When Michael Jordan came back from his first retirement and famously said “I’m Back”, that’s WHEN eight-year-old Eva Tam started playing basketball. Watching Jordan’s awful playoff performance against the Orlando Magic in 1995 was an inspiration to get better.
Eva used to be her “sister’s ball girl” and defence pylon until she perfected her crossovers and jumpshots. “I kept playing basketball all these years because it ignited the competitiveness in me, and taught me the importance of being a team player.” she said.
Eva is the Senior Multimedia Producer at Fidelity International. She works with the technology, investment, digital and marketing team to create editorial contents on asset management.
Eva has been in a lot of basketball leagues and she said FTBL is “hands-down the most organised” league she has ever participated in. She enjoyed the effective scheduling, photos & videos of each game and most importantly she said “the fact it’s actually co-ed”.
Eva hasn’t played in co-ed games since she moved to Hong Kong eight years ago, “I’ve usually joined all male-leagues in order to play with my friends. But a co-ed league helps level the playing field while promoting female participation and skills to the general public.”
It was hard for Eva to participate in men’s league with her corporate team even though she knows she can shoot. She feels that she lacks the size and speed which was a huge disadvantage. But with FTBL she said “Now, the playing fields are even.”
Eva’s best game was during their game against Serai. She had an amazing score of 15 points, five rebounds, one steal and scored 80% on the three-point line. “I normally split half of my playing time with my other female teammate, so I was surprised I was this efficient in just 20 minutes.” she said proudly. For a 5’2.5 feet female player in a game with 5 rebounds is really impressive. This game pushed Eva up in the female highest points ranking and overall three-point leader in Group C.
Eva said “FTBL is special because it brings people together that come from similar industries through the love of basketball”. She was inspired by the amount of cheerleading and support from other teams. In Eva's perspective, she thinks it’s special to see the females playing together with the males in a recreational environment. She personally cheers for every female players for the effort they show on the court.
“I hope this league encourages male teammates to pass more to their female colleagues, even as a sign of confidence. I know that some of these players are quite novice to the game and it takes a lot of guts to play a sport competitively that you’re still new to”.
Q&A:
Favorite Basketball Player/NBA team?
Born and raised in Toronto — so Toronto Raptors will always be my favourite team. Raptors winning the championship this year is probably one of my life’s highlights.
Where do you think you need to improve on?
My game is super flawed since I’m your typical 3-and-D player. Ideally, I want to work on cutting more often, be more confident with my handles and driving in for layups.
Other than your team, which team do you follow in FTBL?
I follow anyone we have to play against. I normally view some game tapes from my competitor’s previous games before game day.
Which player do you think in FTBL is the hardest to guard? I haven’t played against Bryant Austin of AMTD, but I can imagine him or one of the pro players would be the hardest to guard.
Which team do you consider is the best team in FTBL?
They’re not in my division, but obviously AMTD Spider. They’re +/- is 106 in the top division of the league!
Which team was the most challenging team to play against? Google was the most challenging team to play against. Our most consistent player in the team couldn’t play this game, while they had a former Hong Kong division 1 player. But our teamwork and passing helped us get over the hump after a mediocre second and third quarter.
If you could play with another player from another team in one team, who would it be?
My team has been through some growing pains and many consecutive losing seasons before we finally clicked this season. I have an old-school mentality where I don’t ever wish to play with anyone else except with the people I battle on the court with.
What moment during any games were you most proud of?
More important than scoring, I almost remember more plays that involve teamwork, hustle and swift passing. I love watching my teammates out hustle another player for a rebound, chase loose balls and never giving up.