By Les Tan/Red Sports
Lonnie Jones (in blue, #45) was on fire for the Barracudas in the first quarter with crisp shooting and strong inside play to ensure the Barracudas led 25-22 after the first quarter. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Brunei Indoor Stadium, Bandar Sri Begawan, Brunei, Saturday, October 24, 2009 – The Singapore Slingers passed their first away test when they beat the Brunei Barracudas 82-80 in front of a partisan crowd to remain unbeaten in their ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) campaign.
The Slingers were slow getting out of the blocks and found themselves trailing by as many as 10 points in the second quarter before ending the half five points behind at 39-44.
The Slingers came out firing in the third quarter and finally got their first lead of the game at 51-50 when Hong Wei Jian (#10) sank a 3-pointer. Thereafter, the Barracudas’ lack of match fitness started to tell as they rotated only eight players on the night while the Slingers used all 10 on their roster.
In the third quarter, the Slingers’ defensive intensity restricted their opponents to 5 of 9 field goal shooting while they went 8 of 20 from the field. As a result, the Slingers outshot the Barracudas 23-15 in the third quarter to take a 62-59 lead into the final quarter.
The Barracudas crept back to within one at 61-62 when Lonnie Jones (#45) sank two free throws but a 3-point play by Marcus Ng (#21), who was playing with a fever, kept the Slingers ahead at 65-61. A Michael LeBlanc (#35) basket made it a six-point lead for the Slingers at 67-61, forcing the Barracudas into a timeout to regroup as the game started slipping away from them.
The Slingers came out of the timeout with a full-court press to good effect to take advantage of the breathless Barracudas to stay ahead at 69-65 before a psychologically devastating 3-pointer by point guard Al Vergara (#19) at 6:14 gave them a seven-point lead at 72-65.
After that, the Barracudas seem to fall even further apart, with Lonnie Jones missing two free throws and a 2-point attempt and Leonidez Avenido (#18) managing only a single point from the free-throw line for the next minute and a half.
By that time, the Slingers were eight points ahead at 74-66, courtesy of a Kyle Jeffers (#31) 2-pointer for the biggest Slinger lead of the night.
With more than four and a half minutes to play, the Slingers were not home free but Barracudas shooting self-destructed as their opponents went 2 of 5 from the free-throw line and 5 of 10 from field goal range. Three defensive rebounds by Jeffers and LeBlanc at that stage also ensured the Slingers finished just ahead even though Avenido sank a 3-pointer just before the buzzer for the Barracudas.
Overall, the Slingers shot an impressive 12 of 16 (75%) from the free throw line and 10 of 19 three-pointers (53%) to give them the edge in the game.
“The two American boys stepped up tonight,” said Slinger coach Frank Arsego. “They [Barracudas] made us play very hard. No way [we’re favourites]. We have to play well every night.”
Quarter-by-Quarter Scoring
Barracudas vs Slingers
1st Q: 25-22
2ndQ: 19-17
3rd Q: 14-23
4th Q: 21-20
Brunei Barracudas Game Box Score
| # | PLAYER | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BS | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hee Lee Ho | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Aik Hock Lim | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 9 | *Francis Adriano | 15 | 6/10 | 0/1 | 3/5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23:37 |
| 11 | Benjamin Sim | 5 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10:41 |
| 12 | Celedon Camaso | 5 | 2/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 33:26 |
| 13 | *Michael Pilgrim | 16 | 7/16 | 0/1 | 2/4 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 36:08 |
| 18 | *Leonidez Avenido | 20 | 7/9 | 1/3 | 5/6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 32:46 |
| 20 | Yeh Leong Fong | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 33 | *Esmond Tan | 0 | 0/2 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17:13 |
| 36 | Chee Choun Lim | 2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8:01 |
| 45 | *Lonnie Jones | 17 | 6/12 | 1/1 | 4/10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38:08 |
| 54 | Muhd Mohzani Abd Ghani | DNP | ||||||||||||
| Total | 80 | 31/55 | 3/10 | 15/27 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 200 |
Singapore Slingers Game Box Score
| # | PLAYER | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BS | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | *Desmond Oh | 1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8:49 |
| 5 | Wong Wei Long | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5:02 |
| 10 | Hong Wei Jian | 5 | 2/8 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:06 |
| 11 | Michael Wong | 6 | 2/4 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25:58 |
| 14 | Lim Wai Sian | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:01 |
| 15 | Pathman Matialakan | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8:49 |
| 19 | *Al Vergara | 15 | 6/11 | 3/5 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 34:58 |
| 21 | *Marcus Ng | 6 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18:14 |
| 31 | *Kyle Jeffers | 17 | 7/17 | 1/3 | 2/3 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 39:18 |
| 35 | *Michael LeBlanc | 32 | 11/20 | 3/5 | 7/7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 35:45 |
| Total | 82 | 30/65 | 10/19 | 12/16 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 200 |
Celedon Camaso (in blue, #12) drives past Kyle Jeffers (left) and Michael Wong (right). Camaso had four assists on the night for the Barracudas and played 38 minutes. He finished with 5 points. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Francis Adriano (in blue, #9) takes on Wong Wei Long. Adriano had 15 points on the night and shot 6 of 10 from the field. (Photo 3 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Michael Pilgrim (in blue, #13) lays up past Jeffers. Pilgrim had 7 of 16 field goal shooting and played 36 minutes. (Photo 4 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Benjamin Sim (in blue, #11) shoots over Michael Wong. Sim played 10 minutes and contributed five points. (Photo 5 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Jones (left) struggled with his free throw shooting in the second half and finished 4 of 10 from the charity stripe. He saw the most court time for the Barracudas at 38 minutes. (Photo 6 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger coach Frank Arsego takes the team through a timeout. Arsego rotated all 10 players on the roster. (Photo 7 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Al Vergara (right) makes a pass despite the attention of Barracuda Leonidez Avenido. Vergara had a psychologically important 3-pointer in the third quarter. He scored 15 points on the night on the back of 6 of 11 field goal shooting and sank 3 out of 5 3-point attempts. (Photo 8 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Hong Wei Jian (right) contends with Barracuda Francis Adriano. Wei Jian scored the go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Slingers their first lead of the game in the third quarter which they never relinquished. Weijian finished with 5 points and saw 19 minutes on court although he shot only 2 of 8 from the field. (Photo 9 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Michael LeBlanc (in red, #35) hit a game-high 32 points on the back of 11 of 20 field goal shooting and making 3 of 5 3-point attempts. He was perfect under pressure from the charity stripe, going 7 out of 7. (Photo 10 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Michael Wong (left) saw 25 minutes on court and contributed 6 points on the back of 2 of 4 field goal shooting and 2 of 3 3-point attempts. (Photo 11 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Kyle Jeffers (left) had a team-high 9 rebounds to help the team defensively. He finished with 17 points and was on court practically the whole game with 39:18 minutes. (Photo 12 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Marcus Ng, playing despite a fever, had 6 points on the night from an 18-minute appearance. He fouled out late in the game. (Photo 13 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Slinger Desmond Oh (#5) shoots a free-throw in the dying moments of the game. He had his first start for the Slingers. (Photo 14 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Singapore Slingers 2009/10 ABL schedule
| DAY/DATE | TIME | HOME TEAM | VISITING TEAM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE-SEASON | |||||
| Fri, Sept 18 | 8pm | S'pore Slingers | 93 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 85 |
| Wed, Sept 23 | 8pm | S'pore Slingers | 67 | Philippines | 70 |
| Wed, Sept 30 | 8pm | S'pore Slingers | 72 | Ginebra Kings | 77 |
| Sun, Oct 4 | 4pm | S'pore Slingers | 71 | San Miguel Beermen | 65 |
| ABL | |||||
| Sun, Oct 11 | 4pm | S'pore Slingers | 87 | Brunei Barracudas | 69 |
| Sun, Oct 18 | 4pm | S'pore Slingers | 74 | Philippine Patriots | 69 |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 4pm | Brunei Barracudas | 80 | S'pore Slingers | 82 |
| Sun, Nov 1 | 5pm | S'pore Slingers | 96 | Satria Muda | 72 |
| Sat, Nov 7 | 4pm | Philippine Patriots | 70 | S'pore Slingers | 53 |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 5pm | Satria Muda | 59 | S'pore Slingers | 61 |
| Sun, Nov 22 | 4pm | S'pore Slingers | 74 | KL Dragons | 84 |
| Mon, Dec 7 | 7.40pm | S'pore Slingers | 62 | Thailand Tigers | 65 |
| Sat, Dec 12 | 5pm | Satria Muda | 67 | S'pore Slingers | 58 |
| Thurs, Dec 17 | 7.40pm | S'pore Slingers | 69 | Thailand Tigers | 66 |
| Wed, Jan 6 | 7.40pm | S'pore Slingers | 67 | Philippine Patriots | 59 |
| Mon, Jan 11 | 7.40pm | S'pore Slingers | 92 | KL Dragons | 74 |
| Sun, Jan 17 | 4pm | KL Dragons | 78 | S'pore Slingers | 71 |
| Wed, Jan 20 | 8pm | Brunei Barracudas | 89 | S'pore Slingers | 95 |
| Sun, Jan 24 | 4pm | Thailand Tigers | 80 | S'pore Slingers | 92 |
| Semi-finals | |||||
| Sun, Jan 31 | 4pm | Singapore Slingers | 87 | Satria Muda | 68 |
| Wed, Feb 3 | 8pm | Satria Muda | 74 | Singapore Slingers | 45 |
| Sun, Feb 7 | 4pm | Singapore Slingers | 76 | Satria Muda | 86 |
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Saying that ABL play is non-pro is something to be corrected. ABL’s play is more pro than the PBA.
Actually it’s the other way around, Philippine players (with exception of those who did not play in any pro league in the Philippines) have to get used to playing FIBA-style basketball.
The term “professional” for the ABL is how these players are paid.
The ABL play is non-pro but the pay is professional.
In my opinion, Brunei has the comfort of not being able to have its local players gain meaningful minutes this season. There’s a big population of Filipinos in Brunei. So maybe that has something to do with the hiring of 3 Pinoy players and Pinoy coach.
For the owners and all people involved with ABL, a close win is more desirable. It’s good for an infant league that the score disparity are not that. It’s their profession that are at stake if ABL fails. What’s the point of being unbeaten in the entire tournament and beating everybody by 20 points, if there’s no next season?
NBA usually have home teams don light colors ; visitors with dark colors. American Football (NFL) usually has opposite
@nameless I’m a big slingers fan and I definitely want the team to do well but its true that we’re also a team that’s still largely dependent on our imports. We have 4 imports and 1 local in the starting lineup. With the exception of the Philippines, most of the teams will need team to get use to playing professional basketball. We should all give it time.
Brunei is plagued by the same syndrome that the Slingers faced last few seasons: the local players are not stepping up. For the Slingers, thankfully, our locals are slowly contributing more to the games. i.e Wei Long scoring 14 points in the opening game. Pathman scoring 8. Michael Wong scoring 6 in the previous game. Slingers other advantage is having a very experience coach in Frank Arsego who knows exactly how to use his players to get a win.
I know it won’t sound nice to the Brunei fans, but because they are playing with 5 foreigners, I kind of hope that they will finish bottom of the standing, just to show that the Asean local players (other than the Filipino of course) are also competitive.
Hope to see other Brunei players getting more meaningful minutes. So far, it seems like only Esmond Tan, Benjamin Sim and perhaps Lim Chee Choun are getting more minutes.
not a very convincing win… only 2 points… only shows that the other teams are not pushovers… slingers only advantage of having the the longest existence and preparations is already diminishing as the other teams get to stable up as the games drag on. i think the slingers will not win these leagues first season… i’m betting on either the patriots or barracudas.
Watch Wong Wei Long’s recent hot shooting streak here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-vc7w3dKHY&feature=player_embedded
Yay! New national players. Give more s’pore ballers a chance to improve. Slingers should have a developmental team to groom future Slingers. Looking forward to see some of our young AYG stars like Russel Low and Jabez Su become Slingers in the future.
Prasad was away on international duty with Singapore at an China-ASEAN Invitational. The Singapore team finished 4th. Gary Koh and Tan Chin Hong were also there.
(shaking my head) i see “PEOPLE” still cant get any credit??? INTERESTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@moh From what I heard, it seems like the light jersey is generally used for home games and and dark away. I’m not sure what’s the logic but it seems to apply even to NBA teams : Bulls (White/Red), Rockets (White/Red), Cavaliers (White,Red). Strange… emm
hmmmm, both jerseys are nice. But, yeah, it makes sense to have red for home and yellow for away.
KJ Photo 12 is left too 🙂
Man, I can’t tell my left from my right.
Found out that the brand is BADEN Basketball. Anyway the red jersey is SOOOOOO NICE, I want to get one! Anyway, Michael Wong is (left)in Photo 11
Thanks for picking up that mistake, Gordon. : )
Boy, Marcus was playing with a fever. What about Pathman and Wei Long? they seem to have played very few minutes.
such reali good freethrows n crucial 3 pointers edge out the barracudas. the slingers seem to be not as dominant as compared to their previous matches. dis tym ard the barracudas were more fluid.
The Red jersey looks so so much better than the yellow one, we should have the red one for home don’t you think? Anyway, what is the brand of the basketball? I realize it’s not Molten anymore
Job well done Slingers, another scrappy game but a win is a win
M.L.B on fire!!!!