Ballers Photobook 2021 - Published during the Pandemic

The Atlas Ballers was formed in 2018.

This depicts their journey from 2018 till 2021, during the pandemic.

1. OUR JOURNEY
2018 - 2021
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2. FOREWORD
What a tumultous journey it has been for our young players!
Never did I imagine that we have come this far; it all started with a request made in
2018 by one of our former players to sponsor the basketball team he was playing for,
comprised of a bunch of rag-tag boys from different international schools.
Fast forward one season in the Statsports League, and we were established as the
only basketball team in Kuala Lumpur which specifically recruited from international
schools, but who actively took part in leagues outside of the international school
circuit.
I thought we would be done after May 2019, with all but 1 player leaving to go to
university to further their education overseas.
However, I don’t think the international school community was done with us yet.
Come the 2019/2020 bunch of teenagers, 80% below the age of 16 who came and
played their hearts out for us in multiple leagues.
Now, I don’t know what 2021 holds for us given the current pandemic, but I do know
that we’ve got the most passionate bunch of guys out there who have something to
prove. We lose a few more players this year as they go on to do their part overseas,
but that’s all part of the process. Bring it on 2021!
Clement Chew
Ardent Supporter
2

3. In Loving Memory
Anthony Francois
2002 - 2019
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4. 2018/2019
Atlas Ballers Legacy
Our 2018/2019 batch comprised of seniors from the International School in Parkcity (ISP), the
British international School (BSKL) and the Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith School (KLASS).
Back Row from Left:- Lik Hua, Ian LIEW, John LEE (C), Matthew TROTT, Sam ONG, Sean LOW
Front Row from Left:- Kyle LIEW, Ethan YOON, Hanson, HOH, Jason SIPUTRO
Absent:- Daniel BOOTH, Jared SREEDHARAN
4

5. Image Caption: On the way back to the bench after the opponent called a timeout. We were leading, hence the expression on their faces.
From left: Kyle LIEW, Jason SIPUTRO, Daniel BOOTH, Sam ONG
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6. The team gather for a huddle during a timeout against Bandwagon, Statsports Season X 2019.
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7. The last ever game played by the 2018/2019 team against the Axceligent Stallions (Statsports Season 10). Having only 6 U-18 players against a fully
staffed adult team comprised of state players meant we lost the game, but the guys had a lot of fun... perhaps to the chagrin of the Stallions.7

8. Jason SIPUTRO drives by a hard challenge by an Axceligent
Stallion player.
Daniel BOOTH brings the ball down the court under the watchful
eye of Ethan MANGELSDORF from ISKL
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9. MATT TROTT
SHOOTING GUARD (Ballers 2018/2019)
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10. Jared SREEDHARAN fires over the outstretched arms of an ISKL defender.
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11. Matt narrowly makes a layup after a block attempt by Jackson LAGERWEY (ISKL) 11

12. Late 2018 - the black kit was used whilst we waited for our supplier to tailor-make our red kit for SSL 9.
Some of the team still prefer it over our reds.
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13. A year and a half later. You can see that the logo has faded on the black uniform because of repeated uses.
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14. Sean LOW averaged 20 PPG during the 2019 Statsports Season X.14

15. JOHN LEE
TEAM CAPTAIN (Ballers 2018/2020/2021)
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16. The Legacy team frequently have pickups at Desa ParkCity till today.
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17. Sean drives aggressively to the basket as Coach Pike from ISKL looks on in the background.
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18. Jared lobs a full-court pass after receiving the inbound ball.
Matthew makes a free throw attempt.
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19. Matt drives past Jackson LAGERWEY during our match against ISKL - Statsports Season 10
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20. 2019/2020
New Blood
Our 2019/2020 team consists of players from KLASS, Garden International School, British
international School, Arrows International School and the International School at Parkcity.
Back Row from Left:- Kington WONG, Hanwen CHEN, Max ELLIOTT, Oleg VIATKIN, Daniel KATO
Front Row from Left:- Daniel PERKS, Jun Kiat TAN, Ethan WONG, Ian TEOH, Dexter LOOI
Absent:- Yan Chang SAW, Orion WIELENGA, Anthony FRANCOIS
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21. MAX ELLIOTT
SMALL FORWARD
Even though my stint at Atlas was short, it taught
me a lot about what it is to be a competitor.
The energy everyone brings to every game and
training was that of a will to win. We faced some
very tough and large opponents and even when
we lost, our mindset was straight onto how to
improve so that the next time we win with ease.
That want and need to achieve greatness is the
biggest lesson I learned from Atlas and it helped
shape the competitor I am today.
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22. OUR STORY
Ethan Wong, 15.
Garden International School
SSL 11 Team Captain
After losing the entire legacy team to
university as well as Sean and John
wanting to experience other teams
within the Statsports League, we needed
to rebuild a team rapidly.
The decision was taken to carry on the
Ballers’ ethos of recruiting international
school students to compete in leagues
outside of the international circuit.
Despite joining Sunway University’s team in the
Statsports Season 11 league, John Lee played an
active role in recruiting and developing our new
players.
There was overwhelming demand by international
school students to join the team, and we held tryouts
to build the new team in July 2019.
Many lessons were learnt from playing against
fully grown adult teams, some of whom were state
players.
22

23. For the 2019/2020 team, warmup jumpers were tailored for the
players, and issued retrospectively to Legacy players.
The colour of the logo was changed to white instead of black; this
was taken after our match with ex-UM, Statsports Season 11.
23

24. After our friendly match with ISKL, November 2019. We lost this match although we’d like to think we gave them a good challenge!24

25. Oleg VIATKIN (14) attempts a layup over the head of an ex-UM challenger - Statsports Season 11. 25

26. Champions of the Bealegend basketball league - August 2019.
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27. Left:-Dexter LOOI in the midst of a layup in the Bealegend Tournament
Right: Ethan WONG attempting a shot against ex-UM 27

28. ETHAN WONG
TEAM CAPTAIN (Ballers 2019/2020)
Ethan came to us in 2019 at the age
of 15, after having spent some time
at Atlas HQ doing work experience in
the risk management industry.
Standing at a height of 5ft 6 at the
time, there was some concern as to
whether he would be able to hold his
own against fully grown adults with a
minimal risk of injury.
Over the next two and a half years
since this photograph was taken,
Ethan developed his grit on court,
as well as good basketball IQ
especially when playing against more
experienced, stronger and highly
skilled players.
Ethan now resides in the United
Kingdom, where he is pursuing
further education.
28

29. Anthony FRANCOIS poses next to Ethan WONG during an initial
profile shoot of the 2019/2020 cohort.
Daniel KATO wins the jump ball during the Bealegend
tournament.
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30. Kington being interviewed by the Statsports team - October 2019.
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31. Ethan assists John during the second part of the Ballers 2019/2020 trials in June 2019
31

32. The team take a minute to honour Anthony before our match against Ex-UM - SSL 11.32

33. Ian and Max wearing commemoration shirts created specially to honour Anthony’s life. 33

34. Max Elliott hooks over a Bandwagon player - Statsports Season 11
Daniel Perks is fouled hard by a Bandwagon player.34

35. Yan Chang lays in a heavily contested shot. 35

36. John Lee returns to coach the team during our match against Bandwagon.
36

37. Jun Kiat finger rolls from a distance and scores. 37

38. Sean slams down a two-handed dunk during training - November 2019.38

39. Oleg waits for John to take his free throw beside an ISKL defender.
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40. Ethan makes a free throw whilst Kington watches from the background for cherry pickers - SSL 11
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41. Daniel PERKS and Anthony FRANCOIS exchange a few words on strategy in the Bealegends Tournament.
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42. Oleg dunking during training - Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club - October 201942

43. Kington soars in for a layup against a heavily defended hoop during the Bandwagon match - SSL 11 43

44. Max fires over John during a training session.
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45. John lays the ball in during training.
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46. Daniel BOOTH assisting John during the first series of tryouts for the 2019/2020 cohort
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47. Sean is fouled during a layup attempt against ISKL and takes his free throw whilst Max watches from the background.47

48. Jun Kiat TAN takes a break during our game against Bandwagon - SSL Season 11
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49. 49

50. KINGTON WONG
POINT GUARD
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51. 2019/2020
Some Backup
Our 2020 spring squad featured the return of some key legacy players and ISKL joiners.
Back Row from Left:- Clement CHEW (M), Yannik BLACKBURN, Orion WIELENGA, John LEE (C), Jackson
LAGEWEY, Oleg VIATKIN
Front Row from Left:- Sean LOW, Ethan YOON, Kington WONG, Hanson HOH, Ian TEOH, Daniel PERKS
Absent:- Max ELLIOTT
51

52. 2020 SPRING SQUAD
Yannik Blackburn, 17.
Small Forward
We saw the return of Sean Low and John Lee to
the team for Season 12 of the Statsports League,
as well as Ethan Yoon and Hanson Hoh from the
International School in Parkcity.
John was reappointed as Team Captain this season
to provide much-needed leadership to the team.
We also managed to recruit ISKL’s top two seniors,
Jackson Lagerwey and Yannik Blackburn to bolster
the team during the final few months of their time
in Malaysia.
We lost Dexter Looi to the Young Gunners, another
youth team who joined the Statsports League.
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53. Jackson LAGERWEY (L) and Yannik BLACKBURN from ISKL joined us for the Spring 2020 SSL season.
53

54. 2020 saw the return of John Lee and Sean Low from the Legacy Team54

55. Yannik Blackburn driving hard to the hoop during a game against GoStrong.
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56. 56

57. asdasdas
Yannik and Jackson making shot attempts during the Statsports League 12 57

58. Matt Trott returned for a few months to escape the pandemic in the United States.
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59. Matthew Trott and Kington during our friendly with Dexter LOOI’s new team, the Young Gunnerz 59

60. “My journey with the
Ballers has made me good
friends and taught me
many life lessons.”
- Oleg Viatkin, 16
Small Forward
Max Elliott, 16
Small Forward
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61. After leaving ISKL, Ethan MANGELSDORF joined us briefly before he departed to the United States of America for further studies61

62. During a pickup at the Malaysian Basketball Association’s main court
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63. 63

64. 2022
Post-pandemic beginnings?
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65. Having lost majority of the squad to further education overseas, it seemed only natural that we started recruiting for the 4th
generation of ballers, but this time from the 2005 to 2007 batch. What’s next for us in 2022?
Bryan LIM (16)
Garden International School
Brendan Van Cott (17)
International School of Kuala Lumpur
65

66. Only Oleg and John remain from the original batch, with the rest of the potential team standing by for tryouts after full vaccination.66

67. Every departing Baller is issued with a cold-weather
soft-shell as a memento.
67

68. WHAT’S NEXT?
The pandemic really put a dampener on basketball
activities over the past 2 years.
We’ve lost all but 2 of our players, and this time is
ideal for us to rebuild and regenerate.
We look forward to developing the next generation
of Ballers, and hope that 2022 will bear better fruit
than 2020 and 2021.
It’s always been our ethos to coach and guide our
players to be the best that they can be, no matter
where they end up in life.
We’re proud of our heritage and will continue this
legacy as long as we can.
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