Game Analysis: Slingers impress despite falling to PBA favourites Ginebra Kings

By Ian Chew/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, 30 September, 2009 – I must admit I feared the worst for the Singapore Slingers coming into the match.

Not that the Singapore’s very own indoor stadium will be swamped with Ginebra supporters (that was very much a given), but that the Slingers will be in for a hiding by one of the top Philippine Basketball Association teams. It would certainly be hard to recover from such a scenario in the eyes of the average Singaporean fan.

Things certainly did not look bright for the Slingers at the start when the visiting Kings scored straight from the tip off. Yet credit to the home team as Kyle Jeffers, Al Vergara and Hong Wei Jian all scored crucial baskets for the Slingers in the first quarter to keep pace with the visitors.

Perhaps due to his experience of playing for the Slingers, Al is proving to be a revelation. Razor-sharp from the 3-point arc and flawless in ball distribution, he emerged as the Slingers go-to man in every half-court attacking possession. This was to prove crucial as the Kings had almost completely taken away the fast-break option for the Slingers by covering back quickly on defense.

Together with the industrious Kyle Jeffers mopping every defensive rebound, the Slingers took an improbable 40-34 lead into the half-time break on the back of 14-point effort from Slinger Michael LeBlanc in the second quarter.

Yet the experienced and wily Ginebra Kings showed that they cannot be kept at bay for long with a flurry of baskets at the start of the third quarter. Mark “The Spark” Caguiao, Enrico Villanueva and Ronald Tubid, all starters, leading the Kings in a huge comback effort.

The Slingers though, held on for a 57-54 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Slingers coach Frank Arsego showed bravery when he fielded almost an entirely local team at the start of the fourth quarter. Yet the gulf in standards was apparent as turnovers in possession during that period cost the Slingers dear. The Slingers starting five were swiftly restored.

Despite a subsequent valiant response from the Slingers, the visitors held on for a 77-72 win in the final reckoning. The Kings’ late substitute Douglas Kramer clearly showed that this was no exhibition match for the Kings when he dived into the stands for a loose ball with the match all but sewn up.

Match Verdict
The statistics told the story. Ginebra had 27 points off turnovers while Slingers had 15. The Slingers definitely have to work on their mental resilience especially in the closing stages of the game.

Shortest at 1.7m, Al Vergara is proving, at an early stage, to be one of the standout players of the tournament. So too, Kyle Jeffers, with his high work rate and dominance at the boards. It will be crucial to the Slingers organisation for these players to remain injury-free throughout the ABL season.

Though our local players have some way to go before matching the skill and experience of our Filipino counterparts, these opportunities of playing the professionals are proving to be a gem for our national team’s development.

The younger set of players like Wei Jian, Wei Long, Desmond, Steven and Wai Sian are going to benefit from learning and playing alongside experienced veteran Slingers like Al Vergara and Kyle Jeffers.

View from the sidelines
Mark “The Spark” Caguioa certainly marred an otherwise brilliant performance with an out-of-control “kung-fu” punch at Kyle Jeffers towards the end of the game. He was called for a personal foul but still followed it with taunting Jeffers till the end.

But to put too much focus on that incident would be unfair to an otherwise disciplined and surprisingly hardworking Ginebra Kings, who thoroughly deserved the win.

Conclusion
It was a thoroughly enjoyable spectacle with lots of excitement and drama and two well-prepared teams giving their all, worthy of a wednesday evening’s outing. Nothing beats being there to soak in the atmosphere.

See highlights for the first quarter:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FSaf0e-Y8

See highlights for the fourth quarter:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1MakYpCz6g