Is Xin Hua SC ready to make some noise at SEABA Champions Cup 2018?
SINGAPORE (FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 SEABA Qualifiers) - The Singapore Xin Hua Sports Club will be the new kids on the Champions Cup block, but they're ready to make a lot of noise.
SINGAPORE (FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 SEABA Qualifiers) - The Singapore Xin Hua Sports Club will be the new kids on the Champions Cup block, but they're ready to make a lot of noise.
Xin Hua are a rising power in Singapore basketball, having won the country's National Basketball League (NBL) Division 1 championship in November 2017. Despite the team being started just in 2016, they were able to soar to the local hoops scene's nexus, beating Safsa basketball club, 76-61, in the NBL Final. Former national team player Mitchell Folkoff led the way for the victors with 13 points and 12 rebounds in that fixture, and he will be among the team's most seasoned weapons when they plunge into the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 SEABA Qualifiers this month.
| Singapore Xin Hua SC roster for FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 SEABA Qualifiers | |||
| Joshua Chu | Chua Boon Heng | Mitchell Folkoff | Foo Ce Xian |
| Edmund Goh | Emgeeyar Gopal | Han Xingyuan | Kelvin Liow |
| Kenneth Low | Joshua Neo | Seet Zhi Yun | Wong Teng Yew |
Joining Folkoff to spearhead Xin Hua's charge will be other former national team players Foo Ce Xian, Han Xingyuan and Kenneth Low. Han and Low saw action for the Singapore national team at the FIBA Asia Challenge 2014 in Wuhan, China, while Foo played for the country's U18 team in the SEABA U18 Championship 2014, which also included Han.
Unlike their opponents this time around, though, Xin Hua won't be reinforced by any foreign players even if American Xavier Alexander played for them in the recent Kluang Basketball Invitational 2018, which they won. Because of this, Xin Hua head coach Han Lijun is expected to lean heavily on Folkoff and the other former national team players for the squad's production. He knows it's an uphill battle, but they will do everything the can to qualify for the next round of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 qualifiers.
The Singaporeans will compete with three other SEABA club teams in the competition that will be held in Nonthaburi, Thailand from 8-10 May - Pelita Jaya of the Indonesia Basketball League (IBL), Red Baron of Malaysia's StatSports League and Mono Vampire from hosts Thailand.
The FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 SEABA Qualifier will qualify 2 teams to the "Road to Final 8 (East Asia)" round of the tournament, which has already seeded teams from Chinese Taipei and India. The top team of that round will be grouped with teams from Australia, Japan and the Philippines in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018 Final 8.
FIBA