Slingers Slayers: Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons

By Jan Lin/Red Hoops in Jakarta

The local cagers of the Thailand Tigers and KL Dragons have added an exotic twist to the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), contributing significantly to their teams’ havoc-wreaking sessions against the Slingers in Singapore.

As the Chinese proverb “crouching tiger, hidden dragon” underlines, the talented and perhaps most dangerous people are often hidden from our view and the stellar showing of the previously unheralded Thai and Malaysian cagers in Singapore should serve as a timely reminder that unearthing local talents is fundamentally at the heart of the mission of the ABL.

The local Tigers had in fact outshone their imports with a 1-2 finish on their team’s score card in their 65-62 Slingers assault, accounting for nearly 50% of the team’s points.

Tigers’ top scorer Ratdech Kruatiwa submitted a glittering score card of 15 points with seven rebounds and five steals, while Attaporn Lertmalaiporn finished in second place with 13 points.

On top of that, the gutsy Lertmalaiporn is also currently sitting in fourth position on the ABL season leaders table with 129 points behind Satria Muda’s Alexander Hartman (174 points), Slingers’ Michael LeBlanc (154 points) and team mate Chaz Briggs (142 points).

“Lertmalaiporn is an interesting player,” remarked Tigers American head coach Chuck Davisson. “He’s left-handed and he really runs the floor and his shots are unorthodox, they look like there’s no way of going in but it goes in! He’s definitely one of the guys to count on.”

Responding to his quirky albeit highly entertaining style of play, the amiable Lertmalaiporn shared: “I feel that the way I play has to do with my personality, I’m a fun-loving person and I feel that my style of basketball has to be enjoyable and entertaining to the spectators.”

“I’ve been playing basketball for 12 years but this is my first time playing in a professional league,” he added, “so I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I’ve learnt a lot from the imports and I feel that having them around, my game has improved a lot.”

Lertmalaiporn clocked 29:29 playing minutes against the Slingers and would have likely topped his team’s score sheet had he not fouled out in the final period. But Ratdech Kruatiwa, who clocked 29:27 playing minutes, was the deserving star of the game with his overall performance for his team on Monday.

“I really appreciate the ABL because basketball is not popular in Southeast Asia except in the Philippines,” said Kruatiwa, who was previously playing professionally in Maryland and Rochester before a knee dislocation forced him to return to Thailand early this year. The new ABL came at the right time for Kruatiwa.

“In Thailand there are many good players just like Lertmalaiporn, but they don’t have the chance which is why the ABL really gives them the chance and they are very appreciative of it,” shared Kruatiwa, who together with Lermalaiporn, are currently pursuing their Masters degree in Physical Education in Thailand.

Kruatiwa added: “Many of these good players have no idea what they can do with basketball. So after they get out of school, they just go out to work and never thought of making a career in basketball.”

The local Malaysian Dragons, on the other hand, might not have contributed significantly numbers wise but they featured prominently in the derby ABL game against the Slingers a fortnight ago.

While on paper it may have appeared that KL Dragons ASEAN import Rudy Lingannay carried the team with 21 points to his name, KL Dragons head coach Goh Cheng Huat singled out Guganeswaran S. Batumalai and Chee Li Wei for their outstanding defensive performance that frustrated the Slingers.

“Though the arrival of Rudy helped the team but it was the team work that mattered, everybody contributed in defeating Slingers,” explained coach Goh. “If you don’t score, you defend and get the loose rebounds. Team work and patience were really the key to our win against the Slingers. The local players would have gained all the confidence they have lost during the beginning of the league.”

27-year-old Guganeswaran, who clocked a hefty 31:14 playing minutes in the Slingers game, was the top rebounder, top defender and top scorer in 2004 Malaysia Agung Cup, a prestigious national championship.

The 1.97m Li Wei featured for 17:27 minutes in the same game and was bursting with energy whenever he took to the court. The 26-year-old had extensive playing experience and exposure in China’s tertiary league representing Hua Qiao University between 2002 to 2008 and was the MVP for the 2008 and 2009 Malaysia Agung Cup.

With the Thai and Malaysian “crouching tigers and hidden dragons” stepping up for their teams, one can expect this Sunday’s Tigers-Dragons showdown in Kuala Lumpur to be oozing with an exotic ASEAN flavour. The game will tip-off 5pm, MABA stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, after back-to-back home defeats, the Slingers are in a desperate hunt for a morale-boosting win in Jakarta, while hosts Satria Muda will be keen to avenge for their previous home loss to the Slingers. The game will be tipping-off shortly at 3pm at Jakarta’s BritAma Arena.

Categories: Dragons , Slingers , Tigers