SINGAPORE – With 10 cameras pointing at its basketball court at all times, newly opened sports centre Airena is equipped to capture movement data, which is used to analyse players’ performance during training and matches.

The facility, which is located at Jalan Ampas off Balestier Road, officially opened on May 10, when guests were shown how artificial intelligence (AI) converts the data and gives coaches reports of their players. These can be viewed via an app.

Boasting smart tracking technology by Chinese company Qiuxiu, it offers real-time performance analytics based on individual player movements.

Airena, which also has a gym, is also home of the Project 95 (P95) Basketball Academy, whose coaches include former national basketballers such as Mitchell Folkoff and Russel Low.

Speaking to the Sunday Times on the sidelines of the launch, Folkoff believes this AI-driven approach will help them take coaching to another level.

He said: “How do you evaluate a player? There’s no data to back up, like, what he’s doing great, what he’s not so good at… You only can see it through your set of eyes.

“And I think for us to take coaching to the next level, to catch up with the rest of the world, we have to implement all the analytics into our training, tracking, learning progression, and then into the games.

“What we’re trying to do is to optimise how we can utilise this technology and help kids grow from it. And I think it’s a great thing because it gives us something that’s tangible, because basketball is transitioning to a very data-centric sport.”

With the usage of AI technology alongside conventional training, Folkoff is able to gain a deeper understanding of his players’ condition and progress.

The real-time feedback has been useful for Kaiser Ng, whose sons, aged nine and 13, are enrolled with the P95 aca...