Slingers hope third time's the charm
The Singapore Slingers have their sights set on making history as they chase their first Asean Basketball League (ABL) title.
They take on CLS Knights at the OCBC Arena tonight in the first game of the best-of-five Finals series.
The Singapore side earned a spot in the finals - their third in four years - after they clinched the best-of-three semi-final tie against Hong Kong Eastern by winning two games (101-70, 80-73) a fortnight ago.
In an interview with the ABL website, Slingers' point-guard Xavier Alexander said: "This is my third (finals) out of four (seasons).
"I've lost two, so I'm looking forward to going back to the Finals and getting me one now."
The Slingers came close to hoisting the trophy in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, but were beaten by Westports Malaysia Dragons and Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions respectively. They will be up against a familiar face tonight, ex-Singapore star Wong Wei Long.
Meanwhile, Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang has been nominated for the ABL Coach of the Year award, with Alexander (Import MVP nominee), Delvin Goh (Local MVP nominee) and John Fields (Defensive Player of the Year nominee) also shortlisted in their respective categories.
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