Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports
Slingers’ top scorer Phillip Morrison going for a layup. He scored 20 points in the defeat. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, May 5, 2013 – A late rally by the Singapore Slingers was not enough as they went down 72–82 to the Malaysia Dragons in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).
After trailing by over 20 points through three quarters, the home team managed to spark a run in the final eight minutes and came within six points of their rivals with 40 seconds on the clock. However, it proved to be too little too late as the Dragons scored two quick baskets to close out the match and halt the Slingers’ comeback.
Julius Armon had a career-high 26 points and five assist to lead the Dragons. American Gavin Edwards added 18 points and 13 rebounds while compatriot Marcus Hubbard had 13 points and seven boards.
Phillip Morrison, who saved the Slingers in their last match against the Saigon Heat, had a team-high 20 points while Rashad Jones-Jennings had 16 points and 23 boards. Rashaad Singleton also had a double-double of 11 points and rebounds.
ABL’s three-point champion Lim Sheng Yu had a break-out game for the Slingers, scoring 19 points off the bench, including three from beyond the arc.
“I know I did pretty well as compared to how I have been playing, but I honestly think it means nothing since we were unable to defend our home court,” commented Sheng Yu, who is also studying at the National University of Singapore.
“I thought I shot well today and my coach gave me a lot of confidence. He told me to take shots when I am open. It took me a couple of months to get here and so I hope to use this game as leverage to take on the rest of the season.”
With the defeat, the Slingers edge closer to missing the playoffs for the second season in a row as they sit in fifth place with a 7–13 win-loss record. They have lost one game more than the fourth-place Thailand Slammers and will have to win their next two matches against the defending champions Indonesia Warriors to have any hope of making the playoff.
The Dragons pounded the Slingers from the tip-off as they simply could not miss, makinge 81 percent of their shots in the first quarter while the Slingers only managed a meager 27 percent from the field. They started the match on a 9–0 run and although the Slingers responded with five points, the host were powerless as the visitors rattled off 17 straight points for a 28–5 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Julius Armon burned the Slingers with 10 points while Edwards and Hubbard had nine and eight points respectively. The score was 33–10 after just 10 minutes.
Slingers head coach Neo Beng Siang had seen enough at that point and took off four of his five starters. Delvin Goh, Wu Qingde, Ng Han Bin and Sheng Yu were sent into the deep end and they managed to spark an 8–0 run in the second quarter.
However, they were unable to trim the deficit by much and at the interval, they were still behind 22–43. The third quarter saw the Slingers cut the lead down to 13 points momentarily, but just like in the second quarter, the Dragons’ pressure was too much to handle as they led 59–43 heading into the final period.
Armon hit a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter and it looked like it would be a long fourth quarter for the Slingers. But Sheng Yu sparked the Slingers to life. He led the Slingers back into the game with 10 points, including a shot-range bank shot over Edwards to bring the Slingers to within 65–74 with three and a half minutes remaining.
However, Armon nailed another three with two minutes on the clock and despite Jones-Jennings’ layup making it a six-point game with 40 seconds remaining, the Slingers failed to foul to get back the ball. Baskets from Hubbard and Edwards iced the match as time winded down.
“I credit the boys for starting well but I was not happy with the next three quarters,” said Dragons’ head coach Ariel Vanguardia.
“We started playing without pressure, but we knew they would have a run at some point in the game and it came in the fourth quarter. It was a good thing we were able to maintain the gap and come out victorious. I was definitely nervous towards the end, but we hit the big three and that gave us breathing room,” added Vanguardia.
Despite the tough defeat, head coach Neo felt his team is still able to make the playoffs.
“I still believe we can make it,” declared Neo.
“There are still two more games to be played and if we go out all out and play our game, I believe we can take both matches. We have to worry about winning these two matches and not the other games of our rivals,” added the Singapore national coach.
The Slingers will next face the Indonesia Warriors on Friday, May 10, 2013, at 8pm in their penultimate game of the regular season.
Score by Quarter
Slingers vs Dragons
1st Q: 10–33
2nd Q: 12–10 (22–43)
3rd Q: 21–16 (43–59)
4th Q: 29–26 (72–82)
Slingers: Morrison – 20, Lim – 19, Jones-Jennings – 16, Singleton – 11, Cabatu – 3, Wong – 3.
Dragons: Armon – 26, Edwards – 18, Hubbard – 13, Melton – 8, Tautuaa – 6, Kuppusamy – 5, Ng – 4.
2013 Singapore Slingers fixture schedule and results
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