By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Joseph Lee/Red Sports
Some of the Slingers in action during their pre-season training. (Photo 1 © Joseph Lee/Red Sports)
Tanglin Trust School, Thursday, January 10, 2013 — The Singapore Slingers are back for a fourth season as they seek regional basketball glory in the 2013 ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).
The ABL this year features a change in format as six teams will compete, playing each other four times. There will be 10 home and away matches while a mid-season tournament, which will be played in Vietnam, will also count towards the ladder.
With plenty of changes to the squad, they will be hoping to put the memory of a disappointing 2012 campaign behind them after they failed to qualify for the play-offs for the first time in their history. A return to the post-season has been made their goal this year.
Five new faces have been introduced to the squad after veterans Steven Khoo and Pathman Matialakan called time on their professional basketball careers. Three local boys have joined the team while a new international import and an ASEAN player make up the other two changes.
Mitchell Folkoff, Wu Qingde and Damien Goh will make their debut with the Slingers this season. Although not direct replacements for their departing countrymen, they are certainly a fresh bunch that adds a new dimension to the team. They do not offer the size that Pathman and Steven had, but what they lack in height, they will hope to make up with heart.
They should bring some needed defensive intensity and drive and as guards, they also provide some competition to veterans Wong Wei Long and Desmond Oh.
In particular, Folkoff and Qingde were described by Slingers general manager Michael Johnson as “fearless”.
“Mitchell brings a certain mental toughness to the team,” said Johnson. “He will go all out and play every match with his heart and soul. In the same way, Qingde is also afraid of no one. He’ll play his heart out on the court.”
“I have full confidence with this batch of local lads and we will have no problems bringing them on when our starters need a break. As much as possible, we don’t want our imports to play 40 minutes every match.”
When asked about his thoughts ahead of his debut ABL season, 23-year-old Mitchell said: “I am ready to play and win some games. I think I bring that intensity and toughness to the defence and I hope to be able to perform whenever I get to play.”
Rebounding was a weakness of the Slingers last season and the management has addressed this issue by recruiting one of the best rebounders they could find. The 2-metre Rashad Jones-Jennings has been the top rebounder in every league he has played in, which include those in Argentina, Mexico, France and most recently, Taiwan. He also led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), America’s top college basketball tournament, in rebounding in his senior year of collage and was Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Taiwan’s Super Basketball League in 2011.
Together with Kyle Jeffers, who is in his fourth year with the Slingers, Jones-Jennings will hope to make his mark on the ABL as he lines up against the other big men of the league.
In support, Filipino Jun Cabatu has also been brought in to add some muscle to the starting lineup. Like Jeffers, the 192 centre-metre forward is playing in his fourth ABL season, having played for the 2009 champions Philippine Patriots in his first two years while plying his trade with finalist San Miguel Beermen last season.
However, this will be the first year he gets the chance to play serious minutes.
Said Johnson about the new ASEAN player: “He’s a heavy player and has an extremely good basketball pedigree. He may not be as fast as some or as tall as others but he is a 4th-season veteran and he knows the league. He will be able to provide guidance for this team.”
Donald Dulay is back for a second stint with the Slingers and he makes up the other ASEAN import as the Slingers stick to their policy of having a local lad in the starting five.
The Slingers tip-off their season against the Thailand Slammers on Sunday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 3pm. Tickets are available via SISTIC.
2013 ASEAN Basketball League Fixtures
Check out the 2013 Singapore Slingers squad in the next page
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