Article by SG Basketball Coach PK Ong

Allysa Lidya Bintang was first inspired to play basketball in May 2017 after she heard an announcement over the PA system about her school senior girls’ team winning the national championship. Motivated by her seniors’ team success, Lidya went to try out in the school team selection and made the cut. She is now captain of the junior girls’ team in Kranji Primary School.

At 10 years old, Lidya’s aptitude for the game is clearly visible and her athleticism and skill are well beyond her age. Coupled with an eager attitude to learn and an indomitable fighting spirit, Lidya is a strong leader for her team. Her most memorable moment in basketball was when her team defeated Fernvale Primary and reached the National 4th place ranking. She is confident that her team will win the championship next year.

For Lidya, teamwork is most crucial factor in basketball, as she believes that without it, one cannot achieve anything. She has big goals in basketball for the upcoming year and she joined SG Basketball Academy to help her reach these. Lidya hopes that she will learn new skills at SG Basketball and how to cooperate with new teammates from different backgrounds at training.

Her training with SG Basketball paid off when Lidya recently led her SG Basketball Girls’ Team to the championship title at the GetActive! Singapore 3-on-3 tournament organized by ActiveSG under Sport Singapore. This was her first championship win representing SG Basketball Academy since joining.

When asked about his thoughts on this young player, Coach Victor Tan has this to share about her, “Lidya immediately stood out among her peers when she first joined the school team, with her speed and aggression. Her positive attitude to training endears her to the teachers and teammates. If she can master her basics and continue to strive for excellence, the sky is the limit for this talented girl.”

With this, we spoke to Lidya about her basketball journey thus far and here are some interesting bites from our conversation.

Editor: What is your impression of your first basketball coach?
Lidya: He is funny but serious. I recalled an incident where one of my teammates saw a dead bug on the court and she was making a fuss about it. Coach in all seriousness, asked her to remove the bug (which she eventually did) and everyone had a good laugh about it.

E: I understand that you experienced a low point in basketball during the school competition this year. Can you share more about it?
L: After we lost the game against Bedok Green, Coach Victor did not ride back with the bus, which he usually did. The girls cried because we felt ‘abandoned.’ After that, Coach missed two training sessions and we were all very upset.

However, he made his return in our match against Fernvale and we were all fired up and wanted to win the game for him. We won the match and both our Senior and Junior Girls’ teams achieved the Zone championship. He is a very encouraging coach and we really appreciated his guidance.

E: What is your current basketball goal?
L: My goal is to get the Senior Girls’ MVP in 2019 and help lead my team to the National title.