Around 6000 tickets already sold for the game.

Interesting that at half-time, you can win Wildcats merchandise .... but nothing for the Kings. You lucky buggers in Singapore - if only we could get their stuff out of Australia too, it'd be a better place!

The post game write up from the Singapore Straits Times

Jan 29, 2005
BASKETBALL
Historic game draws 6,2000

Fans gladly pay to watch Aussie sides play first regular game overseas
By Chia Han Keong

IT WAS a basketball game with no household names.

Still, 6,200 fans, 5,200 of them paying ones, were curious enough to make their way to the 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium last night for an Australian National Basketball League game between the Perth Wildcats and the Sydney Kings.

The Kings won 94-88, but few fans were interested in the score.

Instead, they wanted to see if Australian basketball could provide the same high-octane thrills of the more popular American version - the National Basketball Association.

Their verdict? Not quite the NBA, but entertaining enough.

Said Melvin Teo, a 22-year-old undergraduate: 'I was expecting a lot of slam dunks, so I was slightly disappointed there were only a few.

'But the stadium was loud and fun, everyone seemed to enjoy himself.'

It was a noisy game, with hip-hop music blaring even during the time-outs as sassy cheerleaders danced on the court.

Fans, Singaporeans and expatriates alike, also added their loud cheers and 'defence' chants.

It did not matter if the $15 adult-ticket was $9 more than an S-League one.

Said Brandon Tan, 27, a civil servant: 'It's not too expensive, considering it is held at the Indoor Stadium, with comfortable seats and air-conditioning. We were well-entertained the whole night, so $15 is just right.'

Last night's game was historic. It was the first NBL match played outside Australia and New Zealand in a bid to expand viewership to the Asia-Pacific region. Judging from the lukewarm response to players' introductions, more is needed to familiarise the fans with them.

The likes of Rosell Ellis, Tony Donaldson and Jason Smith do not roll off the fans' tongues like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming. Nor do they possess the skills of those NBA stars.

What they have is tremendous competitive fire. With the Kings vying for top spot in the league and the Wildcats clinging on to the seventh quarter-final place, the players contested every possession.

In particular, the Kings, with a 17-9 record, seemed determined to establish their superiority early, and every Wildcats drive was met with an emphatic block.

Fans did not see the first dunk until 9:33 left in the second quarter, when the Kings' Ben Knight was left unguarded below the basket.

By then, the Sydney team had weathered an early 14-7 run by the Wildcats to lead 24-22 at the end of first quarter.

With their height advantage over the Perth team, the Kings relied on their tallest players, 2.02m Knight and 2.06m Mark Sanford, to stifle the Wildcats' offence.

Their shorter team-mates, Smith and Luke Martin, poured in 12 and 11 points respectively as the Kings took a 50-34 half-time lead.

Although the Wildcats reduced the deficit to a single point, trailing 83-84 after Mathew Shanahan's three-pointer with 2:50 left, Smith replied in kind - a three-pointer to pull away for the win.

So was it a successful venture by the NBL?

'We'll let the fans decide if our league is an entertaining choice to watch,' said its commissioner Rick Burton.

Judging from the boisterous crowd, who even produced a mini-Kallang Wave, he could not have wished for a more positive response.

"The likes of Rosell Ellis, Tony Donaldson and Jason Smith do not roll off the fans' tongues" ..... Tony Donaldson doesn't even roll of the tongues of people living in Perth!

As for the price of tickets ..... they reckon $15 is more expensive than their usual prices. Heavens above, don't send them to the DHD!!

HA HA Moses thats a good quip