The Chang Thailand Slammers fell into an early 0-3 hole in
the 2013 ASEAN Basketball League after losing back-to-back games this past
week. The Indonesia Warriors, too, remained winless after the defending champs
succumbed to a hot-shooting Saigon Heat this past weekend.
The Wesports Malaysia Dragons, meanwhile, copped solo first
place after winning their second game, while the Saigon Heat rebounded from
their Week 1 loss by piling up two straight Ws.
Cedric Bozeman came through for the Dragons once again,
scoring 22 points on top of 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals against the
Slammers. He was backstopped by the hot shooting of ASEAN import Patrick
Cabahug, who nailed 4 treys on his way to 20 markers.
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| Cedric Bozeman was virtually unstoppable in Week 2 of the 2013 ABL season. |
The Heat, too, relied heavily on their plethora of imports
as Dior Lowhorn, David Palmer, Philip Morrison, and Jai Reyes all took turns in
helping Saigon hike its record to 2-1. Lowhorn was a beast, averaging 23.5ppg
and 11.0rpg in two games, while Palmer, Morrison, and Reyes all registered
double-figure scoring in their two wins.
Game Recaps:
SAIGON HEAT
over CHANG THAILAND SLAMMERS, 77-75
It was a nerve-wracking game at the Nimibutr Stadium,
Thailand, between hosts Chang Thailand Slammers and their visitors, the Saigon
Heat. The game went down to the last shot as the Heat escaped with a 77-75 win.
The Slammers’ Wacharapong Tongsri missed a potential game-winning
shot and Justin Howard, who rebounded Tongsri's miss, was not able to send the
game to overtime.
The Heat’s Dior Lowhorn finished the game as the leading
scorer with 21 points and 10 rebounds, followed by teammate David Palmer, who
also had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
The Heat built a 38-32 lead in the third quarter after
Lowhorn and Palmer each made a basket with 7:10 left in the third quarter. The
Slammers’ Michael Earl and Justin Howard then sparked a 12-2 run capped by a
dunk from Earl that made it 44-40 for the Slammers with 4:56 left in the third
quarter.
The fourth quarter started with an 11-2 run from the Heat that
helped them stretch their lead to 65-54 after Lowhorn connected on a three and
Palmer nailed a shot with 7:37 left in the game.
The Slammers responded immediately and pulled within, 62-67,
on three point shots from Tongsri and Wutipong Dasom with 5:42 left. The
momentum suddenly shifted the home team's way after Earl made a basket to put
the Slammers up, 72-71, with 2 minutes left.
But that momentum was quickly shut down by Palmer, who came
up huge down the stretch. The 6'9'' center connected on back-to-back
three-point shots, giving the Heat a 77-72 lead with 1 minute left that helped
the Heat grab their first win of the season.
The Heat's backcourt tandem of Phillip Morrison and Jai
Reyes were crucial in this win as well. Morrison found his shooting groove
tonight after a tough debut last Saturday. The Fil-Am shooting guard finished
with 19 points, including 5 three-pointers. Reyes, who was a fan favorite last
year in Bangkok, had an impressive game and finished with 13 points and dished
out 12 assists, including the two assists which set Palmer up for the critical
back-to-back three point shots down the stretch.
The Slammers received big contributions from their two local
players, but it was still not enough. Both Tongsri and Dasom had a career game
with 16 points each. Earl led the Slammers with 19 points while Froilan Baguion
finished the game with a new ABL record of 17 assists.
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| Wuttipong Dasom of Thailand tries to split the Saigon D in mid-air. |
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| David Palmer wrestles the rebound against the Slammers. |
WESTPORTS
MALAYSIA DRAGONS over CHANG THAILAND SLAMMERS, 91-83
Wacharapong Tongsri hit a corner three and a free throw to
get the Chang Thailand Slammers within 5 points with 48 seconds left, but it
was a little too late as the Westports Malaysia Dragons repelled a late charge
by the Slammers.
Cedric Bozeman had 22 points and 6 assists, Patrick Cabahug
added 20 points, and the Dragons held off the Slammers, 91-83, for their second
win of the season.
Chris Charles, who was activated in place of the injured
Justin Howard, made an early impact for the Slammers in the first quarter. His
energy and activity help the Slammers jump out to an 8-point lead early.
Charles scored a quick 6 points and a lay-up from Froilan Baguion helped the
Slammers build a 18-10 lead with 2:54 left in the first quarter.
The Dragons caught fire late in the second quarter and also
picked up their defensive intensity. A corner three from Cabahug and
Satyaseelan Kuppusamy plus a lay-up from Gavin Edwards off a behind-the-back-pass
from Mark Jeffries sparked a 16-2 run for the Dragons. They held the Slammers
to only 2 points in the last 3 minutes of the second quarter to stretch the
lead to 54-37 at halftime. Edwards was huge on defense for the Dragons during
that stretch; he finished with 13 points and 6 blocks.
The Dragons' lead was at 59-37 on a three-point shot by John
Ng, but halfway through the third quarter, the Slammers were able to make
stops. A jumper from Wutipong Dasom and a three-point shot from Tongsri helped
the Slammers trim their deficit to 60-68 heading into the final quarter.
The Slammers were able to get as close as 4 points on a
lay-up by Pairach Sekteera off a nice assist from Baguion, who finished with 12
assists. But the Dragons quickly answered with a three from Cabahug and a
monster slam from Edwards to bring the lead back to 11 points with 4:29 left.
The Slammers were able to get one final run in the last 1:30, but the Dragons
were able to hold on to their lead.
Charles led the Slammers with 20 points and 13 rebounds,
followed by Tongsri with 14 points and Michael Earl with 12 points.
The Slammers will host the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers
on January 25th, 2013, while the Dragons will play the Indonesia Warriors at
Mahaka Square on January 22nd, 2013.
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| Michael Earl failed to lead Chang Thailand to its maiden win of the season. |
SAIGON HEAT over INDONESIA WARRIORS, 77-72
It was another dramatic finish to a Saigon Heat and
Indonesia Warriors game at Tan Binh Stadium. A costly mistake by the Warriors
at the end helped the Heat come out with a 77-72 win.
The Heat’s Dior Lowhorn, who scored 19 of his 26 points in the
second quarter, also managed to grab 12 rebounds in the game. Teammate Phillip
Morrison was next on the Heat scoresheet with 15 points followed by Jai Reyes,
who finished with 14 points and 9 assists.
The Heat were able to hold the Warriors to just two points
in the last 3 minutes of the second quarter. Reyes hit a pair of free throws
and a three-pointer late in the second quarter to give the Heat a 37-29 lead at
halftime.
Lowhorn came out of the locker room firing as he scored 8 quick
points that stretched the Heat lead to 44-29 early in the third quarter. The Warriors'
Mario Wuysang was not to be denied in the third quarter, however. The ABL
veteran point guard scored 16 points in the third period to keep his team in
the game as the Warriors came within 9 points going into the final frame.
A pair of baskets from Richard Smith and a lay-up from
Christian Ronaldo Sitepu trimmed the Heat's lead further to 66-62 with 7:42
left. The Warriors then made another late surge to get to 72-73 on a lay-up
from Steven Thomas off an assist from Jerick Canada. The Warriors had a couple
of chances to take the lead, but Wuysang missed a three and Canada turned the
ball over.
With 14.6 seconds left, Karl Dehesa calmly hit two free
throws for a 75-72 lead. Then the Warriors had to inbound the ball from
halfcourt after Reyes fouled Canada with 12 seconds left. Unfortunately, Smith
inbounded the ball to Canada, who was standing on the backcourt. The referee
called a backcourt violation on the Warriors. Morrison then iced the game with
a lay-up before the buzzer to give Heat their second win of the season.
Wuysang led the Warriors with 23 points, Smith had 15 points
on his first return to Saigon, and Chris Daniels finished with 11 points and 11
rebounds for the Warriors, who will play again on Tuesday night against the
Westports Malaysia Dragons at Mahaka Square in Jakarta, Indonesia.
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| Dior Lowhorn has been a monstrous presence for the Heat so far. |
Source: Game recaps were
compressed and compiled from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
Images: All images are
from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
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