Basketball: Women’s national league suspended after ceiling light falls and shatters at Singapore Basketball Centre

SINGAPORE – The Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) literally came to a crashing halt last Saturday after a spotlight fell during a match between Radin Mas CSC and Siglap White.

Nobody was hurt in the incident but the WNBL has been suspended as organisers search for an alternative venue to resume play.

The incident happened in the fourth quarter, with Radin Mas leading 43-37, at the Singapore Basketball Centre in Aljunied.

The facility is owned by Sport Singapore and is leased to the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS) for national team training and national league competitions.

Shortly after Siglap’s Jasmin Toh had missed her second free throw and the ball was tipped out of play, the spotlight crashed to the ground just outside the half-court line near the scoring station, to the shock and horror of the players.

The officials then halted play before calling off the match. SG Basketball had beaten Blazers 82-69 in an earlier game that passed without incident, while the later match between Kembangan Chai-Chee CSC White and Whye Nam was postponed.

In a Facebook post, the BAS wrote: “There was a malfunction with the facilities at the Singapore Basketball Centre. Due to its imposition of risk to spectators and players, we will be rescheduling the rest of the WNBL 2022 until further notice.”

It added that ticket holders for Saturday’s matches can get a refund at the BAS office.

In response to The Straits Times’ queries, BAS general manager James Soh confirmed the incident, adding that “investigation and rectification work commenced promptly” on Saturday and is still ongoing.

He said: “There were approximately 80 people on-site, comprising players, technical officials, spectators and volunteers.

“Six technical officials and a competition manager were stationed near the scene. No one was injured in the incident.”

The WNBL had started on Oct 5, with the first two rounds scheduled to take place at the SBC until Wednesday.

The tournament was to have moved to the Toa Payoh Sports Hall on Sunday for the semi-finals, with the third-place playoffs and final slated for Nov 27.

With the competition suspended, fixtures originally slated for Sunday and Wednesday at the SBC have been postponed.

Soh added: “The safety of our premises remains our top priority. We are currently working with Sport Singapore to work out alternate game venues to facilitate subsequent matches safely with minimal disruption.

“All activities at the Singapore Basketball Centre have been stopped temporarily until the rectification process is complete and the facility is certified safe for play.

“There were no clear signs or indicators before the incident occurred.

“Maintenance is conducted regularly, with the most recent light check in August, during the Men’s National Basketball League.

“The affected circuit was isolated immediately, with subsequent safety checks performed across all lighting points.

“Technical equipment and connected circuits were also tested to ensure they are kept in safe working condition.”