Slingers see off Rain or Shine in ABL pre-season warmup
Story by Ethan Lou/Red Hoops
Steven Khoo scored a game-high 23 points on the night for the Slingers, including three 3-pointers. He was 9-of-11 from field-goal range. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, September 5, 2010 — The Singapore Slingers began their ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) pre-season with a 97-72 defeat of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Local slinger Steven Khoo topped the scoring charts with 23 points, including three 3-pointers.
“The team is great, although we have been together for only two to three weeks, we have really bonded, on and off the court, sharing everything. We were very good for a new team,” said Steven. “I am very happy with my performance. It’s great but, there is still a lot of room to improve.”
This was the first of three pre-season games against PBA opposition in preparation for the ABL tipping off in October.
The second season of the ABL will see six professional teams tip off — the KL Dragons (Malaysia), Satria Muda BritAma (Indonesia), Brunei Barracudas, Philippine Patriots, Thailand Cobras and the Slingers. The Cobras replace the Thailand Tigers of last season.
The Slingers finished second during the regular season but lost to Satria Muda in the semi-finals.
The Slingers led 27-13 at the end of the first but Rain or Shine outscored them 13-11 in the second quarter to ensure that the Slingers led by only 12 (38-26) at the half-time break.
A fairly even scoring quarter in the third saw the Slingers hold a 13-point (64-51) lead going into the fourth.
The Slingers then put together a 22-12 run on the back of Steven Khoo and Al Vergara to set up the eventual 97-72 victory.
“They seemed as though they were here on holiday, they weren’t really motivated and we jumped on them early,” said returning local Pathman Matialakan. “We will be facing top teams in our next game. That would be our real test.”
New import Marcus Skinner made his debut in a Slinger jersey while last season’s co-captain Kyle Jeffers was also back in the familiar yellow home jersey. While the imports usually top the scoring charts, it was a pleasant surprise to see Steven Khoo’s name lead the charts.
“Overall, we had a good game, we had a game plan and we stuck to it. Some individuals really stepped up big. Everyone has a part to play. We are not a Kyle Jeffers and Marcus Skinner (imports) team. Everyone has a part to contribute. We didn’t really have to rely on imports (tonight). Last year, most of the job was done by the imports,” said Pathman.
Each ABL squad is allowed five import players – two international and three ASEAN players. Each squad has 12 players and will take 10 players for away games.
With reference to his own performance, Pathman said: “I am a bit disappointed that I did not start, but there must be a reason for it. I gave my best, given the minutes that I was playing, I got a couple of shots down and it’s only the first game of the season. I am reasonably satisfied.”
The Singapore Slingers will next play Meralco on Monday, September 13th, 2010, 8pm, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Scoring by Quarter
Rain or Shine vs Singapore Slingers
1st Q: 13-27
2nd Q: 13-11
3rd Q: 25-26
4th Q: 21-33
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Game Box Score
* Denotes starters. MIN - Minutes played. FG - Field goals made/attempted. 3PT - Three-point field goals made/attempted. FT - Free throws made/attempted. OR - Offensive rebounds. DR - Defensive rebounds. TR - Total rebounds. AST - Assists. STL - Steals. BS - Blocked shots. TO - Turnovers. PF - Personal fouls. PTS - Points scored.| # | Name | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total | 200 | 26/65 | 7/17 | 13/20 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 72 | |
| 1 | *T.Y. Tang | 22 | 1/7 | 0/1 | 2/3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | *Jay-R Reyes | 20 | 4/7 | 0/0 | 2/3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 9 | *Jeffrei Chan | 15 | 3/4 | 1/2 | 1/2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 11 | Eddie Laure | 16 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | RJ Jazul | 16 | 0/5 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | *Ryan Arana | 30 | 4/11 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 20 | *Jervy Cruz | 3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Paolo Bugia | 17 | 1/5 | 0/0 | 1/3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | Josh Vanlandingham | 21 | 7/11 | 6/10 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 44 | Doug Kramer | 28 | 5/10 | 0/0 | 3/5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 56 | John Ferriols | 12 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Team | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Singapore Slingers Game Box Score
* Denotes starters. MIN - Minutes played. FG - Field goals made/attempted. 3PT - Three-point field goals made/attempted. FT - Free throws made/attempted. OR - Offensive rebounds. DR - Defensive rebounds. TR - Total rebounds. AST - Assists. STL - Steals. BS - Blocked shots. TO - Turnovers. PF - Personal fouls. PTS - Points scored.| # | Name | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OR | DR | TR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total | 200 | 37/73 | 10/20 | 13/16 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 18 | 97 | |
| 2 | *Desmond Oh | 23 | 1/6 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Wong Wei Long | 17 | 5/10 | 3/7 | 2/3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| 11 | Tan Chin Hong | 5 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Brian Tan | 3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | *Steven Khoo | 32 | 9/11 | 3/4 | 2/3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 14 | Gary Koh | 6 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | Pathman Matialakan | 16 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 19 | *Al Vergara | 27 | 6/10 | 4/5 | 0/0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| 21 | Ng Han Bin | 2 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Teo Chun Hoe | 5 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | *Kyle Jeffers | 36 | 7/14 | 0/0 | 4/5 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 18 |
| 35 | *Marcus Skinner | 28 | 7/14 | 0/1 | 3/3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Team | 8 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
American Kyle Jeffers (Slingers #31) goes for a slam dunk. Jeffers, who is back for his second season with the Slingers, dropped 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. (Photo 2 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
New American import Marcus Skinner (Slingers #35) goes for two in a 17-point debut performance. He was 7-of-14 from the field. (Photo 3 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Al Vergara (Slingers #19) takes a shot. The returning Filipino import was 4 of 5 from 3-point range as he amassed 16 points on the night. (Photo 4 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Wong Wei Long (Slingers #5) contributed 15 points to the Slinger effort as he went 3-of-7 from the 3-point arc. (Photo 5 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Desmond Oh (Slingers #2) going for a layup. He was 1-of-6 on the night. (Photo 6 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Pathman Matialakan (Slingers #15) shoots a free throw. He finished with 6 points. (Photo 7 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
See 2nd Quarter Highlights:
See 4th Quarter Highlights:
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Great job Slingers!!!! Proud of you! Slingermom
Missed the game and not likely to be able to catch any until the season starts in Oct. Hope there will be telecasts on ESPN? or one of the Starhub channels?
Will look forward to more articles and posts here at Redhoops in the meantime.
Happy to note that Steven Khoo has stepped up into the front rotation…we’ll need more of the same from our returning locals and newbies……if we are to match last season’s efforts. Interesting to see how we cope with Michael opting out and HWJ on the injured list.
Go Slingers!!
Welcome back to Red Hoops, Kelvin. : )
wow,skinner and jeffers scored combine 35pts..
slingers wanted to send something for this coming 2nd abl season!
I noticed that Gabe Norwood and Sol Mercado didn’t join Rain or Shine in Singapore.
I am definitely looking forward to the new ABL season, and interacting again with my fellow fans here.
Welcome back to Red Hoops, Irangels. : )
i will catch you skinners!
i think it should be better if the slingers would only invite teams who would really come to play and give them a bit of a challenge….Rain or Shine didn’t even bring their top 2 scorers with them who are both quick and high flying guards….they woul have given them defensive ideas on how to rotate if their guards are mismatched.
Wow, RoS has lots of southpaws….Chan, Arana, Vandlandingham, Laure, Ferriols…
Maybe one of the 2 guys who did not join the team (Gabe and Solomon Mercado) is also left handed.
Jervy Cruz only played 3 minutes (he hauled down 15 rebounds against the Aussie-filled Slingers in a game they won 2 years ago), got injured?
Meralco’s next… what are the chances Marlou Aquino would dish out an inspired game…
What is the benefits of PBA team play exhibition against an asean team???
@Jundpogi-Qatar. I really don’t know the exact benefits, but we can start with a show of goodwill. I also think it’s a good chance for any PBA team to get their team ready for the upcoming PBA season which will start next month by playing games outside their usual practice routine. Rain or Shine possibly decided to leave Norwood and Mercado behind to test some of their players. Especially, their bench and/or new acquisitions.
Since SLingers paid all expense,we had no problem at all.
For all basketball fans sunday entertainment again we had no problem with it..
Just leave asean teams..
PBA teams need a true test,they should go either China and Korea.
@Jundpogi… I agree with you about PBA teams going to countries like China and Korea to fine tune for the upcoming season; however, not all of the teams can afford to do those and should take advantage of invitations like these. Thus far, teams like Talk n Text and San Miguel have the financial muscle to take their team to hold training camps outside the Philippines. Unless, otherwise, invited to play exhibition games with the host paying the travel and hotel expenses.