Singapore is no an ideal location for a sport team to be based. Slingers will have to market strongly and put a good team on the floor however i don't see it happening.

Hongkong?

Why would Hong Kong be all that much better?

I don't think we have the talent to support more teams without changes being made.

Do not give up yet .

Hongkong would get greater crowd numbers than Sinagpore, they could use talent from their own country. (There would be enough) Plus, there is more money in Hongkong than Singapore.

Defence wins games - care to put up a proposed roster?

Hong Kong is an 8 maybe 9 hour plane ride - too far away

Is it being marketed poorly in Singapore? I have a close friend (not a basketballer) who lived in Singapore for 6 months and he said the local population were basketball mad. Is there no interest for the locals to turn up and watch a team compete in an Australian league?

would they be more interested in watching locals play in an australian league?? Surely thats the way to go, if the NBL is intent on expanding then maybe the city/country the team comes from should be where the majority of players come from!! My understanding is that for a singaporian to play for the slingers they are still considered and import arn't they??

There is a lot of interest in bball in Singapore with a growing local league a BAS league and school competitions for local schools as well as international schools. The radio and newspapers seem not to know how to report on the games pre games and after games and this season MANY games were on a Wed evening all but banning local kids coming out to mid week games due to a 7:30am schoolstart the next morning.Scheduke should be better this season.

Was never gonna work with a team based in Singapore filled with Aussies and Americans. This has proven to be the case, and the nbl needs to look hard at its options.

A move into Asia was good for Australian basketball, but now the fact is that they need to look at Asian playing as non imports for this to work, not just singaporeans.

Singapore's talent isnt up to nbl standard and they need to look to China to get players who can compete with the nbl standard.

Good luck to them, I did hear they were looking at doing this, hope it come off.

"My understanding is that for a singaporian to play for the slingers they are still considered and import arn't they??" - Quote from nutter.

I believe that a player from Singapore who plays for Singapore is not considered as an import.

However, if that player was to play for the Breakers or an Australian Team, then they would be considered an import.

This is different to New Zealand in that all players from New Zealand are not considered an import no matter who they play with.

it will never work until majority of there players are Chinese Singaporeans.

It has been discussed on the forum before about Asian decent players being imports or not, i think they are not due to comments made by Monty Burns when the NBL brought in a Chinese player to the All Star game 2 years back.

I've suggested before that each team be permitted the option of having an import from one of the strong countries in Asia - China, Philippines, etc (especially as the league grows?) - and/or that Singapore be able to play as many Asian imports as they'd like.

Undermanned club teams used to be on par with the Chinese national team - I think that Oscar has played with the 36ers, Sydney and/or Boomers against Yao and a few of the other big name Chinese players - Mengke, Wang, Yi Jianlian (projected 5th in the next NBA draft), etc.

Singapore needs to provide a crash course on developing their local players to NBL standard. A competitive team made up mainly of local players would attract more spectators. The team as it is now is still like an intruder in their country.

EC, how short a crash course would you propose?

Sport is not encouraged in schools in Singapore, not a part of life. It's all about the academic. Those who play, play in playgrounds and have no concept of proper basketball, let alone NBL standard.

Having said that, the Singapore government are taking steps in produce more world-class athletes and basketball is a sport identified.

A competitive team of locals would takes many many years.

Mike Helms become the "poster boy" of the Slingers, was on billboards, advertisements and well, posters. So if they can't get an icon player to hang around, building a following will be tough.

Give it time everyone I think. Bob Turner is a smart business man.

The draw did kill them(Which they asked for btw). Lets see what names they come up with.

I too think it is interesting who they might sign but i would bet that Stewart and Nash are not on the list.

sorry to say it but the singapore experiment won't work.It was such a bold experiment.yes they played some promo games there with perth and sydney a few years and it was well received but to have a team in the league and expecting to get local support wont happen.the ideal placein asia is the philippines.yes they already have their own pro leagues but the interest in basketball is such that people are basketball mad enough to support their own philo league and our own NBL.Bob turner and the nbl already know the singapore franchise will go the same way as the pirates and cannons.stop wasting more money and take the team to a country that loves basketball the philippines.When it comes to sport Singaporethe public is only interested in soccer.check th singapore newspapers when the NBL is on.They are covering euro soccer games,dedicating 2 pages on soccer.I lived in singapore for a while so i know my stuff