ONE FC 8 "Kings & Champions" - April 5, 2013

I've never been a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts, as it seems like a lot of hype with the action mostly consisting of the two combatants rolling around on the ground. Only recently have I started following the UFC, and even then, just checking the results of the top two or three matches every month and watching George St. Pierre when he fights.

Still, I'm not one to shy away from watching live sport, especially if I have never seen it before. So when a friend told me that ONE FC (the Asian equivalent of UFC) was holding an event in Singapore, I agreed to accompany him. It was the eighth One FC event, and the fourth to be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. ONE FC began less than two years ago, but crowds have been increasing steadily as their marketing takes hold and it certainly appeared that this evening was sold out, with about 12,000 in attendance, although about half of the seating area was blocked off.

Our seats were in the first row of the second seating area. At $60, these were a good deal as the row in front of us cost $140. The main problem with these seats is that the top of the octagon blocks the fighters' heads as they stand, as you can see below.



Dubbed Kings & Champions, the evening featured 10 bouts, with the main event being two Japanese fighters going after the One FC World Lightweight Championship. Keep in mind that this "World" Championship is only for those fighters who belong to One FC. That is one of the weaknesses of MMA, there are countless groups around the world promoting the sport but there isn't much interaction between them. Just as boxing's three federations render their belts less meaningful, the lack of cohesion among MMA organizations make their championships rather insignificant.



The introductions to each fight lasted around ten minutes, with the most annoying part being an announcer who trilled every R (Frrrrrrrrrrrrrom Brrrrrrrrrrrazil, fighting out of the rrrrrrred corner, Leandrrrrrrrrrrrrro Issa!!!!!!). The fighter would walk out, take his pat down, get greased up by the cut man, and then enter the Octagon. Meanwhile, the ring girl (above) would parade around and inform the crowd that the first round was about to begin.

Out of the ten fights, only two or three were good, with the best bout perhaps the aforementioned Issa taking on Russian Yusup Saadulev. Issa dominated in the takedowns but Saadulev was stronger when standing, and after 3 rounds, I thought the decision could have gone either way. Ultimately, it was the takedowns that gave Issa the victory.

One-time UFC World Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver took on Masakatsu Ueda in one of two Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Finals. Pulver (on the left below) is at the tail end of his career and was   choked out late in the second round. With the win, Ueda will face Kevin Belingon for the bantamweight title at the next One FC event in Manila.



The penultimate contest featured Melvin Manhoef and Brock Larson and should have been exciting, but both fighters were wary of the other's strengths and they spent most of the first two rounds dancing around, leading to whistling and boos from the crowd. At one point Larson ran around the ring trying to escape a Manhoef flurry, which was certainly the funniest point of the evening. In the end, a third-round takedown by Larson allowed him to pummel Manhoef for three straight minutes and take the bout.

The final bout of the evening saw Kotetsu Boku and Shinya Aoki duking it out for the One FC lightweight crown. Actually duking it out would be an overstatement, Aoki took Boku down early in the first round and tried to get him to tap out. Boku was able to avoid the loss for the first five minutes, but early in the second, Aoki again succeeded in a takedown and this time, he managed a rear choke to submit Boku and take the belt from him.

The whole event lasted 4 1/2 hours, of which there were 90 minutes of actual action. That's more or less the same as two basketball games but I'd have to say that there is much more going on in a typical basketball game. Too much of the fighting takes place on the floor and your view is often blocked by cameramen. In those cases, you can follow the happenings on one of the large screens, but if that is the case, you might be better off just watching at home. Which is where I'll be next time.

Best,

Sean

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Thailand Slammers 50 at Singapore Slingers 56 (ASEAN Basketball League) - January 13, 2013

If you measure a sport's popularity by the number of national federations that belong to the international governing body, basketball is surprisingly tops in the world. The Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIBA) boasts 213 members to 209 for FIFA, soccer's far more famous counterpart. Of course, I'd never argue that there are more people playing basketball than soccer, but it does show that both sports have fans around the world. So it should be no surprise that Southeast Asia has a basketball league of its own, known as the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). ASEAN stands for the Association of South East Asian Nations and bears no relation to my name, although A Sean Basketball League does have a certain ring to it.

Formed in 2009, the ABL has just started its fourth season with six teams, two less than contested the 2012 campaign. Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, and Singapore host squads that will play a 20-game slate over four months. The local team is known as the Slingers, a nickname that evokes both a basketball term and the world-famous concoction, the Singapore Sling. They finished 5th last season with a 9-12 record; perhaps the most impressive stat is they scored the same number of points as they allowed, 1,536 or about 73 per game.



This past weekend was the opener for 2013 and the Slingers had a home date against the Thailand Slammers, who were the cellar dwellers from 2012. Suffering from a dearth of live sports, I headed over to the Singapore Indoor Stadium to add another league to my list.

Singapore Indoor Stadium



I visited here at the end of last year for the Clash of Continents Tennis Tournament and briefly wrote  about it then, intending to provide a more detailed review this time around. However, the stadium amenities are so basic that there is very little to talk about.



As you enter, there are several banners displaying the word "Welcome" in different languages; this might be the only unusual feature (above).



For basketball, there are three ticket choices, with $19 being the most expensive that get you close to the floor. I opted for the general admission seats which are just $9 and are in the upper deck. As you can see in the shot of the box office above, the Slingers are not a popular pastime. I'd guess the stadium was barely 20% full and ushers were not checking tickets, so you could pretty much sit anywhere you wanted. I spent the first half by myself in the upper deck, then moved lower for the second half. At no point did anyone ask to see my ticket, and frankly, why would they bother? The ushers were helpful though, always asking me if there was anything they could do for me.



Food and beverage are quite limited and overpriced (2 beers for $25!), so I didn't bother partaking. There are a few restaurants on the riverside part of the stadium that make for much better destinations before or after the game. My recommendation is Brewerx, a local microbrewery with decent pizza and other snacks.



With less than 2,000 fans on hand, there were approximately 11,000 empty seats. This didn’t bode well for the atmosphere, but things got worse once the action started. Whenever the Slingers were on defense, the MC said “Let’s D up!” and tried to get a “D-Fence” chant going while the PA system played monotonous recorded clapping. He also let us know whenever there was a rebound although on several occasions, he called a defensive rebound a turnover. One of the funnier things was when the MC told the teams to “return to the court” after a timeout. I thought that was the referee’s job.



There were some cheerleaders (Slingerls, above, practicing before the game) who used slingshots (get it?) to send t-shirts into the crowd during timeouts. Quarter breaks and halftime saw a couple of typical games such as the one featuring kids trying to shoot hoops after donning oversized basketball uniforms.


The roof is pretty cool

Sadly, these were the most entertaining aspects of the afternoon as the quality of basketball was very bad. Singapore Indoor Stadium is a top-notch venue but there is precious little sport that makes it worthwhile to visit.



The Game

I didn't have high expectations for this league, but even then I was surprised at just how bad both teams were at shooting. The first quarter saw a combined 7/40 from the floor, or 17.5%. It wasn't like the defence was smothering, it was just that the players missed easy shot after easy shot. It was brutal to watch as the first quarter ended 10-8 for Singapore.



The second quarter was somewhat better (well, it had to be) and Singapore used a nice run to head into the half with a 35-23 advantage. They fell apart in the third quarter though, scoring only 8 points as Thailand cut the lead in half with just ten minutes left.



The Slammers kept the pressure on but their shooting remained awful and they couldn't quite get themselves over the hump despite getting with 2 a couple of times. The final was 56-50 for Singapore with the combined shooting percentage an unbelievably bad 31%.



I don't know if I can struggle through another one of these games. Even though $9 is not a lot of money, the basketball is likely worse than Division III. These players have not grown up with the game and although each team had a couple of Americans (perhaps the most famous is Rashad Jones-Jennings   who led Division I in rebounding in 2006-07, that's him on the right above, missing an easy layup), the talent differential was too much for the team to play in a cohesive manner. I was planning a trip to Jakarta to see a game in May and by then, perhaps the teams will have gelled and the entertainment value might make the trip worthwhile. But if not, I'll be giving this league a pass for the rest of the season.

Notes



The Slammers were coached by Joe "Jellybean" Bryant (above), father of Kobe. I DVR'd the game and when I returned, watched the post-game show. Bryant was interviewed and was extremely positive about his team despite their woeful performance. He said that most of them were local Thai players who had never played at this level and he expected them to improve over the season. It was nice to see a coach saying good things about his team rather than chewing them out after an embarrassing loss.

This was venue 396 for me. The rules indicate that you may count a venue twice if it hosts a different sport or different professional or college franchise in the same sport, so this counts as the 50th basketball arena in which I have seen a game. Only baseball (191) and hockey (77) have more visits, next on the list is soccer with 29. I have seen events in 85 different "leagues" as well.

Next Up

The rest of January will be very quiet as I prepare for what may be my only trip to North America this year. I'll be stopping in Japan for a week before that and will check out Tokyo's new entry in the bj League before flying to Dallas to start two weeks on the road watching lots of basketball as well as the first couple of weekends in the NCAA baseball season. The NHL is also back, and my boycott will be tested as the Leafs are in Long Island while I am visiting New York. Check back in February for updates on what promises to be an exciting trip.

Best,

Sean

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Clash of Continents - November 25, 2012

I’ve been in Singapore for just over 4 months now and in that time, I think I’ve seen a wider variety of sports than any similar period I spent in Japan. Locally I’ve seen soccer, water polo, golf, rugby sevens, and F1, and taken a couple of quick overseas trips for cricket and basketball. Many of these events may not have the media recognition of their more famous counterparts in Japan, but it has been a lot of fun to be part of them anyway. As a result, I’ve become more interested in seeing things that I would have dismissed as “amateurish” just a few months ago. The most recent example is the inaugural Clash of Continents tennis tournament that was held this past weekend at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The format of this tournament was a 2-day round robin between four top stars, each representing their continent. World #8 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia represented Europe while Japan’s Kei Nishikori was the Asian entry, Argentina’s Juan Monaco came all the way from South America, and Yank Sam Querrey played for North America. Mardy Fish was originally slated for that spot but his personal issues forced him to withdraw just a week before. I would have preferred to see Canadian Milos Raonic instead but I’m guessing the organizers had limited choice and took the first big name they could find.

The indoor stadium is one of several facilities that will make up the Singapore Sports Hub, a sports complex with five distinct venues along with retail and residential space. Scheduled to open fully in 2014, it will be highlighted by the new National Stadium which promises to be the best in Southeast Asia. For now though, it is still under construction.

The indoor stadium is old by comparison, having first opened in 1988. Despite its age, the stadium seems brand new and is one of the nicest venues I’ve seen in Asia. It is also the home of the Singapore Slingers, a team that plays in the Asean Basketball League, so I’ll be back for a couple of their games next year and provide a more thorough review at that time.

Instead of discussing the stadium itself, I’ll talk about the event, which was OK for a first attempt but needs to improve to become a regular part of the sporting calendar. Saturday featured four of the six round robin matches. I did not attend as I had flown overnight from Chennai after a tiring business trip and I had no energy to even get out of the house. I did follow online and each match was won by the higher ranked player. Tipsarevic won both his matches, Querrey lost twice, while Monaco beat Nishikori in the other.

Sunday was the more interesting day, with an exhibition match between Daniela Hantuchova and Peng Shuai (serving above), who are apparently more famous for their looks than their tennis talent. I showed up as this was getting started and watched a few games before doing my stadium tour. Peng won in two sets.

After this, British pop star Leona Lewis (above) gave a brief concert which was much more enjoyable than I expected. A great number of fans were there for her rather than the tennis and it made for a very diverse crowd. Lewis sang 5 or 6 songs in her first live performance in Singapore which took about 30 minutes. I enjoy when live music is mixed with sport in these circumstances (i.e. an exhibition tournament) as I get to see something I otherwise would have no interest in.

After Lewis left the stage, Kei Nishikori came out looking very sad (above). The evening was supposed to end with the final two round robin matches. First Querrey would take on Monaco and then Tipsarevic would face Nishikori. I was quite looking forward to the second match but it wasn’t to be as Nishikori announced (in perfect English) that had hurt himself the day before and had to withdraw. The fans were not happy but there was little that could be done. We all waited patiently for the other two to get ready, but there was not much enthusiasm from the crowd or the players.

Monaco defeated Querrey (above) in a bizarre battle that seemed to indicate both players just wanted to go home. Querrey won the first set 6-1; Monaco won the second set 6-1, setting up a first-to-10 tiebreak for the match. At this point, it seemed like play began for real and Monaco came away with a 10-7 win to take the match and second place.

Nishikori’s withdrawal was not the only disappointment. The availability and cost of food and drink was simply not worthy of a sporting event of this stature. The major issue is that the hot food was served at 10:30 and had to be consumed by 2:30, so if you arrived after that (like I did), there were slim pickings indeed. Even if there was hot food, I don't know if I would have bothered; hot dogs were listed at $8.

Alcohol, on the other hand, was widely available, but rather overpriced with two bottles of beer going for $25. Booze is expensive here in Singapore due to high taxes, but this was crazily overpriced. Cocktails and wine were also on the menu but I saw very few patrons trying any sort of potent potables. Most preferred Coke at $4 or mineral water at $3.

The price of tickets ranged from $150 for arena seats to $60 for balcony (from where the above picture was taken), with the terrace seats in between at $90. Given that this would allow you two full days of tennis (seven matches in all) along with the concert, I think that the lower priced options are fair value for tennis fans, but if you only want to go one day, then it gets a bit much. I think they need to include single-day options for those of us who don’t want to spend our entire weekend watching the same players over and over again.

On the positive side, there were some "kids' courts" (below) at the south entrance where children could practice with soft tennis balls, as well as a section sponsored by "Tennis for the Blind" where you could be blindfolded and try to hit large tennis balls that were equipped with bells. This was not marketed as well as it could have been, but was still crowded with fans throughout the afternoon.

Overall, this was the first Clash of Continents and it was deemed a success with around 7,000 fans showing up each day. There is no guarantee that the event will be held in 2013, but if it is, organizers will have to improve their offerings to make it more attractive to tennis fans who have high expectations as Singapore becomes more and more of an international sporting hub.

Next Up

Nothing remaining for this year, although I am still planning my Christmas trip and that could end up somewhere with a sporting event. As well, the 2013 schedule is being firmed up and should include some new destinations and events and no NHL regardless of how the lockout finishes. Check back on occasion for announcements on both fronts.

Best,

Sean

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