Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, November 14, 2010 — The Singapore Slingers suffered the heartache of an 85-87 double-overtime loss to the Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League.

The Slingers got off to a good start, with Leo Avenido again showing the way for the home team as he went 3-for-3 from 3-point range to lead his team to a 24-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Slingers got even further ahead in the second quarter when they led by as many as 19 points, with Marcus Skinner leading the way with seven second quarter points. By the half-time break, the Slingers were up a commanding 40-26, with Skinner and Avenido combining for 26 of those 40 Slinger points. The Patriots were not helped by having Donald Little collect his fourth personal foul in the second quarter and the big man had to sit out.

However, any illusions that the Slingers could beat the league leaders were shattered in the third quarter. The Patriots exploded for a 15-5 run in the first five minutes of the third and brought large sections of their vocal supporters into the game. With Little thrown back into the fray by Patriots head coach Louie Alas, Slingers found themselves outscored 23-13 in the quarter and their once comfortable 19-point lead had shrunk to four at 53-49.

There was an air of inevitability when the Patriots finally took the lead at 6:42 at 56-55 but there were still more twists in the tale to come. Little finally fouled out with 2:29 to go with the Patriots ahead 63-59, leading coach Alas to pound the arena floor in frustration as he contemplated the loss of a 17-rebound performer.

The Patriots then lost more key men in quick succession. First, new import Rasheim Wright hobbled off with a recurrence of a hamstring injury, then Chito Jaime picked up his fifth personal foul and was out of the game.

Skinner made a two-pointer with 37 seconds left and the Slingers trailed only by one at 64-65. Al Vergara then had a splendid chance to win the game for the Slingers with a breakaway layup but his attempt was blocked by Santiago Cabatu. Cabatu then made one of two free throws to reestablish a two-point lead at 66-64 for the Patriots.

The Slingers still had one last chance and they took it. Skinner went to the line for two free throws and when he missed the first one, the stadium held its collective breath, expecting him to miss the next one to give his teammates a chance for a put back. True enough, he missed and a mad scramble ensued for the rebound. Slinger Kyle Jeffers missed the first put back and it was Avenido who grabbed the second opportunity to stick it in to tie the game 66-66 and send it into overtime.

Jeffers tore off his jersey as he celebrated with Avenido and the rest of the Slingers, while the Patriots bench contemplated their second overtime game for the season, their first coming in the victory against the Brunei Barracudas.

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Marcus Skinner of the Slingers shoots over Barracuda Chris Commons. Skinner led the Slingers with 25 points. (Photo © Lee Suening/Courtesy of ABL)

Brunei, Wednesday, November 10, 2010 — The Singapore Slingers finally nailed their first victory on the road when they beat hosts Brunei Barracudas 81-74 in Round 7 of the ASEAN Basketball League.

Barracudas were led by Chris Commons who had a massive 37-point game, but despite double-digit scoring contributions from Ramsey Williams (15 points) and Chester Tolomia (11), the team finally ran out of steam while playing with only a six-man roster.

Commons, Tolomia and Williams played all 40 minutes of the game while Chris Garnett (36:04) and Bryan Faundo (26:11) were the only other Barracudas who saw major minutes. Esmond Tan was the only other Barracuda with any playing time with 19:47.

The Slingers, by contrast, utilised their whole 10-man roster as they were led by Marcus Skinner with 25 points. Kyle Jeffers contributed a double-double to the Slingers win with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Slingers improve their win-loss record to 4-3 while the Barracudas drop to 2-5.

It was a close game which saw the lead change hands eight times with the Slingers holding a two-point advantage at half time at 38-36.

With the game tied at 65-65 at 5:33 on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Slingers embarked on a 14-5 run. This gave them the largest lead of the game of nine points at 79-70 with 2:09 left in the game. Unlike their previous game against Satria Muda, they did not let their lead slip and closed out the victory.

The Slingers return home to entertain the league-leading Philippine Patriots (5-1) on Sunday, November 14th, while the Barracudas will host the Thailand Slammers (4-2) on Saturday, November 13th.

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Bangkok, Sunday, November 7, 2010 — The Thailand Slammers survived a late 10-0 rally in the fourth quarter by the visiting KL Dragons to triumph 76-74 in Round 6 of the ASEAN Basketball League.

The victory also stopped their two-game losing skid and improved their win-loss record to 4-2, giving them sole possession of second place on the table.

For the Dragons, defeat saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in Bangkok and they are now 3-4.

It was a close game through the first two quarters with both teams tied 38-38 at the half-time break. The Slammers picked it up in the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run and eventually outscoring the Dragons 23-10 in the quarter to take a 61-48 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The Slammers led by as many as 15 points (68-53) in the fourth and with 3:27 to go, were still leading by 10 (74-64). But the Dragons came back with a 10-0 run with Guganeswaran contributing five of those points, including one three-pointer.

Guganeswaran tied it up at 74-74 with 55 seconds to go but the Slammers survived when Jason Dixon made both his free throws after drawing a foul.

New import Devon Sullivan had a game-high 28 points for the Slammers, including 11 rebounds while Nakiea Miller led the Dragons with a double-double of his own with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Slammers will travel to Brunei to take on the Barracudas (2-4) on Saturday, November 13th, while the Dragons return home to entertain Satria Muda (2-5) on the same day.

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Satria Muda’s Antoine Broxsie finds himself surrounded as he looks for an outlet pass. Broxsie had 20 points and led his team with 17 rebounds. (Photo 1 courtesy of ABL)

Jakarta, Saturday, November 6, 2010 — Despite leading for most of the game, the Singapore Slingers were eventually stunned 88-83 in overtime by bottom club Satria Muda in the 6th round of the ASEAN Basketball League.

The Jakarta club were on a three-game losing skid before this game and their victory improves their win-loss record to 2-5. The Slingers slip to 3-3 and have yet to win on the road this season.

Leading by eight points in the fourth quarter at 75-67 with 5:00 to go, the Slingers saw their lead disappear gradually. Satria Muda eventually tied it up with 32 seconds left when Antoine Broxsie stole the ball and was fouled in the resulting play. Broxsie sank one of two free throws to tie the game at 77-77 and when Kyle Jeffers missed a two-point opportunity with 12 seconds to go, the game was headed to overtime.

That’s when the Slingers’ shooting deserted them as they missed seven of nine 3-point attempts while Satria Muda managed seven points from the field, including one 3-pointer by Mario Wuysang.

Marcus Morrison had a double-double for Satria Muda with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Four Satria Muda players were in double-digit scoring territory.

The Slingers were again led by Leo Avenido with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Marcus Skinner had 21 pionts.

The Slingers continue their road trip in Brunei with a game against the Barracudas (2-4) on Wednesday, November 10th.

Satria Muda will fly to Kuala Lumpur to take on the Dragons (3-4) on Saturday, November 6th.

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Brunei, Saturday, November 6, 2010 — The Brunei Barracudas worked off the frustration from their blowout loss to the KL Dragons last weekend to hand the league’s best team, the Philippine Patriots, a 71-56 defeat in Round 6 of the ASEAN Basketball League.

This was the first defeat for the Patriots after they had won their opening five games of the season. They fall to 5-1 while the Barracudas improve to 2-4.

The Patriots were all at sea in the first quarter, scoring only two points while Chris Commons, Bryan Faundo and Christopher Garnett of the Barracudas collectively made 16 points.

Thunderous crowd chants together with the Barradrummers amplified the visibly shakened Patriots’ plight. However, with the guidance of Coach Louie Alas, the Patriots rallied back in the second quarter. A huge 3-pointer from Ernesto Billiones coupled with the combined efforts of Chito Jaime, Donald Little and Santiago Cabatu gathered 19 points against the Barracudas 12. The Patriots were quickly learning how to swim in the Barracudas’ sea, trailing only by by seven (21-28) at the half.

The third quarter though was an entirely different story. With deadly intent, Ramsey Williams, wearing jersey number 35 for the Barracudas, delivered 3-pointer upon 3-pointer which even the Patriots’ well-known defensive prowess could not stop. Williams sank three of his four 3-pointers in the third quarter to lead the Barracudas to a 51-36 lead at the end of the third as the Patriots were out-scored 23-15.

The fourth quarter was a see-saw battle with both teams scoring 20 points but their poor first quarter eventually cost the Patriots the game.

The Patriots will need to work on their long range shooting as they only made 3 out of 19 attempts (16%). The In contrast, the Barracudas sank 8 out 28 3-pointers (29%) but the difference between the two teams was in the area of assists, with the Barracudas notching 13, while the Patriots only had six.

Ramsey Williams led with 23 points for the Barracudas while Patriots’ Billiones had 19 points. Donald Little had a double-double, 11-point, 12-rebound showing for the Patriots.

The Barracudas will next entertain the visiting Singapore Slingers (3-3) on Wednesday, November 10th. The Slingers will then return home to welcome the Patriots on Sunday, November 14th.

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The victory is the third in a row for the Dragons and improved their win-loss record to 3-3. For Satria Muda, it is their fourth consecutive defeat and they remain anchored to the bottom of the table.

Satria Muda again saw good production from their imports, with Francis Adriano leading the Jakarta club with 22 points. Marcus Morrison registered a double-double, scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Satria Muda were again reliant on their starting five of Mario Wuysang (34:14), Antoine Broxsie (37:02), Celedon Camaso (32:36), Morrison (39:42) and Adriano (33:35) to carry the load.

The Dragons on the other hand saw strong contributions from their bench, with Yoong Jing Kwaan registering a surprise team-high 15 points. The dynamic duo of Nakiea Miller and Alex Hartman, who played in the colours of Satria Muda during the first ABL season, returned to their old stomping ground to do damage with 13 and 12 points respectively. Miller and Hartman also had 15 and 10 rebounds.

The Dragons started their season with three straight losses and that convinced their management to go out and hire the services of Miller and Hartman. Since their inclusion, the Dragons have been unbeaten in three games.

The Dragons continue their road trip with a game against the Thailand Slammers (3-2) on Sunday, November 7th. Satria Muda will entertain the Singapore Slingers (3-2) on Saturday, November 6th.

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Manila, Saturday, October 30, 2010 — The visiting Satria Muda led at the end of each of the first three quarters but could not finish off the Philippine Patriots as they succumbed 69-75 to the unbeaten league leaders.

The Patriots are a perfect 5-0 for this second ASEAN Basketball League season while Satria Muda are 1-4 and find themselves propping up the six-team league.

The Patriots’ head coach was still not satisfied with what he saw.

“We played inconsistently. We had a lousy practice during the week, but I told the players they can’t just come into a game and play. They have to earn victory,” coach Alas was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe.

Hampered by a domestic ruling that prevents them from fielding the same player in two concurrent tournaments, Satria Muda have been forced to go with a lean team in the ABL while competing at the same time in the Indonesian Basketball League. As a result, the Jakarta club are beginning to resemble the Brunei Barracudas from the first season.

Satria Muda played only with a seven-man roster, with imports Mario Wuysang (37:03), Marcus Morrison (40:00), Francis Adriano (38:35), Celedon Camaso (31:35), Antoine Broxsie (40:00) playing the bulk of the game. Doni Ristanto (8:16), Robert Sanz (0:29) and Fattah Arifin (4:22) contributed minimally. Sanz is a replacement for fellow Filipino Ronald Capati who was dropped.

Satria Muda’s Marcus Morrison had a game-high 35 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. His teammate Mario Wuysang was also in double digits with 13 points.

Ernesto Billiones led the Patriots with 20 points while his teammate Donald Little contributed a double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds.

Trailing by six (53-59) at the start of the fourth quarter, the Patriots tied it up at 63-63 with 4:06 to go. A 12-6 run as the clock wound down secured them victory in a fourth quarter where the scored a total of 22 points while limiting Satria Muda to only 10.

Satria Muda will return home to Jakarta to entertain the KL Dragons (3-2) on Wednesday, November 3rd while the Patriots visit the Brunei Barracudas (1-4) on Saturday, November 6th.

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Alex Hartman led the Dragons with a game-high 24 points and 7 rebounds. (Photo 1 courtesy of ABL)

Kuala Lumpur, Saturday, October 30, 2010 — The KL Dragons thrashed the Brunei Barracudas 87-48 in an ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) game that was called off early in the fourth quarter after the Barracudas were left with only one player on court.

Barracudas’ key imports Chris Commons and Chester Tolomia were not given the go-ahead to play in the game while head coach Bong Ramos was also not allowed to take his place court side.

The Barracudas flew into Kuala Lumpur on Thursday with seven players already suffering the contagious eye infection, according to the Brunei Times.

According to a source who spoke with the Brunei-based team, the Barracudas did the responsible thing and informed their opponents that their players were down with conjunctivitis. The Barracudas requested for a postponement but were turned down by the Dragons, added the source.

However, according to the Kuhan Foo, the chief executive officer of the ABL, “The case was brought up to us by the medical unit of the Dragons who saw the Barracudas players and coach in training wearing dark glasses.”

“I do not believe there was discussion on postponement with the Dragons,” added Kuhan in an email reply to Red Hoops. “The Barracudas had enough players to play (but) unfortunately they arrived in KL with a small squad of 9 players and their two imports were still infected which meant those two could not play. With a small team like Brunei that has no bench strength this is unfortunate.”

The Brunei Times however quoted Barracudas team manager Benny Ang as having put in a request for a postponement.

“We actually requested the ABL to postpone the game but they have their reasons not to. We respect that decision,” Ang was quoted as saying in the Brunei Times.

“We saw the doctor this morning (Saturday) and he said it was fine for them to play as it is not contagious. But ABL didn’t allow them into the stadium. They have their reasons and we respect that,” added Ang.

Kuhan also referred to a similar medical case involving the Singapore Slingers in the first season.

“Singapore Slingers last year also played the Patriots in Manila with an understrength team when some players were down with chicken pox and were quarantined. This is just part and parcel of sports. All teams must be fully prepared for any eventuality. We can’t postpone a game simply because a team turns up at a game with a small squad and has no contingency for reserves,” said Kuhan.

The decision to disallow the two Barracuda players and the head coach was made at a final medical checkup at 5pm on the day of the game, after an initial one at 1pm.

The game eventually went ahead with the Barracudas down to seven players. In the ABL, teams travel with only 10 players. The Barracudas were up against a full 12-man roster and got into foul trouble progressively with six players fouling out eventually.

The game was finally abandoned in the fourth quarter with 7:55 left when Lim Aik Hock fouled out, leaving his team with just one player. FIBA rules state that the game continues unless a team is down to only one remaining player.

This has led to some fans from both teams expressing dissatisfaction that the game was allowed to continue.

Allan Lee, a Dragons fan, said on the ABL Facebook page: “I am not happy about our (Dragons) win today against the Barracudas because they were not complete and them being victims of a bad decision of the ABL.”

Another ABL fan, Anthony Gabriel, felt this was not good for the league’s reputation.

“I’m not a dragons fan nor (sic) a barracudas fan, but the integrity of the entire league is at stake. No one likes this to happened. Even the NBA or PBA won’t allow this some sort of mockery. there must be a RE-PLAY,” he wrote on the ABL Facebook page.

For Kuhan Foo, safety concerns were his priority.

“The Brunei players were cleared to play as healthy individuals BUT some were still infected with conjunctivitis which could also infect other players on the court. This was based on a medical report from the doctor that examined the team. This doctor was picked by the Barracudas themselves. Efforts were made to assist the Brunei team including a check up with an eye specialist at the ABL’s cost which was declined by the Barracudas,” wrote Kuhan on the ABL Facebook page.

“These unfortunate incidences are part and parcel of sports and most definitely nothing to do with any conspiracy theories. I assume the high emotional state of the Brunei team did not allow them to digest the facts that was clearly presented to them. I do not think it would be wise for anyone in any scenario to put other individuals at risk to cause intentional infection,” added Kuhan.

The win allowed the Dragons to improve to a 2-3 win-loss record while the Barracudas drop to 1-4. The Dragons next play the Thailand Slammers (3-2) on Sunday, November 7th while the Barracudas will entertain the Philippine Patriots (5-0) at home on Saturday, November 6th.

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Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, October 31, 2010 – Leonidez Avenido equaled his ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) career-high when he poured in 30 points as the Singapore Slingers edged out the Thailand Slammers 87-81 in a close, feisty contest.

The Filipino, who scored 30 points against the Slingers last season while playing for the Brunei Barracudas, continued his early-season display of long range prowess when he drained 5 of 11 three-pointers.

“As always, it’s luck! Maybe that’s my lucky word, that’s why I’m lucky!” remarked the 31-year-old after the game. He has now made five three-pointers in each of the three home games this season, and had previously attributed his accuracy to good fortune.

Avenido came into the game leading the league in three-pointers made with 17. He needed just one to surpass his total from last season, but had three in a 93-second span in the first period to tie the game at 16, after the visitors had taken two separate seven-point leads early on.

“He definitely kept us in the game in the first half. We need him to continue to be an outstanding scorer,” said Slingers captain Kyle Jeffers, who was excellent himself with his fifth straight double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Local lad Steven Khoo brought the Slingers level after one quarter with a tip-in at the buzzer, and combined with Jeffers and Avenido for a 10-3 run to open the second period. The Slammers responded with seven unanswered points to make it 28-28, as they exploited the Slingers’ lack of transition defence.

Both teams then traded leads six times before a Jason Dixon three-point play and Piyapong Piroon trey, one of his afternoon’s four, enabled the Slammers to open up a five-point, 38-33 lead. Avenido’s 17th and 18th point on a pull-up jumper completed the first half scoring, which marked the first time this season at the Singapore Indoor Stadium that the home team had trailed at the break.

The visitors again opened a seven-point advantage when point guard Froilan Baguion rebounded Ardy Larong’s miss to score, but Jeffers and power forward Marcus Skinner, who scored 15 points and had five rebounds, led the comeback trail with seven consecutive points between them, the last two coming after excellent ball movement from Desmond Oh, Steven and Jeffers found the American centre for an easy two to tie the game at 46 apiece.

The scores remained tied after three quarters, and although the Slammers did not lead again after Sopon Pinitpatcharalert’s third trey of the afternoon gave the Slammers a 61-60 advantage with 9 minutes and 31 seconds to play, they responded to every Slinger run.

Slingers’ point guard Al Vergara, who had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, broke a 70-all tie with his third three-pointer of the game, and first-year Slinger Ng Han Bin followed with a corner trey which doubled the lead.

Skinner’s breakaway layup made it 78-70 to the Slingers with less than three and a half minutes to play, but the Thai team would not go away quietly. Back to back treys from Baguion and Chris Kuete, the league’s second leading scorer coming into the game but was hugely a non-factor, made it a two-point game, but Avenido responded in kind with his fifth of the game.

Dixon’s hook shot with 55 seconds to play reduced the Slinger lead to three, but his team’s comeback trail was finally curtailed when Skinner rebounded Vergara’s miss to score, plus the foul.

Skinner missed the ensuing free throw, but Vergara came up with the loose ball at mid court, and the resulting play saw Skinner fouled again as he scored. This time, he completed the three-point play to give the Slingers an insurmountable 86-78 lead with only 23 seconds to play.

Dixon had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead four Slammers players in double figures. Piroon had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, while Kuete and Pinitpatcharalert added 13 points each. They matched the Slingers with 10 three pointers, but gave up a huge 25-9 gulf in free throw attempts.

With the win, the Slingers’ third straight at home, they improve to a 3-2 win-loss record and leap-frog over the Slammers into second place in the ABL league table. The Slammers have the same record after losing their second game in a row, but are in third place because of an inferior head-to-head record with the Slingers.

“(This win) keeps our winning streak alive at home. We have to stay strong at home, because the road games outweigh the home games by one, so every home game is crucial. Now we just have to put it together on the road,” said Jeffers.

“It was a big win tonight. Every game at home is big. But now it’s on to the next one.”

The Slingers will next play Indonesian team Satria Muda BritAma in Jakarta on November 6, while the Slammers will attempt to get back to their winning ways with a home game against KL Dragons a day later.

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Bangkok, Saturday, October 23, 2010 — The Thailand Slammers saw their unbeaten record disappear as they went down 48-54 to the visiting Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League.

It was a game between the two remaining unbeaten teams in the league and the Slammers certainly missed the scoring of Chris Kuete who has averaged 25 points in the first three games of the season. Kuete is sidelined with an injury sustained in a collision with Satria Muda’s Marcus Morrison in the previous weekend.

It was the Slammers who set the pace, taking a 13-6 lead into a second quarter where they led by as many as 10 points before the Patriots trimmed the deficit back down to five at the half at 29-24.

The Slammers continued to keep their noses in front in the third, with their highest lead at no more than six points in a low-scoring quarter that saw the Slammers put up nine to the Patriots’ 11.

The Patriots finally drew level when Warren Ybanez sank a three-pointer with 6:00 to go to level it 40-40. Ernesto Billiones then gave the Patriots their first lead in a long while with a field goal to make it 42-40 but Froilan Baguion sank a three-pointer with 4:02 to go for the Slammers to lead by one (43-42).

Anthony Johnson then sank a go-ahead three-pointer for the Patriots to lead 45-43 and they never trailed again. Johnson contributed eight points and one steal in the final three and half minutes as the Patriots went on a 9-2 run to seal the victory.

The Slammers fall to 1-3 while the Patriots improve their win-loss record to a league-leading 4-0.

The Slammers will now travel to face the Singapore Slingers next Sunday, October 31st while the Patriots will entertain Satria Muda at home on Saturday, October 30th.

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