By Koh Yizhe/Red Sports
Wong Wei Long (Slingers #8) goes for a shot over Jai Reyes (Heat #5). Together with Rashad Jones-Jennings (extreme left), they led Singapore to their fifth victory in the league. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, March 31, 2013 — It was the Rashad Jones-Jennings and Wong Wei Long show as they combined to score 66 points, helping the Singapore Slingers halt a six-game losing streak by defeating the Saigon Heat 91–77 in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).
American Jones-Jennings scored a league-best 37 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while local Wong Wei Long had an outstanding career night, pouring in 29 points and making five shots from beyond the arc.
Rashaad Singleton had 14 points and 14 rebounds to go with five assist and four blocks in a solid all-round performance.
Unlike previous games, the Singapore Slingers were able to make their shots. They shot 50 percent from the field, a clear improvement from the dismal offensive showings that have plagued their offence so often this season.
The result was never really in doubt after the Slingers opened a double-digit lead in the opening minutes and continued to extend it to as many as 26 points throughout the next two quarters. Though it looked like the Slingers might self-destruct in the final period when the Saigon Heat inched to within eight points, the home team managed to hang on for the win.
“We really came out and play, knowing this was a big game for us,” said Slingers head coach Neo Beng Siang.
“Our bigs and guards shot well today – the first time ever they shot 50 percent from the field! Scoring 91 points is big for us because we have struggled to score on offence throughout the season, but today, I think we executed and pushed the ball really well. That is what we want to do all the time.”
The biggest victory of the season comes at a vital time for the Singapore Slingers as it puts them back into the playoff picture after falling to fifth thanks to six straights defeats. They are now in fourth place with a 5–9 win-loss record, half a game ahead of the Thailand Slammers who have four wins and nine losses.
In contrast, the Saigon Heat, playing their second match in three days, have now lost eight games in a row and are rooted to the bottom of the ABL standings. League top scorer Dior Lowhorn netted 34 points and had seven boards while David Palmer scored 22 points and had 18 rebounds, but their efforts were not enough to stop the slide. Their playoff hopes now look bleak.
The Singapore Slingers started three guards together with two big men and it worked wonders in the first quarter as they made their first seven field goals attempts to quickly establish a double-digit lead. Shooting 73 percent from the field in the first period, the Slingers raced to a 27–15 lead.
Jones-Jennings hit all of his six attempts in the first 10 minutes, scoring 13 points in the process and he continued his dominance in the second quarter. He added another 12 points in the period. Wei Long, who was allowed more playing time due to Phillip Morrison’s foul trouble, showed a hot hand with two threes, the second of which extending the Slingers’ lead to 20 points at 43–23 at the half-way mark of the second quarter.
Lowhorn, coming into the match off a 35-point performance against the Malaysia Dragons, tried to keep his team in the game, but the Slingers and Jones-Jennings were simply too much too handle as they entered the half-time interval with a 52–34 lead before running riot in the next quarter.
A Jones-Jennings free throw made it a 26-point lead with 3:28 left in the third quarter and it looked like the Slingers would cruise to victory.
However, the Heat went on a 12–0 run to trim the lead down to eight points at 79–71 with 2:43 remaining in the match. The Slingers committed six turnovers in the quarter as Jones-Jennings suddenly went cold in the fourth and was scoreless. Singleton was also playing with four fouls and was cautious not to foul out.
Fortunately for the Slingers, Wei Long came up big for them. The 25-year-old managed to nail his fifth trey of the evening to maintain the lead at 82–71 on the next possession before he iced the game with some clutch free-throw shooting.
Rashad Jones-Jennings felt the win was necessary to stay in the playoff picture.
“Winning this game means we’re still in it (the playoffs),” said the power forward.
“If we had lost this match, we would be in big trouble. I’m actually looking forward to playing in the playoffs and we’re going to try to win as many games as possible from here on out.”
“I didn’t come here with an agenda, but I just came out to win. We lost six straight coming in to this game and that was the one thing on my mind. I don’t think I raise my game against the Saigon Heat. I just let the game come to me and this was the end result,” added Jones-Jennings, who averages 30 points and 18 rebounds against the Vietnam-based side.
The Singapore Slingers hope to continue their winning ways as they travel to the Philippines for a pair of tough away matches with the San Miguel Beermen on April 6 and 13.
Score by Quarter
Slingers vs Heat
1st Q: 27-15
2nd Q: 25-19 (52-34)
3rd Q: 25-20 (77-54)
4th Q: 14-23 (91-77)
Slingers: Jennings – 37, Wong – 29, Singleton – 14, Morrison – 5, Oh – 2, Wu – 2, Folkoff – 2.
Heat: Lowhorn – 34, Palmer – 22, Reyes – 15, Vergara – 4, Tieu – 2.
2013 Slingers ABL fixture schedule
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