SINGAPORE – 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.
The women’s team take on China and Chinese Taipei in their pool games on March 29, while the men begin their campaign a day later against China and Iran, who emerged as winners from a qualifying group also comprising Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.
China, whose women and men are ranked first and fourth in the world respectively, present a formidable challenge but Rasis wants his players to demonstrate fighting spirit.
Noting that it is still early days for the national 3x3 programme, Rasic said the longer-term goal is to make the semi-finals of the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand and challenge for a medal.
He said: “The expectations at the moment cannot be something that isn’t realistic, we need to stay on the ground and give these players a chance to learn, a chance to have some ups and downs.
“Their abilities and potential are good and, if we stay together, we can produce results in the long term.”
Closing the gap with their regional rivals will take some time, with Rasic highlighting how Singapore’s players lack experience.
There are plans to change this, with the Basketball Association of Singapore working to give the teams more playing opportunities.
For example, in preparation for the Asia Cup, both teams went for a training camp in Serbia, before the men’s team took part in the China Super League while the women’s squad competed in Manila.
Gaining experience is crucial in improving the players’ ability to read situations in the game, said Rasic, who highlighted that an average player makes about 130 decisions in a 3x3 match.
The 1.96m Rasic, who played 753 games in his career, said: “If we are targeting South-east Asia and Asia, all these countries are two, three years in front of us based on how many tournaments they’ve played already.
“So we’re trying to catch them and, in the end, beat them.”
Men’s captain Kelvin Lim, who was part of the professional outfit Singapore Slingers for over six seasons, believes that Rasic’s expertise and connections will help the local 3x3 scene grow.
Hailing from basketball powerhouse Serbia, whose men’s team clinched the 3x3 bronze medal at the Tokyo Games and are ranked first in the world, Rasic’s achievements also include the 2017 Fiba 3x3 World Tour title, the most prestigious event on the 3x3 professional circuit.
Lim, 27, said the trip to Serbia, which was organised by Rasic, was eye-opening as they got to learn from the world’s best.
There, they trained alongside the top-ranked 3x3 player Strahinja Stojacic, and also realised the importance of small details such as the angle of a screen.
Lim added: “3x3 is considered very new in Singapore, and not many coaches understand the game. So, with coach Rasic coming in, it’s a good start to building the system.”
