Alex Hartman (right) of the KL Dragons goes up against Ng Hanbin of the Slingers. Hartman finished with a game-high 27 points. (Photo 1 by Peter Lim, courtesy of ABL)
Kuala Lumpur, Saturday, October 23, 2010 — The Singapore Slingers fell 74-81 to the KL Dragons for their second away loss in as many games in the second season of the ASEAN Basketball League.
The two teams had met last weekend in Singapore and the Slingers had prevailed 74-61 then.
The game was notable for the introduction of American import Nakiea Miller in the colours of the Dragons. Miller played for Satria Muda in the first ABL season together with Alex Hartman and the return of the duo proved the Slingers’ undoing.
Miller’s presence in the paint forced the Slingers to shoot more from the outside and his forceful style of play saw him exchange blows with Slingers’ Marcus Skinner below the basket early in the fourth quarter.
The Slingers struggled early with foul trouble. In the second quarter, they had 10 fouls to the Dragons’ two and captain Kyle Jeffers and Al Vergara saw limited minutes as a result.
Trailing by five at 67-72 with 6:09 left, the Slingers suffered a blow when Jeffers left the game with his fifth personal foul.
Skinner however gave the Slingers a glimmer of hope when his turnaround jumper brought his team to within three points at 74-77 with 2:47 left. However, the Dragons forced another Slingers turnover — one of their 21 in the game — and Miller drew a foul.
Miller converted the pair of free throws, making it a two-possession game. Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang called a timeout but when his team came back on, they found Miller in the way again with his sixth block of the night to ensure a first Dragons victory.
Hartman finished with a game-high 27 points while teammate Miller contributed a double-double, 17-point, 13-rebound performance.
Leonidez Avenido was the Slingers’ best scorer with 22 points while teammate Jeffers contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Slingers now have a 2-2 win-loss record while the Dragons are 1-3. The Slingers’ other loss came against the Philippine Patriots.
The Dragons will next play the Brunei Barracudas at home on Saturday, October 30th while the Slingers will return to their home court to entertain the Thailand Slammers on Sunday, October 31st.
Full ABL Fixtures and Results
Rudy Lingganay (right) of the Dragons keeps a watchful eye on Wong Wei Long of the Slingers. Rudy contributed 5 points to the team’s first win of the season. (Photo 2 by Peter Lim, courtesy of ABL)
Go to next page for more stats
Leave A Comment