By Ian Chew
Alex Hartman (Satria Muda #8) hits a jumper. He was untouchable in the second quarter when he scored on long threes and drove into the lane for easy lay ups. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, February 7, 2010 – The Singapore Slingers suffered a heartbreaking 76-86 home loss in the decisive third game of the inaugural ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) semi-final series against Indonesian club Satria Muda BritAma to bow out of the championship.
Satria Muda’s foreign imports Alexander Hartman and Nakiea Miller both starred for their team with 30 points and 22 points respectively to send their vocal contingent of supporters into basketball ecstasy in qualifying for the finals.
With the win, the Indonesian club champions go on to meet ABL favourites Philippines Patriots in a best-of-five games series starting in Manila next week.
Satria Muda had displayed early in the game they were not about to fold quietly when they jumped to an early 5-0 lead.
But the Slingers showed resilience in bouncing back from the early deficit, with Marcus Ng scoring a long three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer for a 22-19 lead.
Tempers boiled over in the second quarter as Slingers point guard Al Vergara was whistled for a flagrant foul against Miller. Not one to take matters lying down, Miller confronted Vergara and earned a technical foul as a result.
The turning point in the second quarter was Slinger forward Michael LeBlanc picking up his third personal foul. Satria’s Hartman took full advantage of LeBlanc’s subsequent absence to down 12 of his 21 points in the quarter to spark his team to a 47-42 half-time lead.
The Slingers came out firing after the break though and went on a 16-3 run for their largest lead of the game at 58-50. A worrying moment also occurred for the Indonesian bench when Miller appeared to injure his ankle after illegally charging into a stationary LeBlanc.
But Miller returned soon after into action and showed a deft touch with an unlikely three-pointer to haul his team back to a 62-all tie at the end of the third quarter, setting the stage for an explosive fourth and final quarter.
Riding on their momentum, Satria Muda took advantage of a fast tiring Slinger team to steadily increase their lead. A desperate full court defensive pressure in the last few minutes by the home team failed to reduce the deficit as both Slinger starters Al Vergara and Kyle Jeffers exited the game.
Hartman then executed an emphatic dunk off a fast break move in the final seconds to seal the Slingers’ fate.
Frank Arsego, head coach of the Singapore Slingers tried to make sense of his team’s loss.
“We just could not keep up the intensity (in the final quarter) and had too many turnovers and made poor decisions down the stretch,” he explained.
Despite the loss, there were some positives for Arsego from the Slingers’ maiden season.
“It was a great fight and a good learning experience for us. This team has lots of potential for the future and I have enjoyed working with them,” he said.
The Slingers will take a breather for now before regrouping for the next season.
Quarter by Quarter Scores
Slingers vs Satria Muda
1st Q: 22-19
2nd Q: 20-28
3rd Q: 20-15
4th Q: 14-24
Singapore Slingers Game Box Score
| # | Name | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Desmond Oh | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7:52 |
| 5 | Wong Wei Long | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2:41 |
| 10 | *Hong Wei Jian | 17 | 7/13 | 2/6 | 1/2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 27:38 |
| 11 | Michael Wong | 0 | 0/4 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12:35 |
| 12 | Prasad Sadasivan | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Steven Khoo | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 15 | Pathman Matialakan | 4 | 2/5 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9:50 |
| 19 | *Al Vergara | 6 | 2/7 | 2/6 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 30:25 |
| 21 | *Marcus Ng | 15 | 6/12 | 1/2 | 2/6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 35:40 |
| 31 | *Kyle Jeffers | 19 | 7/11 | 0/0 | 5/7 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 39:36 |
| 35 | *Michael LeBlanc | 15 | 6/23 | 1/4 | 2/4 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 33:43 |
| Total | 76 | 30/76 | 6/20 | 10/19 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 24 | 200 |
Satria Muda BritAma Game Box Score
| # | Name | PTS | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BS | TO | PF | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Faisal Achmad Julius | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:22 |
| 6 | Wendha Wijaya | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9:00 |
| 7 | Amin Prihantono | 13 | 4/9 | 3/5 | 2/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30:28 |
| 8 | Alexander Gordon Hartman | 30 | 9/18 | 4/8 | 8/12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 39:19 |
| 9 | Youbel Sondakh | 4 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16:54 |
| 11 | Galank Gunawan | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Bonanza Siregar | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Rony Gunawan | 4 | 1/4 | 1/3 | 1/4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21:11 |
| 14 | Welyanson Situmorang | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10:17 |
| 18 | Mario Wuysang | 12 | 4/10 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 32:11 |
| 43 | Nakiea Miller | 22 | 8/12 | 2/2 | 4/6 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 34:18 |
| 61 | Fattah Arifin | DNP | ||||||||||||
| Total | 86 | 28/58 | 12/24 | 18/33 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 200 |
Miller holds the family jewels after getting hit in the groin by Slinger Al Vergara. However, he was guilty of creating an unnecessary scene in a subsequent tirade at the officials. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Mario Wuysang on a fast break while Michael LeBlanc (Slingers #35) pursues. The Indonesians did most of the hard running in the first few minutes. (Photo 3 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Rony Gunawan (Satria Muda #13) takes the measure of Pathman Matialakan (Slingers #15). He scored a late 3-pointer to trump the Slingers at their home court. (Photo 4 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Youbel Sondakh (Satria Muda #9) lays up past Pathman. Sondakh and his local countrymen posted solid numbers for their team for the win. (Photo 5 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Michael LeBlanc drives into the paint. He was plagued with foul trouble early in the game and had to sit out most of the second quarter. Satria went on a scoring run as a result. (Photo 6 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Hong Weijian (Slinger #10) finds himself with no place to go under the basket. Yet he did contribute a credible 17 points for his team and will be one of the key building blocks for next season’s challenge. (Photo 7 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Marcus Ng (Slinger #21) at the free throw line. His free throw misses were to later prove costly for the team. (Photo 8 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Michael Wong (Slingers #11) goes up against Gunawan. The Slingers captain could not inspire his team in the final minutes when teammate Al Vergara hobbled off with a knee injury. (Photo 9 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Miller indicates a three after sinking a three-pointer. He was perfect from beyond in the arc for a crucial 22-point contribution to his team. (Photo 10 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Lao lao’s injured . In hospital
i think u all have left out lao lao name
lao lao didn’t play.
Heartbreaking…. But I thoroughly enjoyed supporting the Slingers in their inaugural ABL campaign and can’t wait for the second edition!
tough luck … better luck next time!
GO Patriots!!! 😀
Go Satria!!! 🙂