Dara Pulled Up to a Geylang Court — and Sank the Shot

The 2NE1 icon didn't come to Singapore for a concert. She came to hoop, and to show up for the kids.‍

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First shot? Missed. Second shot? Nothing but net. The crowd went wild.

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That was Sandara Park — Dara to anyone who grew up on 2NE1 — draining a jumper in classic AJ1s on a school basketball court in Geylang. Not a stage, not a fan meet. Just the K-pop star pulling up on July 17 to back Singapore's student athletes competing in the National School Games C Division.

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The occasion: the Basketball Association of Singapore launching its 2026 campaign, “Hoops for Hope.” And it's bigger than one fund raiser. BAS wants to build a real pathway — from school courts to the national team — with stronger coaching, deeper community leagues, and staying power for the sport. President Seah Liang Bing puts it plainly: basketball's already one of Singapore's most popular youth sports, but building champions takes a whole ecosystem behind it.

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So why does a K-pop star care about basketball?

It started on Netflix. On Rising Eagles, Dara managed a squad of Korean celebrities training under basketball legend Seo Jang-hoon — preparing to face actual cluband college teams, not easy exhibition games. Watching them push through it changed something for her. Sport, she realized, builds character.

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Her message to the students hit harder because she'd seen it up close: the game teaches discipline, teamwork, and how to handle a loss as well as a win. Then she backed it up on the court herself.

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Before BLACKPINK, there was 2NE1

If you grew up on BLACKPINK, this is the group that came first. Debuting in 2009 under YGwith “Fire,” CL, Park Bom, Minzy and Dara rewrote the girl-group playbook — street wear style, genre-bending sound, and anthems like I Am the Best. That fanbase, over a decade deep, is exactly why this Singapore visit landed the way it did.

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Dara signed basketballs headed for the fund raising auction, received a Singapore jersey from President Seah, and left students with one ask: keep showing up for the young athletes, not just for her.

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Her trip was arranged by Dream Fund, which backs disadvantaged youth chasing dreams in sport, music and the arts — a mission that mirrored her own reason for being there.

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The details: Fund raising dinner — Sept 11, Parkroyal Singapore. Tickets: info@bas.org.sg

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