The Jobstreet.com Singapore
Slingers were the big losers this past week, dropping both their games to fall
half a game behind the Chang Thailand Slammers in the standings. In contrast,
the Westports Malaysia Dragons solidified their hold of third place, while the
San Miguel Beermen tied things up at first with the Indonesia Warriors.
Last Friday, Marcus Hubbard
registered a 17-12 double-double to lead Malaysia past Singapore. He got a lot
of help from Gavin Edwards and Justin Melton, who scored 23 and 18 points
respectively. Edwards also had 5 steals, while Melton and Hubbard each hit 2
treys. The Slingers squandered their edge on the boards by going turning the
ball over 13 more times and hitting just 50% of their freebies. Rashaad
Singleton was the only Slinger in twin digits with 25 points, but he accounted
for all 10 misses from the fre throw line for Singapore.
 |
| Justin Melton caught fire for the Dragons. |
Yesterday, Chris Banchero
scored 19 points and dished out 6 assists as the Beermen beat the Slingers for
their ninth win in 12 games. Brian Williams had an 11-11 double-double, while
Leo Avenido netted 10 points for SMB. Singapore’s two imports, Rashad Jones-Jennings
and Rashaad Singleton, combined for 27 points and 27 rebounds, while ASEAN
imports Philip Morrison and JunJun Cabatu contributed 10 points each in the
losing effort.
Game Recaps:
MALAYSIA DRAGONS over SINGAPORE SLINGERS, 93-63
It was the home team that
came out ahead however as the Dragons were on fire tonight. Gavin Edwards ended
the game with 23 points, followed by Justin Melton’s 18. Marcus Hubbard
recorded a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Dragons started off the
game with a shooting clinic in the first quarter and finished the period with a
30-19 lead. The Dragons held a 79% field goal percentage in the first quarter,
which included hitting all of their three point attempts.
Wong Wei Long stepped up for
the Slingers in the second quarter and converted a four point play off a foul
by the Dragons’ Guga Batumalai. Guga immediately made up for it however as he
sank a three and then made a gorgeous pick and roll for Gavin Edwards, who
converted it into a dunk to put his team up 41 to 26 with 6:30 left till the
half. Things continued to look bleak for the Slingers as Edwards put in another
basket just minutes later which gave the Dragons a 21 point lead with a little
over two minutes remaining in the period at 51-30.
The Slingers’ Delvin Goh
then tried to start a Slingers resurgence as he rose up and blocked a Julius
Armon shot. Then in the dying minutes Donald Singleton put in a huge dunk and
got the foul although he was unable to complete the three point play. The
Slingers were able to maintain possession off the rebound however and in a
moment of déjà vu, Singleton once again jams the ball and is sent to the line.
This time he converted the three point play to slash the Dragons’ lead down to
14 at 37 to 51.
Justin Melton was determined
to get the last word in before the break however and made a stunning buzzer
beater along with a foul which he successfully converted. The Dragons walked
into the locker rooms with a comfortable 54 to 37 lead.
The Slingers started the
second half with some good field goals and were able to cut the Dragons’ lead
down to 43-56. The Dragons cooled off in the third period, but unfortunately
for the Slingers, they were also having a bad time from the field and found
themselves unable to capitalise. Singleton was quickly racking up the points
but it was the Dragons’ Guga again who hit a tough shot at the buzzer which
gave the Dragons the 71-49 lead headed into the final ten minutes of the game.
The fourth quarter continued
to be all Dragons as they steadily built on an already impressive lead. To add
to the Slingers’ woes Jones-Jennings fouled out mid-way into the fourth quarter
while leading scorer Singleton sat on four. Despite being in foul trouble for
most of the fourth quarter, Singleton still had a good game and led all-scoring
with 25 points as well as 11 rebounds at the end of the game. Unfortunately, none of the other
Slingers were able to get into the double digit mark and in the end the hot
shooting Dragons grabbed the 93 to 63 victory in front of an appreciative home
crowd for their first ABL Friday Basketball game this season.
“Today we played well and
came up with an excellent victory. This is just one victory and we will savor
it but we have to prepare for the next game,” Dragons head coach Ariel
Vanguardia said after the game. “When I get too happy and too excited we get
blown out,” he added jokingly.
 |
| Marcus Hubbard has been quite effective as a swingman for Malaysia. |
 |
| Rashaad Singleton is a solid inside presence for the Slingers. |
SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN over SINGAPORE SLINGERS, 68-61
The Beermen recorded their
sixth straight win after a 68-61 win over the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers
on Sunday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The Beermen are on top of the ABL
standings table with a 9-3 record for the season, tied with the Indonesia
Warriors, but the Beermen are leading 2-1 in their season series.
Chris Banchero led the
Beermen with 19 points, followed by Brian Williams with 11 points and 11
rebounds for the Beermen. Leo Avenido chipped in with 10 points and RJ Rizada
added 9 points for the Beermen.
The Beermen were trying to
build a big lead right from the first quarter. Using their solid defense and
transition offense, the Beermen were able to make a 12-2 run at the end of the
first quarter. During that stretch, Brian Williams made a finger roll lay-up
and a three pointer which helped the Beermen gain the 24-12 lead after one.
The Slingers continued their
offensive struggle into the second quarter. Rashad Jones-Jennings and Rashaad
Singleton failed to find their offense in the first half. Leo Avenido made a
three-point shot to gave the Beermen a 37-22 lead going into the locker room.
At the half, the Beermen were shooting an impressive 6/9 from beyond the arc.
Banchero sparked a run for
the Beermen midway through the third quarter. The Fil-Italian guard scored
sixth straight points, followed by a lay-up from Rizada and a one handed shot
from Asi Taulava, giving the Beermen a 52-32 lead with 2:40 left in the third
quarter.
The Slingers started to come
alive after Desmond Oh made a three-point shot early in the fourth quarter.
Oh's three point shot inspired a late surge by the Slingers which was followed
by a quick basket from Morrison and Singleton to cut the Slingers' deficit to
61-46 with 6:23 left.
With 2:33 on the clock, the
Slingers were able to get within 8 points after Morrison made a three point
shot and Jun Cabatu followed with a two-point shot. Mitchell Folkoff had a
chance to get his team within five on their next possesion, but he was unable
to knock down his three-point shot. Avenido ended the Slingers' hope after
sinking a basket with 1:43 left. With this loss, the Slingers are now on fifth
position with a record of 4 wins and 9 losses.
Singleton led the Slingers
with 17 points and 11 rebounds plus 4 block shots. In his second game with the
Slingers, Morrison had a much better game than in his debut as he finished with
14 points. Jun Cabatu added 10 points while Jones-Jennings recorded a
double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
Source: Game recap was compressed and compiled from
AseanBasketballLeague.com.
Images: All images are from AseanBasketballLeague.com.
0 Comment