The IBF Youth Leadership Seminar in Singapore on June 22 to 24 witnessed a successful gathering of 16 Youth Leaders from 15 different countries. The workshop’s aim was to give the young leaders the tools to run 3x3 Tournaments as well as develop their leadership skills.

SINGAPORE -- Lâm Quách Trung Truc of Vietnam attended the IBF Youth Leadership Seminar in Singapore in hopes of learning more about basketball and equip himself with the necessary tools to evangelize the sport in his country.

The 21-year old college student's passion for basketball is visibly apparent in the way he styles himself; smooth brushed-up hair with a Nike statement shirt, slick kicks in basketball shorts.

"Basketball is a way of life for me, I love the style, attitude, and swag it brings," shared Eric.

But what drives the Social Science Major is the ability to influence the next generation to pick up the game that he loves so much.

"I believe Vietnam has the talent and skill to compete in basketball. I want to help develop the young players and guide them the right way. We are so stuck with the traditional way of thinking, we have to be more active to improve," shared Eric, who is currently an assistant coach in the Saigon Sports Academy.

Eric is proud of the traditional values of his country and the way they uphold their culture but believes that they need to open themselves in terms of basketball influence and competition to improve.

"Our 3x3 Mixed Tournament is going to be huge for my country. It was hard at first and I had to convince teams that mixed category is a viable thing because it surprised everyone. Thanks to my federation and my friends, they warmed up to the idea," said Eric.

"It's a great opportunity for the kids to play and compete against other countries in Bali. Hopefully, it will lead to more interest in the game," he added.

The seminar included a community mixed tournament in the Australian International School, which featured teams from all over Singapore.

Eric took it upon himself to be the host of the tournament. The young Vietnamese held impromptu shooting contests, in-game commentary, certainly setting the tone of the tournament.

"It kind of happened naturally. At first I was just announcing the schedule but then everything followed and I had a lot of fun. I hope I can do the same thing back home," Eric shared.

Mthoko Madonda who led the leadership seminar and is a former captain of the South African National Basketball team shared his insights of Eric and was impressed with his genuine interest with kids.

"I was impressed by his communication skills and passion for the game and young people. I think he has a bright future and will make an impact in his community," said Madonda. "He showed this in the community tournament we ran in Singapore. He is relentless in his commitment to young people to have a wonderful time.".

With the recent creation of the Vietnam Basketball Association in 2016 and the Saigon Heat participating in the ASEAN Basketball League, basketball is just starting to be popular and develop in the South East Asian nation.

The young Truc is keen on helping in any way he can and dreams that one day his country will be the best team in the region.

"My biggest dream is Vietnam Basketball becoming the best in South East Asia. That's the reason why I like encouraging and developing basketball in the the young generation, to make the future better," he stated.