Sandara Park encourages Singapore youth to shoot for the stars in “Hoops for Hope” campaign.
Multi-talented South Korean singer, rapper, actress and television host, Sandara Park, fondly known as Dara to her fans, graced the Basketball Association of Singapore at the Singapore Basketball Centre to kick off the 2026 Fundraising Campaign “Hoops for Hope”.
The media engagement event kicked off with President Seah Liang Bing giving a background to the local basketball scene, highlighting it as one of the most popular sports, especially among youth in Singapore. As the national federation for Singapore, BAS is committed to building a robust pathway for young athletes to the national team. “Consistent investment is required to build a successful national team, this requires strong partnerships, and a sustainable eco-system,” Mr Seah enthused. “And the eco-system consists of government agencies, community leaders, corporations, local clubs as well as the fans athletes.”
Fund-raising committee Chairman, Kelvin Tan, then explained that the objective of the fund-raising campaign is not just for youth development, but also for coach’s development, national team readiness and to grow basketball in the community. BAS believes this holistic approach is needed to achieve long-term success.
Speaking to invited media, Sandara Park shared her reasons for fervent support for this campaign. Her recent experience as a basketball team manager in the popular Netflix series “Rising Eagles”, gave her the opportunity to gain insight into the sport. Being closely involved with a team of Korean celebrities as they underwent gruelling training programmes conducted by Korean basketball legend, Seo Jang-hoon, in an effort to play “real basketball (not just celebrity basketball)” against actual club and collegiate teams. Miss Park shared that seeing first-hand competitive sports helps to develop character and provide valuable life lessons as the team overcame various challenges throughout the season led to her interest in using her platform as a global superstar to champion youth development in sports.
Her trip to Singapore was arranged by Dream Fund, a philanthropic initiative that supports disadvantaged youth in their aspirations in the areas of sport, music and the arts, in short, to help youth achieve their dreams. These objectives resonated well with Miss Park, whose music and activities inspire many youths across Asia. “I’m honoured to be invited here, to BAS, and hope that this will go towards helping young athletes achieve their dreams,” Miss Park said as she then signed 3 basketballs that will be auctioned at the upcoming fundraising dinner to be held on the 11th of September at the Park Royal Singapore.
Following a photo-taking session, Miss Park, ever the bright spark of any event, gave young athletes currently competing in the National School Games at the Singapore Basketball Centre a pleasant surprise as she entered the arena and stopped to take photos with the youth athletes and also gave them words of encouragement. As she came prepared in classic AJ1 basketball shoes, she even took to the court and took a shot, much to the delight of the athletes and their supporters.
For ticketing information to the Fundraising Dinner, email info@bas.org.sg with your questions.
