As a basketball fan, the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is surely a great development in the local and regional basketball scene. Pitting the best teams in the region against each other, it is the ASEAN basketball equivalent of football’s Champions League, where the best in Europe play-off for the prestigious European title.

In ABL, the home and away system introduces fans to quality international basketball at their home arenas. Since the teams carry the name of their countries and fans often bring nationalism elements in supporting their teams, this would then raise this question: How much really are the local players of each team involved in their teams’ quest for success?

ABL rule permits teams to have a maximum of 5 foreign players consisting of two international and three ASEAN imports. Philippines have been known as a basketball powerhouse in the region, so as a casual observer I think it is not too far off to assume that teams would use two US players and three Filipino players. Just with that rule alone teams can have an all-foreign starting lineups.

From data available on the ABL official site I’ve chosen to pick a sample of games played during weeks 7, 8, and 9. In a full basketball game the total minutes played by players will be 4 quarters x 10 mins x 5 players = 200 total minutes played. From the box score I added up below, the fraction of minutes played by the local players and compared it against the total 200 mins played.

For example, if Satria Muda played its locals for 100 minutes out of total 200, they would have played their locals for 50% of the time. Statistics for the Philippines Patriots are not included in this analysis.

Week 7 results:
Brunei Barracudas (20mins, 10%) vs Singapore Slingers (54mins, 27%)
Brunei Barracudas (6mins, 3%) vs Thailand Slammers (98 mins, 49%)
Satria Muda (60mins, 30%) vs KL Dragons (57mins, 29%)
Singapore Slingers (48mins, 24%) vs Philippine Patriots (N/A)

Week 8 results:
Satria Muda (60mins, 30%) vs Brunei Barracudas (2mins, 1%)
Thailand Slammers (77mins, 39%) vs Philippine Patriots (N/A)
Singapore Slingers (47mins, 24%) vs Brunei Barracudas (8mins, 4%)

Week 9 results:
Thailand Slammers (96mins, 48%) vs Satria Muda (71mins, 36%)
KL Dragons (59 mins, 30%) vs Philippine Patriots (N/A)

A more thorough analysis would include all the games played, but I think it is reasonable to draw some insights from these 3 weeks. On average, teams other than the Patriots played their locals about 25 percent of the time. The Slammers have been doing a pretty good job mixing up their rotations, with the Dragons, Satria Muda, and Slingers following in a tight pack. The Barracudas’ numbers are startling: facing SMB, they only played their local player for 2 minutes!

This question is raised because ABL mandates that teams “maintain a strong youth development program to ensure the long term growth of the sport in the ASEAN region.” So that goal has to be put into question when teams are playing their local players for only a quarter of the total minutes available each game.

The goal of any competition is to make players better by playing against better players and gain more experience in the process. That learning experience is best earned when players are thrown in the heat of the battle. Obviously you cannot do that by watching from the bench, though some can still argue that it is already exposure in itself by training with the foreign imports. Even so, there is a world of difference between training with imports and playing against them in a competition.

With the imports switching teams within the league and remain being the go-to guys in their teams, it seems like the local players are getting pushed to the side. I am not against the use of internationals as they undoubtedly raise the overall quality of play, but I do believe that more conscious effort need to be put into to involve their local players in order to truly develop them through this league.

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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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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The Singapore Slingers’ hard-fought 87-81 victory over a strong Chang Thailand Slammers team on Sunday was a good send-off for the team’s only extended road trip of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) regular season.

“(The victory was) great because we have got two tough games on the road, and when we’re back, we will be playing against the (Philippine) Patriots, so we really needed this win,” said Slingers head coach Neo Beng Siang.

The Slingers will play Indonesian side Satria Muda BritAma this Saturday on November 6th, and then in Brunei against the Barracudas four days later. Both the Slingers’ opponents currently have the league’s worst record of only one win in five matches.

The Slingers will then return home and face the league-leading Patriots team two Sundays from now. The defending ABL champions are currently the only unbeaten team in the league.

“The win has helped our morale going into the Satria Muda game. It’s on their home court, so anything can happen, because of the travelling or players’ on and off performance,” continued Neo.

The match against Satria Muda will be the Slingers’ third attempt at a road win this season, and Neo’s mind was set on breaking his team’s winless away streak.

“The game will be tough but we’re looking forward to it, because we need to get at least an away win. We have already lost two away games.”

First-year Slinger Ng Han Bin was doubly optimistic about his team’s chances in the road trip after the victory against a tough opposition like the Slammers, their third straight at home.

“I’m sure we can get both wins. This win will certainly have boosted our confidence because the Slammers could actually be top of the table if not for their previous loss.”

Han Bin was instrumental in the win despite seeing only nine minutes of action. He made a crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter which gave the Slingers a six-point cushion. It was a lead they never let slip despite several Slammer runs, and an advantage they managed to maintain till the final whistle.

“I felt great that I finally made my shot, because the shots you make determine your minutes, so I need to hit them when I’m open.”

The game was a three-point festival with both teams making 10 shots each from behind the arc, tying a Slingers team record. Slammers centre Jason Dixon, who made his first ever ABL three pointer, was among nine different players who sank long-range shots. However, none stood out more than Slingers’ hotshot Leonidez Avenido, who made five threes to boost his league-leading total to 22 in only five games.

“If he can shoot like that every night, it’s definitely good for us,” said centre Kyle Jeffers, on Avenido’s exceptional three-point shooting display. “Every time that ball goes in, it’s always a good thing.”

Neo was not surprised that Avenido was finding success beyond the three-point line. He said: “I expected that because he shoots the ball well. He felt confident on that, and when he gets open, he doesn’t think twice, and just shoots it. He has given us a lot this year, so we’re proud of him.”

The game featured 18 lead changes and 10 ties, and neither team led by double digits. The team which finishes such a game stronger almost always clinches it, and on Sunday, it was the Slingers.

“Leo (Avenido) is always encouraging us, and leading us by example,” said Han Bin. “Everyone just encouraged each other, so we were very motivated towards the end.”

The 15-game regular season is already a third completed, and team captain Jeffers is pleased with how things are shaping up in the Slingers camp.

“Everything is working its way through. We’re finding out what we’re good at, and what we need to work on, and I think pretty much we’re on the right track.”

“We just need to fine tune a couple more details, like being strong with the ball and less turnovers, and that will definitely help us to score the ball a little bit more. I think as long as we continue to improve on those little things, we will continue to move on the winning track.”

The Satria Muda team, featuring leading scorer Marcus Morrison, stands in the way of a first winning streak this season for the Slingers. Morrison broke two ABL records in his first league game, a 93-94 loss to the Slingers on the opening weekend. He made a league-record seven three pointers en route to 34 points, and will no doubt be on the minds of the Slingers defence.

“We have to shut Morrison down,” said Slingers defensive specialist Desmond Oh matter-of-factly. “Defence is the most important thing.”

Singapore, Sunday, October 31, 2010 — It was a fiery start as the Singapore Slingers clashed with the Thailand Slammers in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It was a “catch-me-if-you-can” battle as the opposing teams traded shot after shot in an action-packed first quarter.

Leo Avenido’s fancy moves and deadly three-point shooting was matched by the Slammers’ Piyapong Piroon. The Slingers man in the number 18 was on fire as he sunk three consecutive three-pointers from the left side of the arc. It was almost evenly matched by the Slammers number 13 with two three-pointers of his own and an easy jumper. The first quarter ended 18 all.

The quick thinking Avenido proved his mettle once again as he scored his next six points inside the paint in the second quarter. However, the second quarter was Piyapong’s show as he again sunk two three-pointers. Dixon proved to be the difference as the quarter ended 17-20 in the Slammers’ favor.

Third quarter was almost an all import show for the Slingers as they outscored the slammers 23-20. Four three-point shots by the Slammers’ Sopon, Kuete, Baguion, and Dixon were cancelled by the Slingers’ dynamic duo of Al Vergara and Leonidez Avenido.

However, it was Kyle Jeffers and Marcus Skinner who then took over. Skinner sealed the fate of the Slammers by doing what he does best inside the paint. It was his six points that won the game for the Slingers.

As the game ended, a Singapore flag was raised, as happened after the Slingers vs KL Dragons game. But this time, it is the wrong flag as the Singapore locals only contributed 13 points collectively which is only 15 percent of the total score.

The Philippine flag deserved the rightful glory as Leo Avenido made a monster performance of 30 points as well as Al Vergara’s 11 points which combined for almost half of the Slingers’ points.

Ed’s note: This is a reader-submitted piece. Want to share your own story? Please contact us.

Ed’s note: This is a reader-submitted piece. Want to share your own story? Please contact us.

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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Alex Hartman (right) of the KL Dragons goes up against Ng Hanbin of the Slingers. Hartman finished with a game-high 27 points. (Photo 1 by Peter Lim, courtesy of ABL)

Kuala Lumpur, Saturday, October 23, 2010 — The KL Dragons beat the visiting Singapore Slingers 81-74 to finally notch their first win of the ASEAN Basketball League season after four games.

The two teams met the previous weekend in Singapore and the Slingers had prevailed 74-61 then.

The game was notable for the introduction of American import Nakiea Miller in the colours of the Dragons. Miller played for Satria Muda in the first ABL season together with Alex Hartman and the return of the duo proved the Slingers’ undoing.

Miller’s presence in the paint forced the Slingers to shoot more from the outside and his forceful style of play saw him exchange blows with Slingers’ Marcus Skinner below the basket early in the fourth quarter.

The Slingers struggled early with foul trouble. In the second quarter, they had 10 fouls to the Dragons’ two and captain Kyle Jeffers and Al Vergara saw limited minutes as a result.

Trailing by five at 67-72 with 6:09 left, the Slingers suffered a blow when Jeffers left the game with his fifth personal foul.

Skinner however gave the Slingers a glimmer of hope when his turnaround jumper brought his team to within three points at 74-77 with 2:47 left. However, the Dragons forced another Slingers turnover — one of their 21 in the game — and Miller drew a foul.

Miller converted the pair of free throws, making it a two-possession game. Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang called a timeout but when his team came back on, they found Miller in the way again with his sixth block of the night to ensure a first Dragons victory.

Hartman finished with a game-high 27 points while teammate Miller contributed a double-double, 17-point, 13-rebound performance.

Leonidez Avenido was the Slingers’ best scorer with 22 points while teammate Jeffers contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The KL Dragons are now 1-3 while the Slingers fall to a 2-2 win-loss record. The Slingers have lost both their away games so far, their first loss coming against the Philippine Patriots.

The Dragons will next play the Brunei Barracudas at home on Saturday, October 30th while the Slingers will return to their home court to entertain the Thailand Slammers on Sunday, October 31st.

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Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, October 17, 2010 — The Singapore Slingers beat the visiting KL Dragons 74-61 in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) this afternoon at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The Slingers improved to a 2-1 win-loss record while the Dragons are still without a win three games into the second ABL season.

New Filipino import Leo Avenido was undoubtedly the hero as he repeated his 20-point scoring feat in the opening game against Satria Muda. Avenido had five three-pointers and eight rebounds in the game.

“Again, it’s just lucky that I make big shots! They (my teammates) assist me with those shots so I took it,” chuckled the 31-year-old when asked about his heroics.

However this was no luck according to Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang.

“I told him that if he’s open, he have to feel confident to take the shot because he’s one of our best shooters in the team. Rather than having him dwell on the ball, trying to draw fouls with three defenders on him, he just pushes himself through,” explained Neo.

Avenido was followed on the scoring charts by captain Kyle Jeffers’ 18 points and 12 rebounds. Al Vergara scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds and new American import Marcus Skinner chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds.

For the locals, it was a game to forget as only Steven Khoo and Desmond Oh were able to chip in with two points each, with the former grabbing one rebound and the latter grabbing five.

Coach Neo was definitely not satisfied with that.

“Their performances are up and down and not consistent. I’m quite tough on that but I have to give them confidence as they are locals. We need to promote them to get better,” he said.

In a game where they never relinquished the lead, the Slingers were always in command as their lead often went beyond 10 points. However the Dragons, led by new import Alexander Hartman, kept reducing the deficit to raise a few eyebrows among the local fans when they closed to within four points at 51-55 early in the fourth quarter.

In the end the Slingers managed to withstand that pressure with a late scoring spree that included five three-pointers to sink their neighbours by a 13-point margin.

Coach Neo was a relieved man after the match.

“Basically starting off, we shared the ball around, but after the first two quarters when we led by 10 to 13 points, we were a bit selfish. (In the second half) We’re suppose to come out hard, but we were a bit sloppy. On turnovers, we were not strong enough and did not value the ball thus giving them a chance to get back. But our defence stopped them and we hung on to the game at least,” he elaborated.

The Dragons have a 2-1 record over the Slingers in last season’s head-to-head encounters but the Slingers were determined to put one in the win column when Leo Avinedo stole the ball from Jason Killeen and assisted Kyle Jeffers to score within 10 seconds of the start.

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Pasig City, Saturday, October 9, 2010 — The Philippine Patriots beat the visiting Singapore Slingers 62-59 to secure their second win of the ASEAN Basketball League regular season.

The weakened Patriots, playing without Alex Crisano and American import Anthony Johnson because of injuries, pulled through, with Junjun Cabatu scoring the last five points to secure the win.

Cabatu hit a three-pointer with 64 seconds left that gave them a 60-56 lead and even though Slingers’ Al Vergara replied with a trey of his own to reduce the deficit to just one, Cabatu had another answer with a drive to stretch the Patriots lead to 62-59 with 31 seconds on the clock. Slingers rookie Ng Han Bin had a chance to draw level but he could not execute a three-point play.

“Our defense held on especially in the last four possessions. We played much better defensively than the last time out and our locals stepped up,” said Patriots head coach on the official ABL website.

Filipinos Benedict Fernandez and Egay Billiones led the Patriots with 12 and 11 points respectively while their import Donald Little had did not have his best game with 11 turnovers while amassing seven points and nine rebounds.

The Slingers got out to a good start, leading by as much as 10 in the first quarter. Their biggest lead in the second half was seven points and had a slim one-point, 53-52 lead late in the game before Cabatu’s heriocs.

Slinger Leo Avenido led all scoring with 15 points while his teammates Marcus Skinner and Kyle Jeffers had 12 and 10 points.

The Patriots go to a 2-0 win-loss record after their opening weekend win over the Brunei Barracudas while the Slingers are now 1-1, their sole win so far coming over Satria Muda at home last week.

The Patriots will play their first away game of the season against the Barracudas on Saturday, October 16th while the Slingers will entertain the KL Dragons at home on Sunday, October 17th.