The love of Singaporeans for swimming is evident. There are swimming talents that joined the Asian Games and made names thereby putting Singapore in history books. Ask a swimmer who is their idol and most of them will answer Michael Phelps. If you do not know Michael Phelps, it is not yet too late to get to know him.

Michael Phelps is perhaps the most famous Olympian of all time. He was born on June 30, 1985 (he is now 29 years old). He was born in Towson, Maryland. Michael began swimming at the age of 7. He began swimming because his sisters influenced him. At the age of 10, he joined swimming competitions and it paved way to better opportunities.

For your information, he has a total of twenty two medals. Eighteen of which are gold medals. Apart from his Olympic medals, he also received medals from other international competitions. He received a total of seventy seven medals (61 gold, 13 silver and 3 bronze). In 2008, he earned the Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

However, Michael was sanctioned for six months following his DUI arrest on October 7, 2014. This is not his first arrest because in 2004, he was also arrested for driving drunk. The first arrest cost him 18 months of probation. This year, he can train but he is forbidden to participate in any swimming competitions until March 6, 2015.

Michael apologized and said that he will go to rehab to better understand himself. The fact that he is taking steps to address his mistakes mean a lot to Michael’s fans here in Singapore and the whole world. Hopefully he can overcome this incident and rise above it.

Not all Singaporeans are fond of basketball however there are still quite a number of Singaporeans who would love to get updates from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The host country is Spain. This will be the last four-year cycle. The next FIBA World Cup cycle will be held after five years.

The champion will automatically qualify in the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will be from August 30 to September 14, 2014. Here are the things that you need to know about FIBA Basketball World Cup:

• Venues: There are different venues. Some venues include Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid), Palau Sant Jordi (Barcelona), Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Granada (Granada), Bizkaia Arena (Barakaldo), Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo (Seville) and Gran Canaria Arena (Las Palmas).
• Qualifications: There will be twenty four teams who will join the World Cup. Automatically there’s one berth for the host nation.

• Qualified teams: As of September 21, 2014, twenty teams have qualified for the World Cup. United States, Angola, Egypt, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Iran, Philippines, South Korea, France, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Serbia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey are qualified to mention a few. Wildcards are Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey.

Many people are heading to Spain for this remarkable event. If you want to watch it, you can consider live streaming via the internet or your cable TV. If you are fortunate to see the games personally, do not forget to capture the moments.

going to stop the excitement that Singaporeans feel when it comes to sports. Although there are a lot sports that is played in Singapore, basketball is one of the top sports in the country. Aside that sports in Singapore is a form of recreation and hobby, it is also played for contest.

Singapore Basketball

Basketball in Singapore is directed by the Basketball Association in Singapore (BAS). It was previously handled by SABA or the Singapore Amateur Basketball Association. Based on the current world basketball rankings (for men), Singapore ranked number 83. Today, they had incessant trainings and leagues to evaluate players who are credible to join the national team.

National Team

Their national team represents the country’s courage and pride. Aside that these players have dedication and passion to the sport, coaches imparted to them the meaning of sportsmanship and playing with heart. These are the national team in basketball (men’s division) with their respective positions and statistics:

• Wei Long Wong – Point Guard – 5’8 – 23 years old
• Desmond Oh – Guard – 5’9 – 25 y/o
• Sheng Yu Lim – Forward – 6’3 – 20 y/o
• Steven Khoo – Forward/Center – 6’3 – 26y/o
• Pathman Matialakan – Center – 6’8 – 31 y/o

The above-mentioned are the starters of the national team, other players include:

• Wai San Lim – 6’2 – 22y/o – Forward
• Hanbin Ng – 6’4 – 22y/o – Guard/Forward
• Qingde Wu – 6’2 -19y/o – Guard/Forward
• Gary Kok Siang Koh – 5’10 -24y/o – Shooting Guard
• Meng Koon Koh – 6’1 -33y/o – Shooting Guard
• Micheal Soon Yuh Wong – 6’3 –20y/o – Guard
• Delvin Kok Siang Goh – 6’7 -15y/o – Center