The title, (which I cannot claim to be my own!) refers to the  implementation of ‘activity based learning’ (ABL) in Tamil Nadu across the  primary school curriculum. Children are now taught English as a subject from their first year in school through a series of self access cards.  British Council has been working in partnership with unicef to enhance the skills of upper primary teachers to support children through the transition from ABL classes to more traditional classrooms and encourage the use of communicative activities.

Who says Singaporeans can’t play basketball?

The local players stepped up their play and combined for 48 points as Singapore Slingers thrashed Satria Muda 96-72. As usual, Kyle Jeffers (K.J) and Michael LeBlanc (M.L.B) top-scored for the Slingers with 22 point and 18 points respectively. Kyle Jeffers complimented his scoring spree with 14 points. But it was the locals excellent play that gave Slingers the lop-sided win.

Today, the cheer crew decided to move to the South Stand so as to make an impact with our cheers. Before the game started, we got a glimpse of the Satria Muda team’s warmup. Alexander Gordon Hartman stood out with his precision shooting and high-flying dunks. He even did a windmill dunk during the warm-up session. We thought to ourselves: well, it’s gonna be a tough game.

First quarter

Desmond “D-Glove” Oh replaced the Flyboy at the starting 2 spot. He started for the Slingers at the Brunei Barracudas Away game too. As a hard-nose lock-down defensive player, Desmond’s new starting role has enabled Slingers to start the game off on a defensive note. Of course, he wasn’t totally absent from offense either. Hitting a three ball from downtown, he pushed the Slingers lead to 16-6 and forced the Satria Muda to call a timeout in the first quarter.

But the Flyboy wasn’t absent either. Coming off the bench, “Flyboy” WeiJian was quick to get his groove. First, it was a nifty drive into the paint. Followed by a three-point from downtown. We noticed something different from the Flyboy in this game. Normally, the Flyboy shoots set-shots for treys. But today, he was using his hops and shooting jumpshots for treys.

That wasn’t all. Another local that showed up early in the game was “Long” ranger, Wong Wei Long. The Long-ranger wasted no time in getting his guns reloaded. Like a western gunslinger, he delivered an “in-your-face” long-range bomber to cap the beginning of his shooting spree. And to be sure that he isn’t all about shooting, the Long-ranger was also good from close range. He drove into the paint and did an air-reverse lay-up shot past 3 defenders.

Steven Khoo also shined, hitting 3 of 4 free-throws to end the quarter, though he committed some turnovers on a Satria Muda full-court press.

Second Quarter

In the second quarter, there was a scary moment for the Slingers. Veteran Point Guard, Al Vergara, suffered an injury to his right knee on a collision with Faisal Achmad Julius and had to leave the game permanently. Al Vergara was grimacing in pain and had to be helped out of the court by the Slingers bench crew. Fortunately, the Slingers had the “Long-ranger” Wei Long who was performing exceptionally well thus far to replace the injured Vergara for the rest of the quarter (and the rest of the game).

Pathman “The Indian Chief” did his usuals. Once again, we found him shooting his David West-esque mid-range catch-and-shoot jumpers and running off his deceptive cuts into the paint for points.

Slingers were already blowing out the other team 53-28 at the half. It was defense that won the half. D-Glove was haunting SM’s Youbel Sondakh the entire half.

Third Quarter

With the big lead, it seems that there was no way the Slingers could lose this game. But we were reminded of the Patriots and Tigers game where the Patriots led 42-22 at the half, but saw a fierce Tigers’ come-back in the third quarter. We told ourselves: no way this was going to happen to the Slingers.

Indeed the Satria Muda Team began their second half on a vengeance. Seeking to exploit the Slingers one true weakness which is the inability to break full-court presses well, the Satria Muda team managed to scrap a few points off Slingers’ turnover. This is something I feel that Slingers really ought to work on. If Slingers could break the press, we would be a much better team (not that we aren’t already).

The Flyboy and the Long-rangercontinue to score on three-pointers. Flyboy was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc (with his jumpshot treys) while Long-ranger Wei Long was 3 for 4. They were deadly from downtown and the Britama players had simply no answers. Even the fans were astonished by how well these two guys were playing.

Not to mention Desmond. D-Glove was equally stunning on the opposite end of the court. He drew charges, flocked his defender like a defensive demon and Sondakh could hardly breathe the entire game. D-Glove was truly impressive. Standing at 176 cm, it was amazing how he could shut down the 190 cm Sondakh with his speed and quickness.

Most knew that Al V was injured but what went almost unnoticed was Marcus Ng’s bleeding leg. He was no big deal, but he left the game to clean off the blood:

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter saw a few seldom used slingers get some playing time. Lim Wai Sian aka”LaoLao” got his fair share of minutes, but did not score a point.

Mid-way in the fourth, the cheer crew was screaming “WE WANT PRASAD!!! WE WANT PRASAD!!!” True enough, with less than 2 minutes left to play, the man, Prasad Sadasivan checked into the game. And 5 local Slingers were on the court.

Then came the moment fans have been waiting for. Prasad Sadasivan was fed a pass from the Long-ranger, who had 4 assists, and scored a lay-up in the paint against Christian Ronaldo Sitepu. The fans were berserk!!!!!

Prasad has played his first minute and scored his first points in a Slinger game!

The game ended shortly with the Slingers thrashing the SM 96-72.

Final Remarks

Though the game was lop-sided, this game was extremely rewarding and entertaining as we saw our local boys perform. Many critics have outrightly proclaimed that Slingers were over-dependant on their imports for their wins. But today, these critics are proven wrong. There was a huge contribution from the local boys that resulted in the win.

Flyboy Wei Jian scored 13 points. After the game, when I met him, I told him that it was his career high. He sniggered back and said, “More is to come!” Check out his highlights here:

The “Long”-ranger Wei Long had 13 points too. No four point plays this round, but he had 3 downtown bombers, an air-reverse lay-up and a “floater”. He also dished out 4 assists. Check out his highlights here below:

Desmond “D-Glove” filled up the stats sheet with 7 points, also a career-high. But mostly, he did the unrecorded stuff, all the dirty work and limited Youbel Sondakh to only 4 miserable points.  He even lost his front tooth recently. Yet, he is ever tenacious on D! What a warrior!

Theo Little, the Satria Muda import was almost unexistent in the game. He scored 4 points on 1/3 shooting. Kudos to the inside defensive presence of K.J! K.J is really the best defensive import in the entire ABL. Tops!

Good win for the Slingers who are still unbeaten 4-0 and top of the table in the ABL.

Hopefully, Al Vergara can get well soon and be back in the starting line-up.

필승을 다짐하는 코브라멤버들

“홍순국 선수의 끝내기 2루타로 7회 콜드승을 거둔 코브라”

UCSD 코브라(감독 홍순국)가 10월31일 커니메사 야구장에서 열린 제1회 샌디에고 아시안베이스볼리그(ABL)에서 숙적 대만팀을 맞아 17-7로 대파하며 짜릿한 콜드승(승리투수 허성호, ECE, Ph.D.)을 따냈습니다.

이로써 한빛교회 (11-0) 부터 시작된 콜드 게임 행진은 지난주 샥스(24-13 )에 이어 그동안 열세였던 대만팀 마저 콜드승으로 무너뜨리면서 리그의 모든 팀을 대상으로 콜드게임을 따낸 유일한 팀이 되었습니다.

2007년 11월 UCSD 한인 대학원생을 주축으로 만들어진 코브라는 지난해 개최된 샌디에고 한인 시범야구리그에서 압도적인 실력차를 보이며 리그우승을 차지한 바 있습니다. 하지만 올해 9월부터 시작된 정식 리그에서는 작년 우승팀으로서 받은 시드 경기에서 대만팀에게 첫패를 당한 뒤 최근엔 리그 성적 최하위인 한빛교회에마저 무너지며 팀은 충격에 빠졌었습니다.

상대적인 전력이 우세함에도 불구하고 부진한 타격때문에 연패를 당한 코브라는 최근 가진 팀 훈련때 타격 연습을 강화했습니다. 특히 코브라의 고문인 전 프로야구 투수 출신인 손혁 선수가 직접 볼을 던져주며 팀의 타격 훈련을 지도했습니다. 그 결과 팀은 지난주 커니메사 경기장에서 있었던 리그 선두 샥스와의 경기에서 팀의 모든 타자가 안타를 쳐냈으며, 팀의 거포인 홍순국, 문지명 선수의 연이은 홈런은 콜드게임을 확정지었습니다.

샥스전에서 홈런을 치고 홈으로 들어오는 홍순국(MSE, Ph.D.) 선수와 환호하는 동료들

샥스전 대승에 이어 이번주 대만전에서 필승을 다짐한 코브라는 게임 초반부터 시작된 대만 수비의 혼란을 틈타 타자 이순을 하며 대량 득점을 뽑아냈습니다. 콜드게임점수에서 2점을 남겨둔 7회말 1사 1,2루 상황을 맞은 코브라의 홍순국 선수는 멤버들의 2루타 외침에 약속이나 한듯 초구를 강타, 좌익수 키를 넘기며 세번째 콜드승(Mercy rule)을 만들어내는 주역이 되었습니다.

오늘의 승리를 더하면서 코브라는 리그전적 4승(샥스2승, 대만, 한빛) 2패(대만,한빛) 1무(대만)를 기록, 리그 선두인 샥스팀을 1무 차이로 따라 잡으면서 포스트리그인 아시안시리즈 출전의 가능성을 높였습니다.

콜드승을 알리는 끝내기 홈런을 날린 문지명(IRPS) 선수

코브라팀의 남은 경기일정 및 장소는 다음과 같습니다.

11월7일(토) 8:30am 코브라(OB)-코브라(YB) 비공식게임 @ 커니메사 경기장(구글맵위치 32.799576,-117.169211)

11월14일(토) 8:30am 코브라-한빛교회(제3차전) @커니메사 경기장

11월21일(토) 8:30am 코브라-샥스 (제3차전) @미라메사 경기장(구글맵위치 32.799576,-117.169211)

한편 UCSD 코브라는 초기에 UCSD 석사, 박사과정 학생팀으로 시작해 현재는 포스닥 및 학부생도 참여하고 있어 명실상부 UCSD 한인 야구팀(http://club.cyworld.com/ucsdbaseball)으로 발전하고 있습니다. 현재 한국 TV에 인기리에 방영중인 천하무적야구단이 샌디에고로 전지훈련을 오는 그날, 천하무적야구단을 상대로 콜드승을 거둔다는 각오로 오늘도 코브라는 달리고 있습니다.

샥스전 콜드승 후 기자앞에서 포즈를 취하고 있는 코브라(맨 좌측 전 프로야구 투수 손혁)

Name: Wong Wei Long
Jersey no: #5
Position: Point Guard
Nickname: The Marksman, 4-point Specialist, Long-Ranger
Height: 174 cm (5-8)
Weight: 77 kg (170 lbs)
Birthdate: 18 August 1988
Birth Place: Singapore
College:
Previous Clubs:

Wei Long missed the first game of the Singapore Challenge Series due to National Service commitments. He scored a career high of 14 points, hitting 4 3-pointers, on the Slingers’ opening ABL game against the Brunei Barracudas. This is also the current record for points scored by a local player. He also accomplished a remarkable feat, hitting a potential 4-point play in each of the first two ABL games.

Strengths: Wei Long is an excellent shooter with unlimited range. He has good ball control and has the ability to bring the ball upcourt with ease. He is also tenacious on defense and plays with determination and hustle. He also has good court vision and has made a few good passes thus far.

Weaknesses: Has to improve his free-throw shooting (currently 1/6 from the charity strike), lacks a decent drive to the rim, emotional player, has to work on dribbling against pressure, lacks the height and wingspan to cover taller guards.

NBA Comparision: Derek Fisher

Videos:

Wei Long double-pumps a three-pointer to beat the buzzer

“The Markman” was deadly from downtown in the 1st two games:

 
Photos:

-Photo Courtesy of Len-

To catch more of “The Marksman”, come down to watch the Singapore Slingers live at the Indoor Stadium. The Slingers will be taking on Satria Muda Britama on 1 Nov at 5 pm. Get your tickets here on Sistic.

Salve, amigos

Lembram da Doutora Havanir? Lembram, ainda, que a caliente senhora estava à cata de um pezinho gelado para chamar de seu, após o passamento do inesquecível Enéas Carneiro?

Pois bem, o tempo passa, o tempo voa, e a Rede TV! continua na vanguarda da bizarrice nacional. Após o Superpop proporcionar o encontro, o Manhã Maior (merda?) mostrou-nos como vai indo a, digamos assim, “lua-de-mel” da sapeca namoradeira e seu escolhido.

O amor é lindo, é uma coisa tão, tão… Para tomar emprestadas as palavras do gênio mor, Machado de Assis: “Deus, para a felicidade do homem, inventou a fé e o amor. O Diabo, invejoso, fez o homem confundir fé com religião e amor com casamento.” Enfim, que as imagens falem por si…

E aí, amaram?

Abraço

[Sicrano]

P.s.1: o que são aquelas duas moçoilas “apresentando” a reportagem? Bom, a presença de uma delas se explica. No fim das contas, pode ser uma dificuldade compartilhada.

P.s.2: mas quer dizer, a mulher de um abre na Rede TV! e a mulher do outro fecha, não necessariamente nesta ordem ou separadamente ou…

The Singapore Slingers survive a late rally from the Philippines Patriots to win 74-69. Once again, it was Kyle Jeffers and Michael LeBlanc a.k.a M.L.B who led the Slingers in scoring with 17 and 15 points respectively. Kyle also accompanied his game-high with 12 rebounds. The atmosphere at the Singapore Indoor Stadium was ecclectic. A huge number of fans turned up to watch the game.

I’ll try to recall as much from the game, but it will be tough because, most of the time, I was so engrossed into cheering for the home team to win.

1st Quarter

The first quarter was incredibly exciting as we got to watch numerous dunks exchanged on both sides. Kyle Jeffers opened the Slingers scoreboard with a monster jam, while Brandon Powell from the Patriots replied with one of his own on the other end. Immediately for the next possession, K.J slams it down again! (Now I’ll try to show the videos of the dunk fest) “Flyboy” Weijian later scored his only two points of the night in fashion with a layup from Al Vergara’s pass.

The crowd got into the game quite early due to the early game dunks. The atmosphere is fantastic. The Singapore Slinger fans are getting into a little verbal sparring with the Patriot fans.

2nd Quarter

The score is still quite close in this quarter. The local players were rather quiet and committed a few turnovers, probably due to the boos by the Pinoy crowd. The Patriots climbed back into the game and even took a lead. After missing or airballing a few threes, Wei Long, the “Little Dragon” finally found his shot with what seemed like Deja Vu. He converted another AND1 three-pointer. Just for record purposes, even NBA players do not hit those shots as regularly as Wei Long does. One for each game. This time, he hit the free-throw to make it a four-point play.

For me, that was the shot that stopped the bleeding.

Not long after, Wong Wei Long hit another three. He now is the top local scorer with 7 quick points at the half. With that, the Slingers had a brief run to lead the half 34-30.

3rd Quarter

During half-time, the Slinger Army shifted a few rows down as we realised that our cheers weren’t making much impact. Like the 3rd quarter of the previous game, this was when the Slingers caught fire. K.J, Al Vergara and M.L.B both hit shots to bring the Slingers up 45-34. With 5 mins left in the 3rd, Jeffers was called for his 4th personal foul.

For the fans thinking that it is the imports that were carrying the Slingers so far, this was a scary moment, as Jeffers, our key player has to sit out due to foul trouble. Some of us were thinking that the Patriots with their 3 American imports in the game would take advantage of Jeffers’ absence to climb back into the game.

However, despite 4 local players on the court, this was not so. The rest of the third quarter was totally unexpected. Pathman, “The Indian Chief”, took on the scoring load. First, he nailed a ‘David West’-esque mid-range jumper. Then, he converted a foul-in reverse layup for a Steven Khoo’s pass.

The Patriots players were getting a little frustrated missing shots, so they began fouling the Slingers hard. On one unfortunate play, as Ybanez of the Patriots was trying to foul LeBlanc, he collided with a fellow teammate and ended hard on the floor. Apparently, he tried to return into the game but staggered a few steps back and collapsed. His nose was bleeding, probably from a head concussion.

Slingers held onto the big lead 54-42 coming into a fourth. It was a remarkable defensive effort by the Slingers, especially the locals, particularly ‘Defense’ Desmond! They limited the Patriots to 12 points in the 3rd.

4th Quarter

This quarter was bad for the Slingers. We watched the Slingers self-destruct with plenty of turnovers that were converted into easy Patriot baskets. The Slingers saw their 12 point lead dwindle down to only 6 at 56-50. That was when things started to heat up. Both the Slingers and the Patriots supporters were very much in the game, cheering frantically for their respective teams.

We saw Wong Wei Long get into a little verbal scruffle with the Patriots’ guard Coronel. Apparently, Coronel had fouled Wei Long hard on the dribble and Wei Long raised a little of an elbow to break free from Coronel. It was interesting though seeing a local boy standing up for his rights for a professional basketball instead of keeping quiet, like most Singaporean players would normally do.

With 2 minutes left to play, the Slingers were leading 69-59. It seems as if the Slingers would be coming off another easy win. But no, with 2 three pointers and a couple of silly mistakes by the Slingers, the Patriots were brought to within 4 points 69-65. But Jeffers quickly drawed a foul and hit 1 of 2 freethrows to extend Slingers by 5 points with 55 seconds left to play.

Things were starting to get exciting. It was really anyone’s game. The score was 70-66 with 33 seconds left to play and it was the Patriots possession.

Kudos to the Slingers tight defense on this possession. They forced a 5 second violation on the Patriots inbound and that clinged the game.

Final score: 74-69

The Slingers are now at the top of the ABL standings.

Final Remarks

This Slinger win was hard-fought. The game shifted sides many times. The crowd atmosphere for this game was fabulous. Due to the heat of the game, cheers for the Slingers were finally heard from the stands. We could see Singapore Indoor Stadium in the making of becoming an impregnable fortress for the Slingers! The Slinger imports contributed as usual. But the local players were mediocre in their performance. A total of 23 turnovers were committed by the Slingers. So, that is definitely something that has to be worked on for the next game.

By the way, we also took a group photo with Joanne Peh after the game. She was there with a few other local celebrities to support the Slingers.

Name: Desmond Oh
Jersey no: #2
Position: Combo guard
Nicknames: D Glove
Height: 176 cm (5-9)
Weight: 75 kg (165 lbs)
Birthdate: 16 June 1986
Birth Place: Singapore
College:
Previous Clubs: Eng Tat Hornets, Singapore Cagers

Desmond had a brief stint with the Singapore Slingers last season. Though, he did not make a field goal during the Singapore Challenge Series, he stood out due to his tenacious perimeter defense.

Strengths: Hard-nosed lockdown defender, good at pressuring ball-handlers, can defend the perimeter well, has an athletic frame with above average jumping abilities, good court vision, has a good three-point stroke with potential to become a decent outside shooter.

Weaknesses: Lack of confidence in hitting shots, lacks a decent drive that enables him to finish the paint, one-dimensional player, poor decisions made on offense, unable to create his own jumpshot, lacks wing-span and height that enables him to cover bigger and taller wing players.

NBA Comparison (He plays like): Dahntay Jones

Videos:

Desmond Oh denies the fastbreak with a BIG block:

Photos:

Desmond doing what he does best – Defense!

To catch more of Desmond Oh, come down to watch the Singapore Slingers live at the Indoor Stadium. The inaugural game of the ABL season kicks off on 11 Oct (Sun) at 4 pm. The Slingers will be taking on the Brunei Barracudas. Get your tickets here on Sistic.

The Singapore Slingers kickstarted their ABL Season with an impressive one-sided win over the Brunei Barracudas. The high man for the Slingers was Michael LeBlanc a.k.a M.L.B with 20 points. Back-up point guard Wong Wei Long also had his break-out game, scoring 12 points from 4 treys. “Flyboy” Hong Wei Jian was rather quiet for the 1st half, but exploded with not 1 but 2 crowd-dazzling spectacular dunks in the 4th quarter. Another feat accomplished in the game was Kyle Jeffers game-high 20 rebounds. This is the most rebounds ever collected by a Slinger.

1st Quarter

The crowd was significantly smaller compared to the previous games. It was disappointing seeing such a dismal crowd appearing for an inaugural ABL game in Singapore, a milestone in Singapore’s basketball history. It is a consolation at the least seeing that this crowd was there to root for the Slingers.

The game began with a quiet tip-off. The crowd was reserved in giving their cheers for the team. Probably, this translated to the quiet local players’ performances. The local players appeared weary and reserved in their playing. They adopted a pass-first mentality and hesitated on taking shots.

At the west stand, there was little cheering except for a small pocket of Singaporeans (and a few isolated ones) shouting “Defense!” This worked well for a while, as the Brunei team was seen to commit a number of turnovers that were converted into easy points by the Slingers.

Michael LeBlanc a.k.a M.L.B became the 1st Singapore Slinger to ever score in the ABL while Pathman became the 1st local player to do so. He calmly delivered a layup shot with no one around him.

2nd Quarter

As the cheering died down a little, the Slingers, especially the local players, lost a bit of their form and started to take poor shots and committed multiple errors. The Barracudas took the opportunity to climb back into the game and even took a mere one point lead somewhere towards the end of the quarter.

But thanks to Wong Wei Long! He drained a potential four-point play from the right corner to stop the bleeding. It was an incredible play that got the crowd excited for a little while. Sadly, he couldn’t convert the four point play, missing the free throw.

The half ended at 38-37, with the Slingers taking a mere one point lead.

3rd Quarter

My pack of crazy die-hard Slingers fans decided to shift nearer so as to make our cheers heard. We sat somewhere behind the Barracudas bench. Incidently, it was directly in front of a row of Barracudas fans. From that view, we also noticed a group of Barracudas fans sitting courtside at the opposite side of the court. They were holding a placard reading “Go Brunei Barracudas!” I wonder if any other Slingers fan, apart from the guy at the Turbanizer corporate box, would do that for the Slingers.

As the third quarter began, we sensed that our crazy antics of shouting “Defense!” had the top of our voices were affecting the Barracudas performance. They began committing turnovers from the Slingers’ tight defense, allowing the Slingers to convert good baskets on the other end.

The local players then began to step up. Wei Long continued his hot shooting, converting another three-pointer, his 3rd of the night. Desmond “The Defender” Oh hit his 1st ever field goal from an open trey. Pathman also hit a couple of catch-and-shoot mid-range jumpers. The Slingers fans were shouting “DAVID WEST!!!”, seeing the resemblance in Pathman’s playing style to that player. Pathman was making 17-foot jumpshots from passes just like how David West makes them in games.

The most memorable shot from Pathman was a fade-away shot past the towering 6-11 Lonnie Jones. That shot was an “IN-YOUR-FACE”!

Pathman's Fadeaway (David West-esque)

4th Quarter

The Slingers were now holding a big lead entering the fourth period. The Brunei supporters behind us were trying to outcheer us, but to no avail. The crowd was slowly getting use to game. They were slightly more vocal and ready to cheer the team each time they scored.

The 1st Big play of the game by the Slingers came from “Flyboy” Hong Wei Jian who was fouled on a dunk attempt that went in (See photo below). They forced the Barracudas Coach to call timeout. The fans broke out into cheers.

"Flyboy" taking flight

That wasn’t the end of it for the fans.

The “Flyboy” had more for the fans. He reserved the best for the last. He demonstated his flight abilities once more with a thunderous tomahawk dunks off a fastbreak. This spectacular play ignited the home crowd. Weijian extended his arms ala Jason “The Jet” Terry, signifying that Flyboy has just taken off a flight.

Flyboy taking flight once more:

Flyboy takes flight...again

That was the Play of the Game for me. Surely it was also the long-awaited dunk that Weijian’s fans were hoping to see since the close of last season.

The Slingers rounded off the game with 5 local players on court as the clock winded down. Finally, the Slingers won deservingly 87-69. A blow-out game!

Final  remarks

It was surprising to see Wong Wei Long transforming into a “Long” (Dragon) in this game. Quoted from Wei Jian, Wei Long could make these shots all the while during practice, but he just lacked the confidence to convert them in game-time. But this is now a thing in past. Wei Long appeared confident and perhaps ready to takeoff from this game onwards as a reliable long-range bomber of the Slingers.

It was also interesting to see Wei Jian delivering his signature gravity-defying moves that were indeed crowd-pleasers. Hint: Slingerfans now want to see more. Perhaps a Back-slam next?

Pathman, Al Vergara, K.J and M.L.Bwere also consistent as usual, delivering their usual contributions to the team.

Desmond was the other person notable for his performance. On top of his usual gritty air-tight defensive presence, he was confident offensively, scoring 5 points. At the end of the game, I went to congrate him. He said to me, “Finally, I did it!” That was a sign of an improving player. I do hope to see ‘Tight D’ Desmond improving even more in the next few games.

I really hope too that more Singaporeans would come to the games to show support to our local boys. Indeed, they have worked very hard and definitely earned our respect from the performances they have delivered.

-Photos by Francis Espeleta-

Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has been initiated by Government of Pakistan with initial allocation of Rs.34 billion (US $ 425 million approximately) for the year 2008-09 which is the third largest allocation in the total budget and is 0.3% of the GDP for the year 2008-09.
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STAFFING INDUSTRY FIRMS TAKE LONG-RANGE APPROACH TO SELECTING A FINANCING PARTNER

Reliable and immediate access to capital still of concern; however business owners begin to re-focus on future needs.

NEW YORK, October 5, 2009 – One of the lessons learned by young and mature businesses alike during the financial crisis has been the critical importance of strong relationships with sources of working capital. However, Sterling Resource Funding Corp. (SRFC) has witnessed an increase in the number of new clients who need not only access to a reliable source of funds, but access to a wider array of lending products as well.

For staffing companies in particular, the transition from start-up to maturity has traditionally meant navigating through a series of different financing providers as their business, and financing needs, grow. That approach is increasingly giving way to a longer-range view when it comes to choosing a financial partner at the outset, according to Sterling Resource Funding Corp. As a subsidiary of a full-service financial institution, Sterling National Bank, SRFC clients reap the benefit of access to a wider range of financing options.

“The effects of the profound disruption in the credit markets are causing companies to shift from crisis mode to sustainability mode,” said Stephen Leavenworth, Managing Director of Commercial Finance at Sterling Resource Funding Corp. “Rather than just focusing on immediate financing needs, companies are looking at financing on a more strategic or long-range level.”

Payroll funding is among the first of its operating costs a start-up staffing firm needs to address, according to Leavenworth. The usual solution is a factoring facility or a fullservice processing facility established through a payroll funding specialist. As the business enters a more intensive growth phase, however, staffing firms often are required to find a different financing partner that can provide the flexibility and access to more robust financing options needed to meet rapidly expanding capital requirements. “Cost of credit, flexibility of terms and access to multiple products are the guideposts that companies ought to be looking for as they evolve from start-up to a mature, established enterprise,” said Leavenworth. “The progression from factoring to money-only financing to asset-based lending to a middle market lending relationship will be a lot smoother and less time-consuming if you’ve chosen a partner from the outset who can deliver all of those products.”

Importantly, establishing such a relationship from early on should be a straightforward process, Leavenworth says. A seasoned, knowledgeable lender with staffing industry experience should be able to quickly make an accurate assessment of a prospective business. The criteria under review are relatively simple and include:

• The difference between the credit required to run the business and the eligible accounts receivable

 • Key balance sheet indicators such as debt-to-equity ratio • Quality of customers and payment terms

 • The quality of internal systems and record-keeping

 • The current state of collections processes and collections history

The bottom line, Leavenworth says, is finding a financial partner who has your longrange as well as short-term needs in full view plus the ability to provide a full variety of working capital solutions that support every step of the business lifecycle.

About Sterling Resource Funding Corp.

Sterling Resource Funding Corp (SRFC) is a national, full-service financing company primarily serving the needs of the staffing industry and other service businesses. SRFC professionals possess 25+ years of extensive industry knowledge; clients range from start-up companies to companies with $100+ million in annual sales.

As a subsidiary of Sterling National Bank, SRFC clients have access to a complete range of financing and banking options including accounts receivable financing, comprehensive payroll administration and back office support, asset-based lending, working capital lines of credit as well as deposit and cash management services.

Established in 1929, Sterling National Bank has successfully served the needs of businesses, professionals and individuals in the NY metropolitan area and beyond. Sterling National Bank is the principal banking subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), a New York-based financial holding company with assets exceeding $2 billion.

Name: Pathman s/o Matialakan
Jersey no: #15
Position: Forward /Centre
Nickname: The Indian Chief
Height: 202 cm (6-7)
Weight: 105 kg (225 lbs)
Birthdate: 1 June 1980
Birth Place: Singapore
College:
Previous Clubs: Tong Whye Basketball Club

Pathman was the first Singaporean to play and score points in the Australian National Basketball League and is the longest serving Singapore Slinger in the club’s short three year history. As a veteran with valuable experiences, he is also the most experienced player on the team. Pathman started for the 1st 3 games in the Challenge Series. In the final game vs the San Miguel Beermen, he came off the bench, but was the second top scorer of the team with 13 points. That is the most points ever scored by a local Slinger player.

Stats for the Challenge Series:
8.5 points, 1.0 Off Rebounds, 2.0 Def Rebounds, 3.0 Rebounds, 0.3 Assists, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks

Strengths: Plays off pick and rolls well. Sets good screens. Has a good mid-range jumper. Good shot selection. Good upper body strength for inside defence. Good offensive rebounder. Can score second-chance points off offensive rebounds. Good feet for a big man. Experience in playing in Southeast Asia.

Weaknesses: Needs to be more active on the defensive boards. Needs to be more active to take on the scoring load and contribute more. Slow to block shots.

NBA Comparison (He plays like): David West

Videos:

Pathman scoring his career high with the Slingers

Photos:

To catch more of Pathman, come down to watch the Singapore Slingers live at the Indoor Stadium. The inaugural game of the ABL season kicks off on 11 Oct (Sun) at 4 pm. The Slingers will be taking on the Brunei Barracudas. Get your tickets here on Sistic.

(Sun) at 4 pm. The Slingers will be taking on the Brunei Barracudas. Get your tickets here on Sistic.

Name: Hong Wei Jian
Jersey no: #10
Position: Forward/ Guard
Nickname: Flyboy
Height: 180 cm (5-11)
Weight: 65 kg (143 lbs)
Birthdate: 20 August 1985
Birth Place: Singapore
College:
Previous Clubs: Singapore Cagers

Hong Wei Jian is the most popular local player in the Singapore Slingers. His athletic ability caught the eyes of the audience during the final game of last season when he dunked the ball with 10 seconds left to go in the game. Thus far, he has started all 4 of the Slingers’ challenge series games. During the 1st game against the Coca-Cola Tigers, he wowed the crowd, scoring 11 points. During the 2nd game against Smart Gilas Pilipinas National, he scored 12 points. With this, he also holds the record for most points scored by a local in a Slinger game.

Stats for Slingers Preseason Challenge Series:
7.8 points, 0.5 Off Rebounds, 1.5 Def Rebounds, 2.0 Rebounds, 0.8 Assists, 0.3 Blocks, 0.3 Steals

Strengths: Flashy slashing guard. Good athletic ability with an incredible leap. Very quick on defense and fastbreaks. Able to make drives and bring it all the way to the rim. Has an above average three-point shot. Shows good poise and determination during games. Able to hit big shots. Good basketball IQ. Crowd favourite.

Weaknesses: Does not have good upper body strength to finish at the rim. Needs to work on his free-throw. Thin Frame makes him suspectible to injuries.

NBA Comparison (He plays like): Rudy Fernandez

Videos:

Hong Wei Jian vs the Coca Cola Tigers:

Hong Wei Jian “Flyboy” Mix from the Challenge Series:

Hong Wei Jian Dunks:

Photos:

To catch more of Hong Wei Jian, come down to watch the Singapore Slingers live at the Indoor Stadium. The inaugural game of the ABL season kicks off on 11 Oct (Sun) at 4 pm. The Slingers will be taking on the Brunei Barracudas. Get your tickets here on Sistic.

No dia 1 de janeiro de 2009 entrou em vigor o Novo Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa, que trouxe mudanças na forma como algumas palavras são escritas. Exclusão de acentos, extinção do trema e novas regras para o uso do hífen em palavras compostas estão entre as mudanças que trazem mais dúvidas aos brasileiros. Buscando minimizar esse problema, a Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) colocou à disposição em seu site um canal para o atendimento em relação a dúvidas de português.

Para enviar sua dúvida, entre no site abaixo, respeitando as condições de envio devidamente esclarecidas pela ABL. E bom texto a todos!

 http://www.academia.org.br/abl/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?sid=569

Segue um código para remover acentos de strings em progress… bem util.

Código
FUNCTION removeAcento RETURNS CHARACTER (INPUT pChar AS CHARACTER):
DEFINE VARIABLE iPos AS INTEGER NO-UNDO.
DO iPos = 1 TO LENGTH(pChar):
IF CAN-DO(“á,ã,â,à”,SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1)) THEN
ASSIGN SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1) = “a”.
END.

DO iPos = 1 TO LENGTH(pChar):
IF CAN-DO(“é,ê,è”,SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1)) THEN
ASSIGN SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1) = “e”.
END.

DO iPos = 1 TO LENGTH(pChar):
IF CAN-DO(“í,î,ì”,SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1)) THEN
ASSIGN SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1) = “i”.
END.

DO iPos = 1 TO LENGTH(pChar):
IF CAN-DO(“ó,õ,ô,ò”,SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1)) THEN
ASSIGN SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1) = “o”.
END.

DO iPos = 1 TO LENGTH(pChar):
IF CAN-DO(“ú,û,ù”,SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1)) THEN
ASSIGN SUBSTRING(pChar,iPos,1) = “u”.
END.

RETURN UPPER(pChar).

END FUNCTION.

Exemplo
MESSAGE removeAcento(“ÁCÁícáo”) VIEW-AS ALERT-BOX.

vlw

A Fundação Pedro Calmon, da Secult-BA, em parceria com a Editora Record, relança na quinta-feira (17), na Academia de Letras da Bahia, às 19h, uma das mais importantes obras do cientista político Moniz Bandeira: a edição atualizada do livro De Martí a Fidel. Na ocasião, haverá também noite de autógrafos e o lançamento da coletânea de poesia intitulada Poética, também do escritor.

OpenEdge 10.2A simple FAQ

Can the OpenEdge Ultra Controls for .NET be used in any development environment?
A. The OpenEdge Ultra Controls for .NET has a restricted license and can only be used within an OpenEdge environment. Customers wishing to use the Infragistics Controls in a non-OpenEdge environment will have to purchase an unrestricted license directly from Infragistics.

The controls can be purchased and installed only if the customer has one of the following OpenEdge products:
• Development:
• OpenEdge Architect
• OpenEdge Studio
• 4GL Development
• OE Development Server

What are the key features of 10.2A?
• OpenEdge GUI for .NET including a new Visual Designer in OpenEdge Architect
• OpenEdge Ultra Controls for .NET (optional product) (see below for additional information)
• OpenEdge Architect usability and performance enhancements
• New OpenEdge Architect XML, XML schema, and WSDL editors, and XPATH helper
• Additional Object Oriented (OO) extensions, garbage collection
• Oracle DataServer CLOB, and both Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server datetime data type support
• Support for Windows Server 2003 (OpenEdge server products)
• Windows Server 2008 64-bit