Singapore Slingers gear up for season’s first test against Philippines’ Air21 Express

By Ian Chew

Fan favourite Jason Castro left Singapore abruptly last Tuesday morning after getting news that he was drafted into the Philippines Basketball Association league. His place on the roster has now been filled by Al Vergara, the starting point guard for the Philippines National Team.

Vergara was part of the Filipino team that won gold at the SEA Games in Korat, Thailand in December 2007. He scored 14 points in a 108-60 victory over Malaysia to help secure the gold.

So while Castro will not appear in a Singapore Slingers jersey for the rest of the season, that hasn’t hindered the team from going about achieving their goals.

“We aim to win every single match at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this season,” was Slingers’ JJ O’Brien’s confident assertion in a pre-match interview.

That boast will surely be tested this coming Wednesday when the Slingers take on Filipino team Air21 Express for their season’s inaugural match.

Coming off the back of a highly successful season last year when they clinched the runner-up position, Air21 Express is currently top of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) standings this season. Included in their roster is top-scoring shooting guard Gary David (#20), who has averaged an incredible 22.1 points per game this season.

That will not deter the Slingers though, as they seek to clinch the US$10,000 prize money on offer for each match. Their training regime this season had consisted of a tough two-day training stint followed by a one-day rest.

“We will concentrate on shooting hoops these few days to get a feel of the rings for this match,” continued JJ.

Perhaps the pull-out by Singapore Slingers from the National Basketball League (NBL) may prove a blessing in disguise as they take on other Asian teams in a new competitive twist that may prove more compelling for the basketball fans in Singapore who had little affinity for the Australian National Basketball League. Their upcoming schedule will take on the following form:

Sept 17 (Wed): Singapore Slingers v Air21 (Philippines)
Sept 21 (Sun): Singapore Slingers v Air21 (Philippines)
Sept 30 (Tue): Singapore Slingers v Purefoods (Philippines)
Oct 5 (Sun): Singapore Slingers v Sydney Spirit (Australia)
Oct 12 (Sun): Singapore Slingers v Beijing Aoshen (ABA)

One thing’s for sure though – spectators can look forward to a rapturous crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this coming Wednesday as the Filipino community turns up to cheer for their home town folks.

Tip-off time is 7.40pm.

Tickets to the Slingers games can be purchased at Sistic.

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