Stay Positive

Those three emicons at the end of the tweet message (prt-screen above) was my initiate reaction when the news confirmed that the National Under 23 squad or the Cubs are drawn into the "Group of DEATH" of the biennial games to be held in Indonesian capital Jakarta.

After all, we are up against the defending champions Malaysia and regional powerhouses Thailand (whom we defeated just weeks ago in a friendly), host nation Indonesia and Cambodia.

The fact that a chunk of squad deemed unavailable due to National Service (NS) had saddled onto the mammoth task ahead, both players and officials seems undaunted by the mountain ahead of them in spite not having the ideal preparation in the run up to the most prestigious medal of the regional meet-up.

“Yes, we have gotten the information that we are in Group A but I would like to focus on my team first and get them ready for the tournament where we will be up against quality sides in the group.” said coach Slobodan Pavkovic of the Cubs upon received the news.

Concurring the thoughts of the concurrent FAS's Technical Director, 'keeper Izwan Mahbud (pictured above) added:“I know it is not the easiest of groups but we should be ready to face whichever team comes along. I feel that we should believe in our own team and prepare ourselves for the tournament. That is the most important thing of all.”

Some online feedback had chosen to take a positive stance on the tough battle lining up with one member of this blog's FB group, 'Noh Ran Haru' posted "The tougher it is, the stronger they should be. Hopefully." in a follow up to the posted "prt-screen" above.

Hopefully, too, that's the case.. Good Luck, Cubs

The Cubs' SEA Games Fixtures

• Singapore vs Malaysia (9 November)
• Singapore vs Cambodia (11 November)
• Singapore vs Indonesia (13 November)
• Singapore vs Thailand (17 November)

(Quotes of those of Pavkovic and Izwan extracted from the FAS media release.)