ABL: Slingers outplayed 59-79 by Indonesia Warriors in season opener

By Amir Yusof/Red Sports

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, January 15, 2012 — The Singapore Slingers went down 59-79 to the Indonesia Warriors in their 2012 ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season opener.

The Slingers were second best for large parts of the game and were overwhelmed by their Jakarta-based opponents in all areas of the court.

With guard Desmond Oh the only Singaporean to start the game, the Slingers suffered a dismal first quarter, converting one field goal out of 13 attempts. Meanwhile, the prolific Warriors shot 54% from the field. Led by imports Larry Smith and Steven Thomas, the Warriors eased into a 22-9 lead in the opening 10 minutes.

The Warriors suffered a minor setback seven minutes into the first quarter when Harold Sta Cruz (#13) was not allowed to play after officials realized that he was wearing the wrong jersey number. Cruz was wearing #12 but was registered as the #13.

This was an administrative error on the part of the Warriors, explained their head coach, John Purves.

“We just got the jerseys in today and as this is our first game, there is bound to be logistical mistakes like this. I think missing Cruz negatively affected our game as we were a man short. However, I’m so happy with the performance of the players and we didn’t allow the error to cost us the win,” said Purves.

In an attempt to rectify the situation, Purves asked referee Rafael Britanico if he could “put some tape” to alter the #12 jersey to make it look like “13” but was told that “this is a national competition, not some Mickey Mouse league.”

Despite the drama, the Warriors continued their dominance of the Slingers. Although Slingers’ Louis Graham (#24) put in an impressive second-quarter shift with nine points and eight rebounds, the rest of his teammates could not match his output as the deficit kept increasing.

Warriors’ Larry Smith (#22) was menacing as the towering American contributed 14 points to give his team a 20-point, 43-23 lead going into the half-time interval.

The Slingers bounced back in the third quarter with Singaporeans Wong Wei Long (#5) and Pathman Matialakan (#15) starting. Wei Long sank one of two three-point attempts while Pathman sank two jumpers.

With Graham continuing to shoot magnificently, the Slingers had the upper hand in the third quarter, winning the quarter 20-15. However, their poor first-half meant that the Warriors still led by 15 points (58-43) going into the final quarter.

The last 10 minutes were well played by the Warriors. With their sizeable lead over the home side, the Warriors slowed down play whenever they had the ball. This clearly frustrated the Slingers, especially Donald Little (#14), who was sent to the bench after his fifth personal foul.

With the loss of Little and trailing by more than 20 points, Slingers head coach Neo Beng Siang introduced Singaporean youngster Delvin Goh for his first taste of professional basketball as an all-local side took to the court for the final few minutes.

“We allowed them to score their 3 pointers in the opening quarter and this we never came back from,” said a visibly disappointed Neo after the game. “The local boys looked nervous and still have problems translating what they are producing in training to the court. Also, the team is largely new and this being their first competitive game, they need time to gel.”

The Slingers will have little time to recover though. Their next game at home is against the defending champions Thailand Slammers on Wednesday, January 18th.

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Slingers vs Warriors
1st Q: 22-9
2nd Q: 21-14 (43-23)
3rd Q: 15-20 (58-43)
4th Q: 19-16 (79-59)

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

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