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Basketball: How to do the Shammgod move, and use it correctly

This week we focus on the Shammgod, a popular move in basketball in tightly guarded spaces, in our Basketball Tips with Singapore's national basketballers

PHOTO: SYUHAINI AZLIN, SPORTPLUS.SG


What is a Shammgod? Whether you are new to basketball and want to find out what a Shammgod is, or you've been playing basketball for some time and wanting to learn how to do a Shammgod move well, this article is for you!


A Shammgod is basically a very popular basketball move used to beat a defender to buy you precious time and space as you dribble, particularly in tight spaces and in highly guarded areas.

Selling the Toss


It involves "selling the toss" with one hand, to get whoever is guarding you to commit, before quickly reaching across your body with the opposite hand and dragging the ball over, a quick shift of gears and momentum the other way to leave your marker rooted to the ground for a precious few seconds.


In this third tutorial series with Singapore national basketballers, Delvin Goh goes through step-by-step how to execute a Shammgod well in any game.

PHOTO: SYUHAINI AZLIN, SPORTPLUS.SG


The Shammgod in Steps


Step 1: Sell the Toss

Step 2: Wait for the Defender to Move Towards the Ball

Step 3: Once they Commit, Pull to the Opposite Side

Step 4: Explode Forward and Accelerate


The key here is in successfully "selling the toss", and in exploding forward. Many youth basketballers do not observe the defender's positioning and reaction to the "toss" before going in the opposite direction, thus making the move a lot less effective.


Acceleration in the opposition direction within the first second once the defender has committed is also critical to buy you time and space.

FILE PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG


About Basketball 3x3, ActiveSG Cup 2022


The ActiveSG Cup 2022 is a basketball tournament for youths 15-19 years-old. Team registrations for the tournament can be done here, and needs to be done before 7 February 2022.

Do sign up for the Central and East Zones, organised by KIN Productions! There will be a centralised venue playing host to the qualifiers in each zone, with ActiveSG Clementi Sport Centre hosting the Central Zone and ActiveSG Pasir Ris Sport Centre hosting the East Zone.


The top two teams from each zone will qualify for the Super League, while the teams that rank third and fourth will qualify for the Prime League, with these taking place on 18 and 19 March, before a Grand Final to finish off the ActiveSG Cup action at Our Tampines Hub on 20 March.


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