Slingers fired up to tame top-scoring Lions in bid to land elusive ABL title
Slingers fired up to tame top-scoring Lions in bid to land elusive ABL title
| HONG KONG EASTERN LONG LIONs | SINGAPORE SLINGERS |
#OurTurn.
The Asean Basketball League's (ABL) short and sharp slogan for this season may well turn out to be prophetic for the Singapore Slingers ahead of the best-of-five Finals series against the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions at the Southorn Stadium tonight.
Game Two will be also held here on Tuesday, before the Slingers host Games Three and Four at the OCBC Arena on Friday and Sunday.
If the Finals go to a decider, Game Five will be played in Hong Kong on April 26.
This is the seventh season of the professional competition which started in 2009 and, with the exception of the now-defunct Brunei Barracudas, the Slingers remain the only founding members of the ABL not to have won a championship.
"It's definitely been too long," said skipper Desmond Oh, who has played for the Slingers since the first season.
"We got so close last year, but did not manage to bring it home.
"We are going to do all we can to get the job done this year."
Last season, the Slingers battled hard to push the Westports Malaysia Dragons all the way to Game Five of the Finals series, but could not handle the heat and lost in Kuala Lumpur.
Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang identified where they could learn from that heartbreak.
The 49-year-old said: "Fitness-wise, we were not up to the mark to go all the way and play the maximum 27 games last season.
"Also, we had never been in the Finals and we didn't know how to handle winning and losing after each game of the Finals.
"Ironically, the injury problems we had this season meant that the players had more rest this season."
There had been doubts over whether the Slingers can sustain a championship push as long-term injuries to forwards Wu Qingde and Kelvin Lim and centre Delvin Goh's National Service commitments reduced their on-court options.
Imports Justin Howard and Xavier Alexander, forward Mitchell Folkoff and guards Wong Wei Long and Oh were also sidelined with injuries at different periods this season.
"The local players may not have shown consistency on a regular basis, but they have covered well for each other and taken turns to step up," said Neo.
Oh added: "Our main strength is we are a team and trust one another like a family.
"We got each other's back and fight for one another for every rebound and loose ball."
Eastern, the ABL's top-scorers with a 91.4-point average, will pose the toughest test for the Slingers, who boast the league's best defence, which conceded a miserly 73.3 points per game.
The teams' head-to-head record in the regular season is finely poised at 2-2.
Neo has already devised a plan to get the upper hand over their opponents.
He said: "Eastern have a good three-point game (their 219-for-592 betters any other ABL team in terms of attempts made and converted; the Slingers are 112-for-350 for the season).
"We have to limit that, work hard on our defensive rebounds and cut down on our turnovers.
"If we can play our own game, execute good defence, we should get the results.
"Our mentality is definitely to bring a 2-0 lead back, which would set us up very nicely to seal the title at home."
Probable line-up
HK EASTERN LONG LIONS
MARCUS ELLIOTT (No. 2)
Age: 32
Position: Guard
Nationality: American
Height/Weight: 1.91m/85kg
Points per game: 24.9 (regular season); 20.5 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 6.8; 6.5
Assists per game: 6.1; 10.0
The highest-scoring player of the two teams, Elliot is deadly in his two-man game when he runs off screens.
JOSHUA BOONE (No. 5)
Age: 32
Position: Centre
Nationality: American
Height/Weight: 2.08m/108kg
Points per game: 21.17 (regular season); 24 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 14.0; 9.5
Assists per game: 2.1; 2.5
The former New Jersey Nets player efficiently mops up defensively in the paint.
FONG SHING YEE (No. 12)
Age: 33
Position: Forward
Nationality: Hong Kong
Height/Weight: 1.91m/90kg
Points per game: 8.5 (regular season); 5.0 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 6.1; 4.5
Assists per game: 1.3; 1.0
The experienced Fong is a fine shooter from mid-range.
LEE KI (No. 3)
Age: 29
Position: Guard
Nationality: Hong Kong
Height/Weight: 1.77m/78kg
Points per game: 7.7 (regular season); 5.5 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 1.8; 2.0
Assists per game: 1.5; 2.0
Lee is deadly accurate from beyond the arc with his 38.8 per cent conversion rate.
TYLER LAMB (No. 10)
Age: 25
Position: Guard/Forward
Nationality: Thai-American
Height/Weight: 1.96m/94kg
Points per game: 19.0 (regular season); 24.5 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 6.1; 2.5
Assists per game: 3.6; 2.5
The Thai-American is one of the best shooting guards in the league.
STATS
- Points per game: 90.5 (regular season); 100 (play-offs)
- Free-throw percentage: 75.3; 75.7
- Rebounds per game: 38.3; 35.5 l Assists per game: 17.7; 24.0
- Turnovers per game: 11.5; 10.0 l Points conceded per game: 80.5; 76.5
SINGAPORE SLINGERS
JOSHUA URBIZTONDO (No. 3)
Age: 34
Position: Guard
Nationality: Filipino-American
Height/Weight: 1.78m/79kg
Points per game: 8.5 (regular season); 14.0 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 5.0; 3.5
Assists per game: 3.3; 5.0
The late addition to the side can take advantage when Eastern have their hands full with the other imports.
XAVIER ALEXANDER (No. 15)
Age: 28
Position: Swingman
Nationality: American
Height/Weight: 1.95m/102kg
Points per game: 18.5 (regular season); 23.5 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 9.7; 9.5
Assists per game: 5.4; 5.5
Professor X is the first player in ABL history to score two triple-doubles. His energy on both ends will be crucial.
MITCHELL FOLKOFF (No. 18)
Age: 27
Position: Forward
Nationality: Singaporean
Height/Weight: 1.80m/81kg
Points per game: 3.9 (regular season); 1.0 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 2.3; 0.5
Assists per game: 1.7; 0
Folkoff uses his muscular frame to break up opponents' plays.
LEON KWEK (No. 10)
Age: 20
Position: Guard/Forward
Nationality: Singaporean
Height/Weight: 1.88m/80kg
Points per game: 12.2 (regular season); 6.0 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 3.7; 3.0
Assists per game: 1.4; 0
Kwek has added consistency to his game to average double-figures in points.
JUSTIN HOWARD (No. 55)
Age: 35
Position: Centre
Nationality: American
Height/Weight: 2.10m/125kg
Points per game: 24.4 (regular season); 16.5 (play-offs)
Rebounds per game: 18.1; 13.0
Assists per game: 2.3; 4.0
The Slingers need his rebounds as much as his points in the paint.
- DAVID LEE & JOLENE ANG
STATS
- Points per game: 79.6 (regular season); 79.5 (play-offs)
- Free-throw percentage: 67.1; 58.5
- Rebounds per game: 42.6; 40.0
- Assists per game: 16.5; 18.0
- Turnovers per game: 13.7; 11.5
- Points conceded per game: 74.1; 65.5.
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