Sharp-shooting Slingers cruise to 4th straight ABL win after 96-72 victory over Satria Muda

Story by Erwin Wong and Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, November 1, 2009 - It may have been a day after Halloween but the Singapore Slingers appeared to still be in the mood for festivities.

They overwhelmed Satria Muda BritAma with frightening shooting accuracy, cruising to a 96-72 win on the back of a dazzling 63% shooting from the field and 60% from beyond the 3-point arc, improving their win-loss record in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) to a league-leading 4-0 mark to remain the sole unbeaten team.

There were no tricks up the sleeves of the home team. With the Slingers, one can come to expect an emphasis on hard-nosed defence, team rebounding and making the extra pass in every game. But the ABL table-toppers treated the home crowd to a shooting clinic too, making 40 of 63 field goal attempts and 9 of 15 from downtown to set league-high percentages in both categories.

Backup point guard Wong Wei Long, who drained 3 of 5 long-range bombs en route to a 13-point performance, was quick to expound on the team's game plan and approach towards matches.

"We worked very hard on our defence last week, and did defensive drills during training. In today's game, our plan was to put our defence first. As the saying goes, defence wins games."

And win the Slingers certainly did. They were coming off a morale-boosting 82-80 road win over the Brunei Barracudas last weekend and looked forward to this first encounter with Satria Muda.

"We were excited to be back home in front of all our fans," said Kyle Jeffers, who had his third double-double in four games with 19 points and 15 rebounds. "We were ready to play."

The Slingers shot off the blocks and never looked back. Michael LeBlanc had 9 of his team-high 23 points in the first period as the Slingers never trailed throughout the entire match. Desmond Oh, a surprise inclusion in the starting lineup once again for the second game in the row, connected from beyond the 3-point arc for an early double-digit Slinger lead barely halfway into the opening quarter.

After Alex Hartman pulled Satria Muda to within 20-13 with two free throws, but Hong Wei Jian's tough lay up in traffic and Wei Long's long three put the Slingers up by 12, a double-digit advantage they never ceded as the match was over almost as soon as it got underway.

"(We were) Not expecting this kind of win at all! We expected a tough fight and for the game to be a 50-50 match," quipped Wei Jian, who broke out of a 5 for 20 shooting slump with a season-high 13 points on 5/8 shooting, including a flawless performance from three-point territory.

"I am definitely very happy to have such a performance! I shot 3 for 3 (three-pointers) and I now have broken into double digits! It is a great start to the campaign for me."

The Slingers reached the 30-point plateau before the opening quarter was done - another ABL season-high - and led by 16 after the first 10 minutes, and then increased the advantage steadily in the second period as they couldn't seem to miss.

In fact, the first Slinger mis-hit from long range was actually from the Slinger girls who were catapulting free t-shirts to the crowd as part of a segment during a timeout early in the quarter. The Slinger basketball team was a perfect 4 of 4 on three-pointers before their dancing compatriots failed to connect their hurl to a section of fans.

They eventually jacked the lead up to 27 as the Slingers took a massive 53-26 advantage into the locker room at half-time, but it was not all fun and games. Intelligent perimeter defence restricted Satria Muda to 2 of 10 shooting from long-range, and tenacious contesting of shots from the Slingers forced their opponents into missing 5 of their 7 shots in the paint during that second quarter.

The Slingers also had to make do with the prolonged absence of Al Vergara, when their floor general went down heavily after playing a huge role in an empty Satria Muda breakaway possession. The Filipino crumpled to the floor in a knee-to-knee clash and had to be carried off with half of the quarter to play. Vergara was icing his knee during the intermission and is doubtful for the team's next match against the Philippine Patriots this coming Saturday.

"The doctor said it was not too serious an injury, that the knee just got hit," said Vergara after the match. But when asked how soon he would resume practice, he shook his head and smiled ruefully, saying, "No. I don't think I would be able to play the next match."

The team responded in positive fashion after Vergara had to sit out, as the point guard role was thrust solely onto the hands of Wei Long. He played the entire third quarter and finished tied for a game-high 4 assists.

He said, "I will have more time on the court which gives me more opportunities. This is a big stage and I will work hard to perform at this level. Al is our floor general and he keeps the spirit of the team alive. He will definitely be missed, and this also puts pressure on the locals."

The Slinger lead got into the region of 30s when Desmond's breakaway lay up made it 62-29, but it was a measure of the Satria Muda's character that they did not totally collapse as they outscored the Slingers the rest of the way.

"Credit to Satria Muda! They were focused and played well. I think we surprised them a little in the first half and managed to establish a quick lead," said LeBlanc on his opponents.

"It is easy to just wear your uniform and sit down after trailing by so many points at half-time, but they kept fighting hard. It wasn't easy for us."

Hartman had 10 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter and finished 4/7 from beyond the 3-point arc, but he had little help elsewhere, literally.

Fellow American import Theophilus Little, who together with Hartman was expected to provide the 1-2 punch for Satria Muda, played only 15 minutes and was a non-factor with his 6 point, 3 rebound contribution, far below his 3-game average of 12 and 11.

Satria Muda, who fell to 2-2 after this defeat, will head home for their next match on Sunday, November 8, against the 1-3 Barracudas for the first match-up between both teams this season.

The Slingers will play a day earlier as they travel to Philippines to renew their rivalry with the Patriots, whom they beat 74-69 two weeks ago. A tough game awaits the Slingers but they will relish the opportunity to lock horns with the title favourites once again.

"We will work even harder during this week's training, and hope to do a good job (against the Patriots)," said backup power forward Steven Khoo. "We will not be surprised if they have new strategies against us, but we will continue to stay focused and keep up our attitude and fighting spirit over there."

Attendance: 1,989

Scoring breakdown by quarters:
Singapore Slingers v Satria Muda BritAma
1st Q: 30-14
2nd Q: 23-12
3rd Q: 23-24
4th Q: 20-22

Singapore Slingers Game Box Score

Satria Muda BritAma Game Box Score

View first quarter highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRrhGX60Eyo

View second quarter highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQeApQ9Y8qc

View third quarter highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmyyA4QEu8M

View fourth quarter highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnTsGCTHBwc

View fourth quarter highlights with all-Singaporean team with 1:30 to go:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd-hcCs1lYw

Singapore Slingers 2009/10 ABL schedule