Singapore Slingers Begin Challenge Series

Hope For Increased Exposure After Joining ASEAN Basketball League

Sep 30, 2009

The league will officially begin on October 11, 2009 after the Challenge Series is over. The Slingers were off to a good start by winning the first game in the series.

The Singapore Slingers were formed in 2006, playing the first two seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). Now, they look forward to a big change as they have joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Basketball League (ABL) created by Tony Fernandes, the new ABL Chairman and owner of AirAsia. This new league, with a more Asian-based focus, will benefit basketball throughout the region, according to the Singapore Slingers website.

The ABL includes a total of six teams from Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore. The league hopes to expand to 10 teams within the next few seasons, according to Michael Johnson, General Manager of the Slingers, in a personal communication dated September 22, 2009. This goal will most likely be achieved as it was just announced by the ABL on September 28, 2009 that General Electric (GE) will be sponsoring the league and a new junior development programme that will bring in more talent.

The Singapore Slingers have never sold-out a game at the 11,000 seat Indoor Stadium. "This is definitely an area where we have struggled. People now know who the Slingers are but are still unsure of when, who and where we play,'" according to Mr. Johnson. As the ABL takes hold, there is hope for increased telecasts of the game throughout the region, resulting in more fans.

"The challenge in Singapore is the lack of traditional local media outlets to cover local sports as it would be covered in places like the [United States] US & regionally the Philippines, in fact the Slingers get far more brand exposure throughout ASEAN & Asia than we do in Singapore because of the local media culture," continued Mr. Johnson, in a personal communication dated September 28, 2009. In Singapore, the coverage of sports is based on cash investment instead of regularly telecasting the content for the fans.

One way to help improve the exposure of the team in Singapore, and achieve a higher fan base, is for local stores to provide the sale of Slingers' merchandise. After all, the team is part of the only international basketball league in Asia. They have spent the last three seasons trying to get their merchandise placed with neighborhood retail outlets with little achievement, according to Mr. Johnson.

Selling the merchandise would be a great way to boost the promotion of the team and increase tickets sales. Currently, the products are only offered during the games or at the Slingers Office. In the U.S.and in other countries, merchandise is sold everywhere and is a good part of a teams earning. There is no reason why this shouldn't occur in Singapore as well.

Come Watch Exciting Games This Season

The Slingers are fun to watch and brings back the nostalgia of watching national sports as a child, whether on television or in person. There are a total of 12 remaining home games coming-up, eight of which are the ASEAN league season games. Ticket prices are much lower in Singapore than offered in other leagues, with general admission prices starting at $8.00. Currently, the team is at 1-1 record for wins and losses with game three of the Challenge Series taking place tonight.

The copyright of the article Singapore Slingers Begin Challenge Series in International Basketball is owned by Julie Maggiacomo Carrera. Permission to republish Singapore Slingers Begin Challenge Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.