The Singapore Slingers today announced a strong line-up ahead of the 11th edition of the Merlion Cup. The tournament which takes place from 20 to 24 of September at the OCBC Arena, will see the Slingers up against six of the best teams from the region. The Slingers will be under the guidance of seasoned coach, Neo Beng Siang, and assistant coach, Michael Johnson, and will be led by team captain Desmond Oh for this year’s Merlion Cup.  

Slingers Coach, Neo Beng Siang said, “The Slingers have had an exciting past few seasons making it to the ABL Finals two straight years, the team is pumped to battle at the Merlion Cup in front of our home fans. We’ll see fantastic regional stars as well as former NBA players and we are looking forward to taking on the best in the region,” he added “International tournaments such as the Merlion Cup bring the best talents together and it’s our chance to show fans that we can compete at the highest level. The Merlion Cup is also valuable preparation for our 2017-18 ABL season.”  

“The teams playing for this year’s Merlion Cup are tough but we are always ready to take on this challenge. There is always renewed vigour playing tournaments in Singapore especially with the supporters encouraging and cheering us on,” added captain Desmond Oh. “We hope that we can continue to inspire local basketball players and that we can help in the continuous development of the sport in the country.”  

The Merlion Cup 2017 will be the first time that will see seven teams competing against each other. Fans and supporters alike will be treated to more heart-pumping basketball action as this year’s edition added another match for every tournament day compared to last year’s two matches per day.