The girl who grew tall and turned pro in 3x3 basketball – without the usual pressure to succeed
Unlike many star athletes in Singapore today, Ms Tan Kang Yi never planned to play professional basketball. She tells CNA TODAY how opportunities came to her time and again by friends and mentors who believed in her.
Ms Tan Kang Yi is Singapore's first professional 3x3 female basketball player. (Photo: CNA/Raj Nadarajan)
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You could say Ms Tan Kang Yi didn't choose basketball – basketball chose her.
The 25-year-old's journey in professional sports all started with a growth spurt in Primary 5. By Secondary 1, she had reached 1.72m – tall enough to catch the attention of the basketball coaches at Jurong Secondary School, where she was studying.
She was invited to a trial and made the cut. Being one of the tallest members of the school team, she was typically a top choice to play centre, a position that requires a height advantage.
Basketball almost slipped out of her grasp after she completed her O-Levels – her results did not qualify her for any of junior colleges that were known for the sport, and she had not thought to apply to any of them via the Direct School Admission (DSA) scheme.
And then came an eleventh-hour offer from Raffles Junior College. By then, her height had inched up to its current peak of 1.77m.
It seemed like an opportunity too good to be true – and she came surprisingly close to turning it down.
"It didn't even make sense," she said frankly. "Me in Raffles, with my academic results? I thought I would not be able to cope.
"But my dad said, 'Why not? If they have accepted you, it shows that they think that you can do it.' To him, it was a matter of 'clear your heart and just go'.
"I thought, okay, I will just try."
Upon graduating from junior college, she was keenly interested in Nanyang Technological University’s sport science programme. Her first application in 2020 failed, but after taking a gap year, her second try the next year was successful.
All the while, basketball continued to chart its own course for her.
While working part-time at a cafe during her gap year, she had a chance encounter with her former primary school basketball coach, Ms Esther Quek, the chief executive officer of basketball academy Jumpshot Singapore.
At the time, Ms Quek, a former Singapore national women's basketball player, was in the process of restructuring her academy's women's team from the traditional 5v5 format to a 3x3 squad.
They arranged to meet for a proper catch-up – and this was where Ms Quek introduced Ms Tan to the new game format and planted the idea in her mind of going professional.
A CALLING TO 3X3 BASKETBALL THAT CHANGED HER GAME
Compared to regular basketball, the urbanised 3x3 version is faster-paced, with shorter games.
Originally known as streetball or street basketball, 3x3 games are played on a half-court with one loop and last only 10 minutes, compared to traditional basketball games, which comprise four 10-minute quarters.
Most importantly, 3x3 basketball was formally trialled by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau, and in 2021, made its Olympic debut at the delayed Tokyo Games.
The 3x3 format has been gaining more attention in Singapore lately, largely thanks to the men's 3x3 team clinching a silver medal at the 33rd SEA Games in Bangkok last year – the country's first notable 3x3 basketball victory.
Hearing Ms Quek's vision for Singapore women's 3x3 basketball, combined with the promise of international experience and exposure for promising players, Ms Tan was convinced.
"I was always interested in basketball, but it was only after meeting Coach (Quek) that I realised becoming a professional player was possible," she said. Ms Quek is now not only her coach, but also her mentor and manager.
"Without her, I would not have known how to get there," Ms Tan said. "She opened up a lot of doors, a lot of opportunities for me."
A MORE LAIDBACK APPROACH TO SPORTS
Listening to the story of how her professional basketball journey began, it struck me how different Ms Tan's sporting journey seemed compared to the stereotypical Singaporean student star athlete.
There was no striving for awards and accolades, no strategising an entry into elite schools through sports, no seeking out extra coaching and training outside of school. There was not even any of the close parental guidance and supervision one often sees in budding sports ingenues such as herself.
On the contrary, Ms Tan said that her parents always gave her lots of freedom and supported her interests without assuming or exerting control over her activities.
"My parents are super laid-back," she said with a smile. "Back then I only had school and basketball. I didn't even have tuition."
Even her father, who had played basketball in his schooling days, never nudged her towards the sport.
I commented that despite her lack of visible intention, the invisible hand of the universe seemed to have been nudging her towards basketball the whole way.
"It was very easy for me," she agreed, pointing to her entry into Raffles Junior College as a prime example. "That door basically opened wide (for me), and I just stepped into it."
Her varsity sports experience seemed so different to my own son's current journey in football. Now in Primary 5, he is a member of the junior national development centre U-11 squad, where he trains three to four times a week.
He is also on the school team, where twice-weekly trainings get bumped up to thrice during competition season. Some days, he heads straight to national training sessions immediately after school ones.
Hearing this, Ms Tan's eyes widened.
"So intense!" the professional athlete remarked.
SETTING FOOT ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
Ms Tan officially went pro in June 2025 – the first woman in Singapore to do so for 3x3 basketball.
Less than a year on, she has already begun to make waves overseas.
In February this year, she was recruited by Filipino women's team Uratex Tibay for the Manila Hustle 3x3 tournament, which eventually placed 12th in the competition.
It was a good showing for Ms Tan. In a crucial game for the team, she won recognition as the top scorer in a single game for the entire tournament, scoring 15 points as well as the final winning shot.
"It was the highlight of my career so far," she said, glowing with pride.
A month later, Ms Tan joined another Filipino team – Uratex Dream, widely regarded as one of the Philippines' premier women's 3x3 teams – to compete in the 3x3 Basketball Thailand International League 2026.
As one of Southeast Asia's strongest independent circuits, this tournament offered her a rare opportunity to play alongside established basketball stars.
Heavyweight players included Kaye Pingol, the highest-ranked Filipino woman in FIBA's global 3x3 rankings.
Setting foot on the world stage has added a different dimension to basketball for Ms Tan.
It's been a big boost for her not just in terms of awards and recognition, but being able to test herself against stronger, more experienced players outside of Singapore.
"I get to experience different styles and levels of basketball, and it inspires me to want to achieve that for myself," she said.
"Learning to adjust to those differences has been one of the biggest growth areas for me."
Next up, Ms Tan will be heading to Cebu in the Philippines for another tournament in June.
In August, she'll be representing Jumpshot in an international tournament organised by the academy, on her home ground of Singapore.
When she's not playing professionally, Ms Tan coaches at Jumpshot, where she heads a programme for children aged six to 10 and another for girls aged 11 to 16.
As a mother of two boys also passionate about sports, I asked Ms Tan if she had any advice for parents on how best to nurture their children in competitive sports.
I instantly knew I had touched a dear nerve of hers.
"The child would need to be very clear about what they want and not be forced into it," she said immediately and firmly.
"They must want it for themselves and want to work hard for it."
Having recently developed an interest in plants – she now owns two – she likened child development in sports to nurturing plants.
Just like plants, children, she said, need ample space to grow – which was what her parents had given her growing up.
She observed that many student athletes seem to have it hard these days, having to juggle rigorous training schedules with school work and tuition.
However, kids may not appear tired sometimes, because they have so much energy – or may even not realise that they're exhausted, she added.
"Still, it is important that they have active rest," she said.
For instance, parents may consider letting children try a different sport now and then "just for fun, without any pressure".
"It is good to push, but not too much."
DEALING WITH PRESSURE TO PERFORM
Now that she's getting more opportunities as an import player, the pressure has been mounting for Ms Tan.
"You are now playing for someone, and if you don't do well, they won't get you again," she said.
"It is a performance. You have to perform every time."
To counter the stress and pre-game nerves, over the last three years, she's found a reliable refuge in journalling. She loves it so much that she has not one but two journals, one for her personal life and one entirely dedicated to basketball.
In her basketball journal, she writes about her performance during training, feedback from her coach, and observations after watching training and match videos of herself.
She documents her emotions, state of mind, game objectives, notes about her opponents, game strategy and post-match reflections and feedback.
It is a performance. You have to perform every time.
She also sets goals for herself at the beginning of each year and revisits them at the end, to see how she has measured up to them.
Keeping such a detailed record of one's shortcomings may sound like a demoralising endeavour rather than an encouraging one, but the way Ms Tan sees it, writing about her setbacks helps her to process the emotions behind them.
"In the future, you can look back to see how you got over it, and (it shows you) that you can get over it again."
Helping her cope with the growing demands of pro sports are her natural optimism, which she attributes to her parents, as well as a resilience cultivated through years of training.
"There will (always) be moments on the court when you feel that you are not good enough based on your performance, or hurt by negative comments."
"But you learn to grow from there. You can choose … to learn and move on, as long as you have the right support system around you.”
At the end of our conversation, Ms Tan rose to her feet to shake my hand. For the first time since meeting her, I noticed just how dwarfed I was by her stature.
Right away, the "kiasu" parent in me thought to ask for tips from her on how to help my own kids grow taller. Surely, any added height would be a boon for my boys, even in their chosen sport of football.
Then I remembered what Ms Tan said: That sometimes, the most important thing is to give kids the space to grow at their own pace, in their own way.
I quashed my questions, thanked her and took my leave.
