COACH RASIC WANTS S'PORE FIGHTING SPIRIT

Serb say it’s early days for 3x3 format, with 2025 SEA Games medal a longer-term aim

- Kimberly Kwek

In his first briefing as Singapore's 3x3 national team head coach in August 2023, Lazar Rasic met about 18 players, sharing his plan to increase the number of training sessions from two to four weekly.

Fewer than 10 expressed their commitment to his programme, with the rest citing time constraints as a challenge. The Serb's tenure in Singapore was off to a rough start but he remained unfazed, wasting little time to build his squad.

It took him three months as the 36-year-old scouted players by organising trial tournaments and watching 5v5 games.

Seven months on, he now has a roster of 36 players - split equally across both men and women's teams who train eight times a week.

"Even before I came, I researched Singapore basketball and the culture. I cannot say this was expected but I tried to do my best based on the situation," said Rasic, who is on a two-year contract.

"This is important for developing basketball results. Right now it's important that we set up the system and how we want to look in the future." Rasic and his teams will face their first big test at the ongoing Fiba 3x3 Asia Cup at the OCBC Square in the Singapore Sports Hub.