A first since the 1970s: Cambodia to send women's basketball team to SEAG

Cambodia will be sending a women's basketball team to the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, marking the first time for the Kingdom to send such team to the SEA Games since the 1970s. Cambodian-American standout Jasmine King (168-G, college: Southern) announced early this week that she was among the four players chosen by the USA-Cambodia Basketball Association (UCBA) for the Vietnam-bound Cambodian 3x3 team. UCBA announced earlier that it will also field a men's 3x3 team in the next SEA Games. 'Excited to announce the Cambodian National Team 3x3 for May 2022. There hasn't been a team after the genocide since the late 1970s. I'm very excited,' Kong said. After playing for the Varsity team at Arroyo High School, Kong joined Diablo Valley College (DVC) and was a key member of the team that won the State Championship in California in 2020. She joined the Westcliff University Basketball Programme that same year. Kong, whose parents are originally from Battambang province, is currently a basketball coach at Bohannon Middle School in San Lorenzo, California. The other three players chosen for the Cambodian 3x3 squad are Sima Suon, Sidtia Sidtikun and Tianna Sidtikun. Sidtia Sidtikun, who stands at 5'7', transitioned from basketball to football and currently plays as a midfielder for the Cal State Monterey Bay University women's soccer team. She averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game while playing for Ripon High School in California during the 2012/2013 season. Suon, who is currently an Athletic Academic Coordinator at UMass Lowell Athletics, will coordinate the team and assume the role of director/player, according to an earlier announcement from UCBA. It was reported earlier that UCBA was trying to recruit five Cambodian-American players for the team. Besides Sidtikun, the list also included Mikenzie Yim-Harvin, Teressa Thun and Destiny Khay. 'We have found five Khmer-American players. But we are not sure if they can join the SEA Games yet because the competition falls during their school time,' Kong said in a prior interview. The 2021 Vietnam SEA Games is going to be held from May 12 to 23. The Kingdom is sending a 500-person delegation to the Games, according to the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia.
Courtesy of: khmertimeskh.com