Lacklustre local Slingers have to prove their worth against Ginebra Kings

By Koh Yizhe/Red Hoops

After two matches of the pre-season Challenge Series, the Singapore Slingers face their toughest opponents yet – the legendary Barangay Ginebra Kings.

The last time these two teams met, the 2008 version of the Singapore Slingers trounced their Filipino opponents 100-68. The local players showed what they had to offer in that match, with Hong Wei Jian, Desmond Oh, Tan Chin Hong, Steven Khoo and Pathman finishing the game on court and Weijian performing an emphatic dunk.

Plenty of changes have been made to that Slingers’ side since then, of course. The introduction of two new Americans into the squad, along with seven local Singapore talents, are among the changes in preparation for the upcoming ASEAN Basketball League.

But unlike the Slingers of old, the locals haven’t been up to the mark in the previous two pre-season games. Filipino Al Vergara was top scorer with 20 points in the first match against the Coca-Cola Tigers, while American Kyle Jeffers bore much of the scoring responsibility with 20 points when the Slingers played Smart Gilas Pilipinas.

How about the local Singapore basketballers?

Out of the eight Singaporean players, only Wei Jian has made a note-worthy impact with his 12-point performance in each game. Pathman would be next in line with 19 points from the two games, but the rest have yet to show what they can do.

Singapore’s ex-national basketballer and former Slingers player Koh Meng Koon commented after the Slingers’ defeat to the Smart Gilas game: “Right now, the scoring responsibilities are falling on Kyle Jeffers. The Slingers require one or two more locals to step up to score double digits. If Jeffers gets shut down, nobody else can get the points for the team.”

Another troubled area which the Slingers will hope to sort out is their style of play. Against the quicker and larger Smart Gilas opponents, the Slingers struggled to find their rhythm. And when they held the lead in the third quarter, the Slingers chose to play a fast-paced game which suited their opponents better, resulting in careless turnovers while attempting to extend the lead. The outcome was easy points for Smart Gilas on the break and an unimaginable 17 turnovers for the Slingers.

Although Wei Jian got the points, his five turnovers against Smart Gilas is a definite cause for concern.

“The Slingers’ rebounding as well as three-point shooting was superior,” explained Meng Koon. “So it is definitely the turnovers that killed the game for the Slingers. They will have to adopt their own style of play instead of following their opponents’. If they maintained possession and took things slow, the Slingers could have won the match.”

But it isn’t all bad news for the Slingers. American Michael LeBlanc will make his long-awaited appearance against the Ginebra Kings after he had to go back home due to a family emergency.

The Slingers will hope to repeat their impressive feat once again in front of their home crowd, but it will no easy task against the runners-up of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Categories: Slingers