Women’s national league suspended after ceiling light falls and shatters at Singapore Basketball Centre
The Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) literally came to a crashing halt on Saturday night after a spotlight fell from the ceiling during a match between Radin Mas CSC and Siglap White.
Nobody was hurt in that incident but the WNBL has been suspended as the organisers try to find 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 score 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 are 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 of the incident. No one was injured in the incident.”
The WNBL had started on Oct 5, with the first and second rounds scheduled to take place at the Singapore Basketball Centre until Wednesday, before the tournament moves to the Toa Payoh Sports Hall on Sunday for the semi-finals and Nov 27 for the final and third-place play-offs.
With the competition now suspended, the fixtures originally slated for last Sunday and Wednesday at the Singapore Basketball Centre have been postponed.
He 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.”
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