“We have a passionate fan base that pays to see the Slingers.” — Michael Johnson, Slingers GM

Interview by Erwin Wong/Red Sports

The Singapore Slingers open the third season of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) on Sunday, January 15th, with a home game against the Indonesia Warriors at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Desmond Oh (Guard), Tan Chin Hong (G), Wong Wei Long (Point Guard), Lim Sheng Yu (Forward), Steven Khoo (Power Forward), Pathman s/o Matialakan (Centre), Delvin Goh (PF), Ng Hanbin (G) are the confirmed locals on the Slingers squad.

Red Sports caught up with the Slingers’ general manager, Michael Johnson, for his thoughts on his team and the season ahead.

Red Sports: Tell us a little about our four imports — Donald Dulay (PG), Donald Little (C), Louis Graham (F), Vaughn Canta (G/F). What can they add to the Slingers team and what can fans expect of them?
Michael Johnson:They each have their own strengths.

Don Dulay is the floor general who sets the tempo we play at. Donald Little is a defensive force who can block and alter opposition shots. Louis Graham is an all round player, great shooter and scorer who is also dangerous defensively with his long arms and speed. Vaughn Canta has just joined the squad. He is an excellent defender who runs the floor well.

Red Sports: Having four imports mean that at least one local player will be on court at all times. Which local player/s do you expect to receive significant contributions from?
MJ: Desmond Oh has been the standout to date in pre-season. Des has the potential to be a very good player in this league. Young Delvin Goh has also shown he is not out of place against the more seasoned players.

Red Sports: Why were Kyle Jeffers, Al Vergara, Marcus Skinner and Leonidez Avenido not re-signed to the team this season?
MJ: We decided to go with two different big imports for this season to help strengthen our interior defense and with Louis we have a better outside threat at the PF spot. Al Vergara wanted to try his luck back in the Philippines.

Leo Avenido was a different situation. Leo went back after the ABL season and played in the PBA. Leo wanted to return to the Slingers but his PBA team would not release him to the Slingers. They would only allow him to play with San Miguel in the ABL.

Red Sports: The signing of young Delvin Goh made all the headlines. How do you plan to make him stay grounded, and yet not be over-awed, both physically and psychologically, at playing in a professional basketball league?
MJ: Delvin is a good kid, he seems very humble and grounded even with the publicity he has received around his signing. We have made it clear to Delvin that he will have to work hard for what he gets from here on out, but we believe he will do so and will be a cornerstone for Singapore teams for years to come.

Red Sports: Who is the Slingers team captain this season, and what will the Slingers organisation expect of him?
MJ: We haven’t named a Captain this season yet. When we do, we will expect what we do every year, to represent the Slingers and Singapore with professionalism and to set an example for the rest of the players. Lead by example.

Red Sports: How have the Slingers prepared for this new season which has more teams (8 from 6 last year), and a longer (4 months from 3.5) and more compressed (5.3 games per month from 4.3) schedule?
MJ: We have prepared for this season the same as we have the last two. The local players were involved in the SEA Games so they have been in training for some time. The length of the season is still short compared to other competitions so fatigue should not be a problem.

Red Sports: Besides winning the ABL title for the first time, what would constitute a successful season for the Slingers in 2012?
MJ: Continued improvement of our local players and increase in fan support are two areas we concentrate hard on. If we can continue to improve in these areas alone, it is a successful season. But at the end of the day, a Championship is what we all play for.

Red Sports: Kyle Jeffers is understood to be working on Sales and Basketball Projects with the Slingers. Can you tell us a little more about what his role is? Will he provide any form of mentorship to the players?
MJ: Kyle has been a great addition to the staff. He not only works on some sales but also trains most nights with the squad. Kyle is very passionate about both Basketball and giving back to the community. Kyle will be rolling out some Slingers Basketball Camps and other projects over the next few months.

Red Sports: 2 seasons of ABL have been played and it is still rather difficult to garner local support to watch the games at the Indoor Stadium. What is the Slingers organisation doing to tackle this problem?
MJ: I both agree and disagree that we have not garnered the support of the locals. Yes, it has been difficult to fill the venue but with an 11,000 capacity stadium, it will always be tough.

We have a very loyal and passionate fan base that pays to see the Slingers over a four-month season. I would say that in regard to paid attendance for sporting competition in Singapore, we are fairly well supported.

The secret is to get the word out to enough people just how good and exciting the games are and also that we have 8 local players who do see good court time. Then we will be playing to large crowds and hopefully that will happen sooner then later.

We continue to try different avenues of promotion to see what works and this season you will see more advertising around MRT and buses. Paid media advertising in Singapore is expensive and hard to maintain over an 11-game season so we just need to keep working hard in the community and hope that people will appreciate the work we are doing to help basketball and sport in Singapore.

Looking for the Singapore Slingers fixture schedule? All here: Slingers 2012 ABL Fixture Schedule