpg, something that just might slow down Ruudi or keep G Yeo Tse Hui away from the basket a little. CPU is probably looking forward to unleash newly bought G Edi Rušin on STN. Only CPU GM and coach has seen Edi in action live when finalising his contract while STN is left with grainy match vidos to study from Edi's previous Romanian opponents. But the stat sheet shows one thing clearly, before he left his old team, Edi torched his opponent with 27pts, 10 asts. G Ziya Erk is a good defender but STN might just be Edi's 1st Singaporean victim, with many to follow after this game. This STN vs CPU cup game might be the tightest cup game so far this season, remember not to miss it out tomorrow night, 15/1.
Last edited by big_boss_will at 1/14/2013 7:05:42 AM