Arsego credits starting 5 for morale-boosting victory for Slingers

By Jan Lin/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports.

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, October 4, 2009 - With only one victory from three pre-season games, and just a week to the tip-off of the ASEAN Basketball League season, the Singapore Slingers were in a desperate hunt for a morale-boosting victory in their final pre-season game against the San Miguel Beermen last Sunday.

The Slingers' head coach Frank Arsego said: "We had some problems in our last game (against Ginebra Kings) that we lost. Both our offensive and defensive transitions were too slow. We turned the ball over too many times. We looked flat, we didn't have the energy and when you play at home, you must always present your energy."

Despite a promising start to the pre-season campaign with a 93-85 win over Philippines' Coca-Cola tigers in the opening game, the Slingers then slumped to back-to-back defeats against the Smart Gilas Pilipinas and Ginebra Kings. And so the stakes were high in the final game, for only a victory would suffice to patch up the home team's deflated egos.

"So we worked on those things, and maybe there were a couple of little technical things that we didn't do well, but we addressed them this game (against San Miguel)," said Arsego after the decisive 71-65 victory over San Miguel Beermen in the final pre-season game.

With plenty of optimism in his voice, Arsego continued: "I would say if I go back to the white board now, I would be able to tick off a majority of the things that we discussed.”

"But it was a tough game," he admitted. "We had to come from a long way back but I thought it was really good and an outstanding attitude from the boys. a never give-in attitude."

On the incredible late comeback show the Slingers had entertained the 2000-strong spectators with, Arsego analysed: "The key to that was in our defense and the intensity of it picked up in the fourth quarter to a level that finally put them under pressure and we limited them to just one shot."

San Miguel Beermen's coaching team had claimed that they had "self-destructed" in the final quarter to allow the hosts to claw their way back from death to steal the victory in the final quarter.

"Pressure does that (self-destruct) to you," Arsego responded with an assuring smile. "I would say that happened to us last week (against the Ginebra Kings), we were there 65-65, and we self-destructed, committed a couple of turnovers and they scored easy. Pressure makes you do funny things."

So the story was reversed on Sunday's game with the San Miguel Beermen committing a couple of turnovers in the crucial final moments of the game to bequeath the hosts "some easy baskets" and eventually the win.

Yet apart from the much talked-about final quarter miracle, Arsego believes that it was the Slingers’ starting five who had victory written on the cards for the team right from the start of the epic match.

"The starting five gave us a good start, a good belief," he revealed, "and I think one of the keys for me was Al Vergara in his very first play, it was total aggression, and I think a lot of people got in to believing that we are on our way. We made a little change (in the starting five) and I think it worked to the benefit of the team."

A reshuffled starting line-up was announced for last Sunday's game comprising of the four foreign imports Kyle Jeffers, Michael LeBlanc, Al Vergara, Marcus Ng and local talent Hong Wei Jian.

The starting five got the team off to a commendable first quarter performance, trailing San Miguel by just a point (15-14). Such an arrangement allowed for the other players, particularly the less experienced ones, to taste court-time in the second and third quarters.

Local players such as Pathman Matialakan and Desmond Oh needed time to warm up and adjust to the court conditions in the unbearable second quarter before they were able to rise to prominence in the third and final quarters.

Pathman scored 13 points in total and was the second highest scorer in the team tied with Kyle Jeffers. Desmond eventually reinstated himself as a solid defensive pillar for the team and was instrumental in triggering the miracle-comeback for the team in the final quarter.

On the choice of the starting five, Arsego has a clear selection criteria mapped out, he shared: "Starting line-up to me personally - contribution during training, people who are mentally into the game and have prepared themselves to the best during the week to represent us."

Arsego, however, is not yet making a firm statement on the starting five for the Slingers’ first match of the ASEAN Basketball League against the Brunei Barracudas in Singapore.

He said: "To be honest, I've to see how everyone pulls up during the week. We might have an injury, its hard to say. But I hope we can walk away from this game considering this a benchmark that we can play at this standard then we'll just wait and see what we can serve up this season."