Attaporn Lertmalaiporn of the Thailand Tigers was named the winner of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) regular season award at the awards night held earlier this year in March 2010.

“Winning the award made me very happy for Thailand and the Tigers,” Attaporn told Red Hoops. “I never thought I would win it. It will help the Thai players in general to show you can make it.”

For the best import award, which was won by Jason Dixon of the Philippine Patriots, the ASEAN players who were brought in as imports in any of the six teams were also in the running. As for the regular season MVP award given to Attaporn, the award was only restricted to locals. Attaporn finished 11th in the league for points per game (14.9) to lead all local players.

The award winners were chosen by a panel made up of ABL technical director Agus A. Mauro and ABL CEO Kuhan Foo.

“The criteria are based on an MVP points format from FIBA that calculates from points, rebounds, assists, etc, that accumulate from all the games the players played,” an ABL spokesperson told Red Hoops.

“He’s very special. He plays maybe a little odd. But that’s what people like,” said Thailand Tigers owner Wim Reijnen at the awards dinner in Kuala Lumpur in early March. “Now of course his stats are also very good. He is a national team player in Thailand but up until October, he was not a professional player. He had some challenges in the beginning, when it was difficult for him, and then we figured it out with him, and I think he did very well. He scored 230 plus points. His free throws were great, 71%, which is high, I would say. And that’s not three or four free throws. I think he had a 100 or so. That’s very good.

Attaporn, who picked up basketball when he was 13, is currently doing a master degree in physical education at Srinakarin Thalawirot Pasanmit University and is in his final year on a full scholarship. Before suiting up for the Tigers, Attaporn played for the Bangkok Bank club and Hi Tech Apparel. He still plays for Hi Tech Apparel when he is not with the Tigers. He also turns out for his university team.

Reijnen said that Attaporn’s award comes from a lot of hard work.

“I’m very happy for him. Extremely happy for him also because of his background which is not the easiest and so he had to work doubly hard to get to this. And now the first season, being a pro, being an MVP of the ABL. His personal background is not easy. He’s not from a middle class or wealthy family and so it’s extra difficult. So he had to work hard to get to university and that’s why he’s not here tonight because he had to play in a university tournament,” said Reijnen.

Reijnen was also confident that Attaporn would return for the second season.

“Absolutely. He’s already said so. 110% that he’s coming back for sure. He actually feels the same way that he adds something to it. I think he’s also a good role model and kids love him. The only unfortunate thing is that he doesn’t speak English. But that’s ok. It’s fine. You don’t need to. Sports is the language and you don’t really need to speak English for what he does. It would be handy, maybe sometimes. He understands but didn’t get enough practise,” said Reijnen.

The award for Attaporn was a highlight of an otherwise forgettable first season in the ABL. The Tigers finished with a 3-12 win-loss record although the team lost seven of those games by six points or less.

A short pre-season was a key reason, said Reijnen.

“We were only able to start the preparations for the season a few weeks before the season. Had a new pro sport, with a brand new team in a new league. Our imports did not do the trick, especially the Filipinos were way under qualified regarding what we needed,” said Reijnen. “Ike was ok regarding rebounds, but lost it regarding free throws at 29%. Chaz also made some great points, but was not consistent enough and also low on free throws (35%). Happy that Nop (Attaporn), Boy (Piyapong Piroon) and J.O. (Ratdech Kruatiwa) helped us to win some games, with Nop and J.O. being nominated for the MVP regular season and Nop winning the MVP award.”

The regular schedule also did not seem to do the Tigers any favours. The squad played eight away games in a 15-game regular season, with four of those in a stretch from November 28th to December 13th, 2009.

“Scheduling was not really in our favour, or any of the new teams (who all played 7 at home and 8 away). Playing 4 games away, followed by 4 at home (including a bye in the middle) did not help either. But it is hard to schedule with all the venues, and on such a short notice. Think this will be better in the next season,” siad Reijnen.

The team also was not helped by a change in head coach nearing the end of the season. Their American coach, Chuck Davission, a former scout with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, left the Tigers after the game against the Singapore Slingers on December 18th, 2010.

“Davisson breached his agreement, furthermore he did not have the international experience we were looking for, and did not adept to the Asian style of coaching a team,” said Reijnen.

The Tigers have also been rocked by online grumblings about players allegedly not getting their salaries. Reijnen declined to comment on this matter for this story, citing confidentiality issues.

Attaporn’s MVP win is certainly one of the few bright sparks in a losing season dogged by player unrest for the Tigers.

Attaporn Stats
- Most points in a game by a local player (23, Oct 18 2009 v Satria Muda)
- Most 20-point games by a local player (5)
- Tied for third place in the league for most 20-point games
- Most games with double-digit points by a local player (12)
- Finished 11th in the league for points per game (14.9), led all local players
- Finished 8th in the league for total points scored (223), led all local players
- Finished tied-11th in the league for field goals made (74), led all local players
- Most field goals made in a game by a local player (9, Oct 18 2009 v Satria Muda)
- Finished 12th in the league for field goals attempted (168), led all local players
- Most field goals attempted in a game by a local player (21, Oct 18 2009 v Satria Muda)
- Finished tied-1st in the league for free throws made (70), led all local players
- Most free throws made in a game by a local player (10, Dec 13 2009 v Dragons)
- Finished tied-3rd in the league for free throws attempted (98), led all local players
- Most free throws attempted in a game by a local player (11, twice)
- 1 of only 4 players in the league to make at least 44% of their field goals and 70% of their free throws
- 1 of only 2 players to shoot 100% from the free throw line in a game with at least 10 attempts (10/10, Dec 13 2009 v Dragons)
- Finished 2nd among local players in total minutes played (402)
- Finished 3rd among local players in minutes per game (26.8)

After five months and 53 games of the maiden ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season, the league is clearly still imperfect in many ways, but in the end, what mattered most was that ASEAN basketballers proved to be a delight to watch.

Many ASEAN basketball fans have grown up living and breathing the NBA (National Basketball Association) but not many would know that the NBA’s success did not happen overnight and in fact the world’s most popular basketball league was bereft of attention in its first decade.

Yet through the NBA came the invention of the 24-second shot clock that not only breathed life into the league, it revolutionised the entire game altogether. So it is with ABL, it may be uncertain now what changes this league could bring but the signs are already promising.

“Through this ABL, my local players have improved a lot,” said KL Dragons head coach Goh Cheng Huat. “In fact all the local players from Indonesia and Singapore have stepped up. The way I look at it, some of them have caught up with the standard of the Filipino imports.”

Unbeknownst to many, unlike the imports, most local cagers face the challenge of juggling this professional basketball gig and their long-term marketplace career. Currently amongst the local cagers, there are teachers, engineers, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Brunei Barracudas’ top local player, 25-year-old Esmond Tan, who is an engineer with Shell, said: “Coach Ramos has tried to adjust the trainings for me in the morning and in the evening when I can join the team for trainings. I’m proud of the local players, I kept telling my local players to be ready and we will get the chance to play. We have been improving.”

Filipino coach Bong Ramos, who has extensive coaching experience across ASEAN (in Philippines, Indonesia and now Brunei), echoed coach Goh’s sentiments, he said: “Filipinos have the advantage against any of the ASEAN locals but, because of ABL I think the locals of all Southeast Asian nations will improve because this is a good league for the locals.”

“Except the Filipinos, ABL is the first professional stint for many locals,” coach Ramos added, “but to narrow the gap [between Philippines and the rest of ASEAN] is not only this league, it’s also the training and having a college league like Philippines’ NCAA/UAAP is important.”

A key indicator of the league’s maiden success was how it has managed to attract the top ASEAN coaches. Besides coach Ramos and coach Goh, who are both highly regarded in Philippines and Malaysia respectively, the coaches of the finalists – Fictor Roring of Satria Muda and Louie Alas of Philippine Patriots – are both household names as well.

Coach Alas gave a tongue-in-cheek sharing on why he joined the ABL, he said: “I was coaching Toyota Altis in the Philippine Basketball League while Mikee (Patriots owner) is the owner of Harbour Centre. We fought them twice in the PBL Championship and we lost both times. That’s why when Mikee called me to coach the Patriots, I agreed right away because there is a saying, ‘If you can’t beat them, you join them!’”

Patriots went on to assert their dominance in the league to lift the inaugural title with a 5-0 playoff run, sweeping the KL Dragons 2-0 in the semi-finals and Satria Muda 3-0 in the finals. During the regular season, Patriots beat every team in head-to-head match-ups except the Slingers, which was the only team with a non-ASEAN marshal.

Slingers’ head coach Frank Arsego, who has announced he will not be returning next season so as to spend more time with his family in Canberra, gave his two cents on how local players can be successful through the ABL.

“Listen to your coaches, learn from your coaches, try to be in an environment where you can learn your skills in competition. The players who make it, are the ones who do the extra work outside of their normal environment, they are the ones who go on to be successful,” he said.

To raise their game, the Australian coach shared how the local players have to work extremely hard to be corrected in their techniques and be grounded in high quality fundamentals to execute them under pressure.

Coach Frank shared: “We work very hard during practice to stimulate an environment where there is a lot of pressure where their decision-making under pressure will improve as they go along, and that’s what the good players can do. We’ve got local guys in Slingers, who just through their work ethics have deserved the opportunity to be with the Slingers and because of that, they are going to become better basketballers.”

While many did step up for their teams over the season, Jan has picked the top two locals who have been a surprise ‘spark’ for their team in the 09/10 ABL season and the six local young guns to look out for in the next season. Enjoy!

ABL 09/10 Top Local ‘Spark’ (Playoff and Finals): Rony Gunawan (Satria Muda)

Rony Gunawan was the local name that stood out in the ABL finals between Satria Muda and the Philippine Patriots. While the four American imports were engrossed in a battle of attrition, the Indonesian center completely outclassed the other locals in the finals.

With both Hartman and Miller pinned down by the Patriots’ tough defense, Rony rose from the rubble to finish the game one with 10 points, eight rebounds (55.6% shooting percentage), the second game with 15 points, seven rebounds (58.3% shooting percentage), and top-scored in the final game with 20 points, seven rebounds (72.7% shooting percentage).

Rony’s finals performance epitomised how it is possible for locals to shine and make a statement for themselves amidst the import-driven league.

“Coach gave me a lot minutes to play so I just played and gave my all,” said Rony reflecting on his stunning finals showing that had breathed hope into his team. “I trusted myself and my team mates, and I’ve got nothing to lose because the pressure was not on my team.”

“I think the skills of the local players are not so far from the imports,” said Rony who also shared he looks up to NBA’s Tim Duncan. “Maybe we lose out in size and the strength, but actually we can compete with the imports if we trust ourselves and not fear them.”

“Local players can do more!” said Rony on a concluding note. “They mostly face the problem of confidence and are a bit afraid to play when there is hard, body contact with the imports. But I think the more often they play in this league, they will get used to that, and get better.”

ABL 09/10 Top Local ‘Spark’ (Regular Season): Attaporn Lertmalaiporn (Thailand Tigers)

If numbers do not lie, then without a doubt, Bangkok-born Attaporn Lertmalaiporn is not only Thailand’s best kept secret, his 223 points (14.9 points per game) score card meant that he was the top-scoring local player and not at all inferior to an American import.

Besides being a menacing scoring machine, the left-handed Attaporn was also a natural entertainer with his unorthodox style of play.

“I feel that the way I play has to do with my personality,” said Attaporn who is also pursuing a Masters degree in Physical Education in Thailand concurrently. “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,” added the 1.93m tall Attaporn. “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.”

And finally, the top local young gun of each team to look out for in the next season:

Brunei Barracudas: Esmond Tan

KL Dragons: Loh Shee Fai

Nonoy Baclao (Philippine Patriots)

Christian Ronaldo Sitepu (Satria Muda)

Hong Wei Jian (Singapore Slingers)

Ratdech Kruatiwa (Thailand Tigers)

Editor’s Note: This has been a maiden season of surprises and here’s a shout of thanks to Leslie and Dawn for the opportunity to cover this league; the REDcrew for working so hard under my Cruella-complex; the ABL coaches who taught me heaps about the game; the ABL players for tolerating my endless questions; and the readers for your love-hate relationship with my stories. Enjoy the other stories coming up, til we next “meet”. (jan@redhoops.com)

Kuhan Foo, the chief executive officer of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), has revealed that the league will know by April the status of new teams coming on board for the 2010/11 season. He also pointed out that for the existing teams to survive, teams will need to learn to market themselves well.

“The challenge I think is getting teams to market themselves and finding the major support, sponsors, pulling in more crowd and creating a basketball culture,” shared Kuhan at the post-finals press conference.

“We know it is possible,” Kuhan added, “if we look at KL Dragons for example in Malaysia where the crowd is usually Chinese and men, but now their crowd has 40% Malays, 30% women because of the ABL.”

Four of the six ABL teams in the inaugural season are new teams set up in conjunction with the inception of the ABL. Only Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma and the Singapore Slingers are existing professional teams with the experience of engaging the community.

It has indeed proven to be a challenge for the new teams to fill the stadiums on game day. Thailand Tigers and Philippine Patriots gave free entry to their home games in a bid to draw in the crowds and drum up the support in their first season.

While the Thailand Tigers, who finished at the bottom of the table in the inaugural season, struggled to bring in the home crowd all season, the Patriots crowd picked up significantly towards the playoffs and finals.

The KL Dragons, singled out by Kuhan as the role model for having done an exceptional job in expanding and diversifying their fan base in their maiden season, credited their fans and media partners for their success.

“I don’t think other teams can do so because they don’t have Malaysian blood in them!” the KL Dragons owners said jokingly when asked how they managed to pack their stadium to the point of having to turn away spectators.

Turning serious, they continued: “I think to be fair, this game, except for Philippines, is quite new to other countries, including Malaysia. I think if you look at any leagues when they have just started, even the NBA, the English Premier League, the crowds were not there either.”

“It takes time to develop these things,” they added. “Give it time to slowly grow, it’s about creating the awareness. It has a lot to do with our media partners as well, we need to say a big thank you to them.”

Besides a massive revamp of their dynamic website mid-season and heavy utilisation of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, the Kuala Lumpur-based team also organised road trips for their fans to Singapore for their away games.

Indonesia’s Satria Muda is the only other team that had fans travel to an away game. Satria Muda, who have the most number of fans of all the ABL teams, have been actively building their fan base since the team joined the Indonesian Basketball League in 2003. Satria Muda have won four domestic titles since, plus the SEABA Champions Cup in 2008.

Philippine Patriots owner, Mikee Romero, who also owns the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) team, Harbour Center, the team that Satria Muda beat in the 2008 SEABA Champions Cup final, said after the ABL finals: “When we (Harbour Center) played against Satria Muda two years ago, it was a very different team. The level of Indonesian basketball has become higher.”

While the team’s success and progress will be a crowd puller, according to Kuhan, what is essentially more important is the building of a basketball culture, or a culture of identifying ABL as ASEAN’s pride.

While the Philippines have built an unrivaled basketball culture, elsewhere in ASEAN, Malaysians and Indonesians would not find local sporting pride unfamiliar too, with their history of having homegrown athletes claiming top honours at international competitions such as the Olympics.

But for the rest of ASEAN, building a strong fan base that would attract sponsors and support to ensure the sustainability and survivability of the team does seem like a mountain-moving task. The teams taking ownership of the ABL dream is the instrumental first step.

“This finals is the fruit of the ABL dream,” shared Mikee Romero at the post-finals press conference in Jakarta. “It is a common dream of Tony Fernandes and his friends (who became the owners of the six teams). There are a lot of people backing this.”

“And one day, we will grow into Asia and this league will become a big, big league,” Romero continued in zest, “and maybe even rival the NBA (National Basketball Association) or CBL (China Basketball League). Watch out for this league.”

With the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) finals days away, Red Hoops reader Jonathan Chuongco gives his review of those who have stood out for him during the regular ABL season.

Best Player of the Regular Season: Nakiea Miller

Brought in to replace the ineffective Theophilus Little, Satria Muda have chosen the right guy. Not only can Miller score, but he can crash the boards as well, averaging a monstrous 20.7 points a game and 16.4 boards. Where Miller goes, Satria Muda go as well.

Most surprising win of the Regular Season: Thailand Tigers at Singapore Slingers (Dec 7)

The win was surprising because the Slingers were leading the ABL standings at the time, while the Tigers were anchored at the bottom. The Slingers actually held the lead at the end of the first quarter but things turned around during the second and the Tigers never looked back, getting the most surprising win of the ABL season.

Best Comeback of the Regular Season: KL Dragons

Hats off to the KL Dragons for not giving up and winning three straight crucial games against the Philippine Patriots, Singapore Slingers and Satria Muda BritAma, the top three teams in the ABL. Because of that, lady luck rewarded the Dragons, and they took the final playoff spot at the expense of the Brunei Barracudas.

Best Defensive Team of the Regular Season: Philippine Patriots

The Patriots held their opponents to 68.2 PPG (points per game) and held opponents to 37.6% shooting and 28.7% 3-point shooting to rank 1st, 1st and 2nd respectively in the three categories. It is a no-brainer that the best defensive team award should be given to the Patriots for it is a big reason why they led the ABL in the regular season.

Best Offensive Team/s of the Regular Season: Singapore Slingers and Brunei Barracudas

These two teams are very efficient at scoring. The Brunei Barracudas led the league in terms of scoring production with 78.9 PPG compared to the 75.5 PPG of the Slingers, but the Slingers shot slightly better than the ‘Cudas with 43.5% to 42.4%.

Only these two teams shot better than 40% for the season, and since their offensive production are very similar, both teams deserve to be given the best offensive team awards.

Best Crowd Support: KL Dragons fans

They were rowdy, loud and proud and filled the MABA Stadium when the Dragons played. No questions asked, the Dragons fans are the best in the ABL right now in terms of supporting the home team.

Editor’s Note: Have an entirely different opinion? If you would also like to share your review with the other Red Hoops readers, send your story to jan@redhoops.com

The Thailand Tigers and Brunei Barracudas may not have made it to the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) playoffs but as the only two teams that have had experienced firsthand the prowess of Philippine Patriots latest American addition Gabriel Freeman, they know best what he is made of.

The Patriots had brought in Freeman to replace Brandon Powell to pull the team out of a sudden slump. The new American import got down to business promptly to emerge as the Patriots’ top scorer and hitting a double-double in both games to seal for his team two crucial victories.

In his maiden game against the Thailand Tigers a fortnight ago, whom the Patriots beat 91-87, Freeman scored 21 points and 14 rebounds in the 30:47 minutes on court. Freeman then had 17 points and 18 rebounds to his name a week later against the Brunei Barracudas.

The 25-year-old Freeman had played for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and led his team to the 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference Finals where they defeated Barangay Ginebra Kings to take the title. Freeman was named the Best Import of the Conference.

“It’s hard to catch up with Freeman,” said Tigers Filipino coach Soonthornpong Mawinthorn. “His individual ability is really great. He can shoot from three, he can drive in and he can defend too. He’s a complete player. The consistency of Freeman is really something, and he can dominate the board. Watch out for Freeman!”

Mawinthorn picked the Philippine Patriots and the Singapore Slingers to meet in the ABL finals but remained undecided which team would lift the inaugural title. He said: “The Slingers will win in terms of team work but the Patriots have better imports and players.”

While the Patriots will host the fourth-placed KL Dragons in the first playoff today, the Slingers will play Indonesia’s Satria Muda. Both hosts hold a 2-1 winning record over the visiting teams in the regular season. Of the four teams, the KL Dragons are the only ones coming off three consecutive wins.

Slingers coach Frank Arsego is cautious in his assessment of Satria Muda. He shared: “They are a very good team. We’ve had pretty good performances against them. We played a super game at home against them which was probably our best performance in the season. So that can give us some confidence.”

The Slingers thrashed Satria Muda 96-62 on November 1st, 2009, in Singapore but they needed lady luck to smile on them in Jakarta two weeks later to steal the game from the hosts 61-59 in the dying seconds of the game. The hosts had led the Slingers for 39:36 minutes.

“We’ve come from behind to beat them in an away game and the third game we didn’t play well and they played well so I think it’s pretty even,” Arsego said.

The Slingers were eventually outplayed 67-58 in their third and final game against the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) champions on December 12, 2009, in Jakarta.

“But if people look at the four teams remaining historically,” Arsego added, “you would rank the Slingers as the fourth seed even though we are in second place. In most match ups, people will consider us as the underdogs but we believe that we deserve to be where we are.”

“We’ve worked hard, extremely hard this year. I think we can be quietly confident but it is still a three-game series. We can’t think too far ahead of ourselves. We want to be in the best position as we can be for our first game,” Arsego concluded with much optimism in his voice.

The first playoff between second-placed Singapore Slingers and third-placed Satria Muda will be played today at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, while league leaders Philippine Patriots will host KL Dragons at the Ynares Sports Arena. Both games will tipoff at 4pm (UTC/GMT +8).

Nimibutr National Stadium, Bangkok, Sunday, January 24, 2010 – The Singapore Slingers had to win against the Thailand Tigers to give themselves a shot at first place in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). In the end, they did their part but the Philippine Patriots also did theirs to wrap up first place with a win over the Brunei Barracudas in Manila.

A Patriots loss in Manila would have given the Slingers first place. Instead, the Slingers will now face Satria Muda BritAma who finished third on the standings while the Patriots entertain the fourth-placed KL Dragons in their semi-final playoffs.

The final ABL game between Thailand Tigers and Singapore Slingers was one chaotic battle where two Slingers fouled out and three Tigers were wounded in the early stages of the game. This was the Slingers fourth away victory while the Tigers tasted their fifth home defeat.

With the Slingers and Tigers tied 1-1 in their head-to-head meetings prior to this game, with both teams taking a game each in Singapore, and with both games having gone down the wire, this tiebreaker had promised to be an equally tight affair. And it was, for the first five minutes after tip-off.

Disaster struck the Thailand camp midway through the first period with the score tied at 8-8. Tigers 28-year-old captain Piyapong Piroon was dealt a heavy knock in the midst of a defensive riot under the basket and was swung out of the court. Piroon lay motionless holding his head as his team mates rushed from the bench to attend to him, then assisting him back to the bench.

Ratdech Kruatiwa was brought on for Piroon. From that point on the Tigers’ rhythm was obviously disturbed and was completely broken four minutes later when their 36-year-old American import Ikenna Nwankwo was brought down in an awkward manner and limped out of the court in pain. In the absence of the two key players, the visitors stretched the lead to six points at the end of the first quarter.

Tigers coach Soonthornpong Mawinthorn, who was forced to stand in as head coach after Chuck Davisson had to return to America right after the Tigers’ narrow defeat to the Slingers in Singapore last month, said: “When I was told Ikenna and Piroon are not able to continue, I had to make adjustment mostly to the center position and the number 2 position.”

“I had to adjust the play and the defense where we were inconsistent,” Mawinthorn added, “but the Slingers were just really fast and had many fast breaks. The Slingers point guard was really fast. I tried to make adjustments but Slingers always had an answer to my adjustment.”

The Tigers’ bench was stretched further when their other American import Chazz Briggs strained his back just less than 10 seconds into the second period. Briggs was treated for half of the second period before he was released back onto the court. But by the end of the second period, the Slingers had doubled their lead to go into the half-time break ahead 41-29.

The Tigers managed to increase the intensity of their defense in the third period, forcing the Slingers to exhaust the shot clock several times. Still it didn’t take long for the Slingers to adjust to the tactical change as they marched on to seize a 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter. And even with their imports Marcus Ng and Kyle Jeffers fouling out in the final quarter, the Slingers’ grip on victory was firm.

“We handled their full-court pressure and we found ourselves getting easy baskets underneath and that helped a lot today,” Slingers head coach Frank Arsego shared. “It was a tough game, it’s physical. We’ve been away for about 9 days and it’s our third game in 9 days and as much as we’ve been working hard to stay fresh but we were tired. I think it tested us mentally more so than anything.”

Accounting for the less than composed performance and shedding light on the rather reckless affair between the two teams, Arsego said: “I think what challenged us was the mental side of things. We played well and opened up the gap but [it’s challenging] to keep driving yourself to stay in that situation. Because the Tigers are more than capable of getting 3-point shots, they can score quickly.”

Indeed, in the previous two meetings, the Tigers’ consistency in dropping the three-pointers was the key to unsettling the Slingers with the local Tigers often responsible for the treys. So despite finishing in last position in the inaugural ABL season, there is still much for the Tigers to shout about as they look ahead to the second season.

Coach Mawinthorn shared: “For the next season, to do better we will need to get good imports like what Slingers and the other teams have. Part of the reason [for finishing last] was due to this but transition from one coach to another was a main reason.”

“It’s hard to take over especially with only four remaining games because I need to use what Chuck has taught already and adjusting that to my coaching system is a bit different. My way and style of coaching is more of the Filipino way of coaching,” said the Filipino coach who’s also a Thai citizen.

“The team was started very hastily so there was little thought put into the management in terms of finding the coaches, the players, the imports,” he concluded, “but we’ve given our best in all our games and our locals, for me, and for everyone who watches the ABL, our locals’ performance for the whole season have gained my admiration.”

The win gives the Slingers a 10-5 win-loss record and they now face Satria Muda BritAma in the opening game of the three-game semi-final playoffs on Sunday, January 31st, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Game time is 4pm.

The Philippine Patriots, who finished top of the league, will face the KL Dragons in the other semi-final playoff tipping off on the same day and at the same time.

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Tigers vs Slingers
1st Q: 15-21
2nd Q: 14-20
3rd Q: 13-15
4th Q: 38-36

Thailand Tigers Game Box Score

Singapore Slingers Game Box Score

The Patriots, reinforced by new American import Gabriel (Gabe) Freeman who had a team-high 21 points and 14 rebounds, stopped a two-game losing streak that saw them lose against the Singapore Slingers and the KL Dragons.

All was going to form in the first quarter when the Tigers trailed by as many as 11 before the home team narrowed the deficit to four after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Tigers came to within one (26-27) with a Ikenna Nwankwo basket with six minutes to go in the quarter. The bottom-placed Tigers kept the Patriots within sight, outscoring them 28-25 in the period to trail by only one (45-46) at half-time.

The Tigers edged ahead with a seven-point (55-48) lead at the half-way mark of the third quarter but the Patriots hauled them back to take a one-point (69-68) lead into the fourth.

Contributions from Freeman (8 points including two 3-pointers) and Erwin Sta. Maria (6) in the final quarter saw out a Patriots victory that improved their win-loss record to 10-4.

Four Patriots – Freeman (21), Jason Dixon (15) Rob Wainwright (14) and Val Acuna (13) – were in double digits with Freeman and Dixon having a double-double each.

The Patriots have one remaining game in the league at home against the Brunei Barracudas and a win will seal first place in the standings and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Tigers vs Patriots
1st Q: 17-21
2nd Q: 28-25
3rd Q: 23-23
4th Q: 19-22

Thailand Tigers Game Box Score

Philippine Patriots Game Box Score

Darunpong Apiromvilaichai of the Tigers goes for two despite the defense of Barracuda Celedon Camaso. (Photo 1 courtesy of ABL)

Bangkok, Monday, January 4, 2009 – The Brunei Barracudas beat the Thailand Tigers 94-89 to improve their chances of a playoff spot with four games to go to the end of the regular season.

Trailing by 11 points (70-81) at the start of the fourth, the Tigers came roaring back as the Barracudas struggled without centre Mike Pilgrim who was in foul trouble.

The Tigers made it a one-point game (87-88) with 3:23 on the clock when Chaz Briggs sank a two-point basket and then Attaporn Lertmalaiporn gave them the lead at 89-88 with 2:49 to go.

That proved to be the last points of the game for the Tigers who, forced to shoot from the outside, went cold with Ratdech Kruatiwa, Attaporn, Ricky Ricafuente and Briggs all missing from three-point range.

Despite their best scoring performance in a game with 89 this season, the Tigers fell to their 10th defeat for a 3-10 win-loss record and are out the reckoning for a playoff spot.

The Barracudas, who led by as many as 21 points early in the third quarter, had five players in double-digit scoring with captain Francis Adriano having a game-high 30 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Reggie Larry had a double-double performance with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

This was the second-highest scoring game for the Barracudas in the preliminary rounds. Their 94 points is one shy of what they achieved against the Patriots in a blowout 95-70 win last year.

The win improved the Barracudas win-loss record to 5-6.

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Tigers vs Barracudas
1st Q: 18-28
2nd Q: 23-26
3rd Q: 29-27
4th Q: 19-13

Thailand Tigers Game Box Score

Brunei Barracudas Game Box Score

Nakiea Miller (Satria Muda, #43) defends against Darongpan Apiromvilaichai (Tigers, #69). (Photo 1 courtesy of ABL)

Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, December 20, 2009 – Satria Muda BritAma best the Thailand Tigers 69-58 to win all the three games between them this season in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).

Satria Muda led from start to finish and built on a 12-6 first quarter lead to finish the first half 12 points (34-20) ahead.

The Tigers did enough to reduce the Satria Muda lead to just four points at 5:09 in theh third when Ratdech Kruatiwa (#12) dropped a 3-point basket but the Jakarta-based club pulled ahead to finish the third quarter with an eight-point, 52-44 lead.

The closest the Tigers got was seven points in the fourth quarter before they eventually lost their ninth game of the season to fall to 3-9 and have the worst winning percentage (0.25%) in the league.

Satria Muda’s Nakiea Miller had the first 20-20 game in the ABL with a 20-point, 22-rebound performance. Teammate Alexander Hartman had a game-high 25 points after draining 6 three-pointers, the most from downtown in a single ABL game this season.

Tigers’ Chaz Briggs returned to his high-scoring ways after a dismal two-point outing in his previous game against the Singapore Slingers. He had 22 points and 19 rebounds while teammate Ikenna Nwankwo had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Satria Muda climb into second place on the table with this win and have a 6-5 record.

Satria Muda will resume the ABL season with an away game against KL Dragons on Saturday, January 2nd while the Tigers will entertain the visiting Brunei Barracudas on Monday, January 4th.

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Tigers vs Satria Muda
1st Q: 6-12
2nd Q: 14-22
3rd Q: 24-18
4th Q: 14-17

Thailand Tigers Game Box Score

Satria Muda BritAma Game Box Score

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Thursday, December 17, 2009 – The Singapore Slingers were desperate for a victory.

And this frantic, frenzied need to win ultimately edged them past the Thailand Tigers 69-66 in a heart-stopping, backs-to-wall, come-from-behind triumph.

Kyle Jeffers led the team with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Michael LeBlanc and Marcus Ng added 15 and 9 each, as the trio helped the Slingers overcome a 10-point half time deficit by scoring 30 of 40 second half points.

LeBlanc hit the go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds left and Jeffers scored 3 points and had an assist and a block in those flurried closing seconds to carry the Slingers to a victory they badly needed.

After jumping out to four straight wins to begin their ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) campaign, the Slingers suddenly went cold and lost four of their next five games. The rest of the league seemed to have seen through the Slingers, as they mired in an inexplicable slump which Slinger head coach Frank Arsego attributed to a lack of total team effort.

Stuck in a rut and with the only way seemingly up, they faced a Tigers team whose last win came against the Slingers two Mondays ago. They won that contest 65-62 in the Indoor Stadium as well, but unlike that match when the Slingers made up a huge deficit only to fall just short at the death, the home team somehow found a way to win this time.

“We did well to come back, and it was a good effort from all of us,” said co-captain Michael Wong, who sat out due to a hurt shin. “It was an important game as we had been struggling of late. It’s a very big game. We really needed this win badly.”

Jeffers, who had his eighth double-double in 10 games with 20 points and 13 rebounds, provided the early energy for the Slingers. He scored five points and had a great block of Attaporn Lertmalaiporn’s lay up attempt, but it was Piyapong Piroon and Ratdech Kruatiwa who found their stroke going.

Piroon, who came into the game averaging 6.0 points per game, made a three-pointer for the Tigers’ first lead of the game at 6-5, and was then responsible for his team’s next 5 points as the lead changed hands four consecutive times.

It was then Kruatiwa’s turn with the hot hand. After Al Vergara broke an 11-all tie with a trey, Kruatiwa responded likewise. He also answered LeBlanc’s basket to level the match at 16 apiece, and that provided the impetus for a couple more fast-break conversions for the Tigers, as they ended the quarter leading 20-16.

Marcus drove the lane and managed to elude the imposing presence of Ikenna Nwankwo to lay it in to make it 23-22 Slingers early in the second period, but that was the last the home team would see of the lead for the next 26 and a half minutes.

Kruatiwa and Piroon scored half of their team’s ten straight points to wrestle back the advantage, and then the team’s final seven of the half as the Tigers’ display in the period seemed to mirror that in their previous meeting, when they outscored the Slingers 22-7.

It was 19-13 here, but fall-away jumpers, wide-open treys and three-point plays were the order of the second period as Kruatiwa, Piroon and company shot at a torrid pace to deflate the home team as well as the crowd. The deadly duo combined for 28 first-half points on 11 of 15 shooting, and with the Slingers trailing 39-29 at the break, the atmosphere in the Stadium, with most decked out in red, was not one of a warm, fuzzy and Christmassy feeling, but more of an anticipative dread of yet another Slinger loss.

A half-time ‘hair-dryer’ treatment from coach Arsego ensued.

“Coach scolded us and told us to wake up, that this was not our game, and to show the fans what we could do,” said Lim Wai Sian, who played the most minutes of his ABL season.

Backup point guard Wong Wei Long added, “Coach gave us a hard time in the locker room, and emphasized on defence.”

Piroon did score again, but his three-pointer three minutes into the half was the final scoring act of either of the sharp-shooting duo as the Slingers identified the threats and worked to extinguish them.

“We learnt our lesson, that numbers 12 and 23 (Kruatiwa and Piroon) could shoot the ball. We guarded them tightly in the third and fourth quarters and it lowered their shooting percentage,” said Wai Sian.

Kruatiwa and Piroon went cold, missing their final 12 shots of the game, but still the Slingers could not make a sustained, convincing run at their opponents. A Marcus 3-point play and Jeffers free throw brought the Slingers to within 3 at 45-42, but Nwankwo, Glenn Bolocon and Lertmalaiporn all scored to extend the lead back up to eight.

After Jeffers rebounded Hong Wei Jian’s miss for a put-back, Axel Doruelo drained his second trey of the night for a 55-48, 7-point Tiger lead with 23 seconds to play in the quarter.

That lead grew to 9 midway through the final period as Lertmalaiporn, the 10th leading scorer in the league at 15 points a game, began to assert his influence. But the Slingers continued to plough away at their opponents, plugging away despite missed lay ups, botched free throws and careless turnovers.

“We played like a team, and we supported one another. Even though we were down by 10 points (at half-time), we continued to encourage one another,” said Wei Long. Michael Wong added, “We played with the heart, the intensity and the effort, and had the desire not to lose.”

Like men possessed, the Slingers finally came to within a hair’s breadth of the Tigers. Vergara’s three pointer and Marcus’ finish on the 3 on 1 brought the home crowd to its feet, as the Tigers only led 61-60 with two and a half minutes to play.

Lertmalaiporn’s lay up upon resumption and one of two free throws soon after quieted the crowd, but one sensed that the Slingers were not to be denied this time. Marcus split a pair from the charity stripe and the Slingers then caught a lucky break on the loose ball as Nwankwo fouled Jeffers, who then also made one of two from the line as the Tigers were in the penalty zone.

Nwankwo himself went to the line and made one for a 65-62 Tiger lead, but a foul by Doruelo right on the Slingers inbounds play deep in their own half sent Vergara to the charity stripe, where he made the Tigers pay for that soft foul by converting both to make it a one-point game once again.

Vergara turned it over in the Slingers’ next possession, resulting in a foul on Lertmalaiporn. He came into the game shooting 73.8% from the free throw line but could once again only make one of two with 35 seconds left, opening the door to a thrilling finale.

The Slingers inbounded after a timeout, and Vergara found Jeffers inside who was fouled as he scored, bringing the stadium to its feet as the game was tied at 66. Lost in the celebrations was the fact that it was Nwankwo’s fifth foul of the game and he could play no further part in it.

And it got better for the Slingers. Jeffers missed the free throw – part of a 10 of 22 team showing in the second half – but Wei Jian was quickest to react, tipping the loose ball to Jeffers, who found LeBlanc lurking on the baseline. LeBlanc needed no second invitation and coolly sank the jumper.

The crowd was wild at this point, but with 14 seconds remaining, a two-point lead and possession Tigers, the Slingers were clear on their defensive strategy.

“We were not going to let them have the three-pointer,” explained Wei Long matter-of-factly.

The Slingers executed brilliantly. Stretching out to prevent the long-range shot, they forced the Tigers to go inside, where Jeffers blocked Piroon’s shot and was fouled with no time left on the clock.

The Slinger bench invaded the court to celebrate the win, as did the fans, but there was still the small matter of two free throws to shoot. Jeffers made one, and the sight of Desmond Oh clambering onto the big centre as the game officially ended showed how badly the Slingers wanted to win this one.

“It’s a springboard for us. It’s a momentum-breaker, and we’ve got the monkey off our backs,” said Michael Wong. Jeffers added, “It’s never fun to lose, but when we win, we’ll take advantage of it.”

Desmond, who played a crucial defensive role in shutting down the threats of Kruatiwa and Piroon after half-time, said, “I am very happy that we won today! I believe my defending was the best part of my game today, but right now, it is back to the training ground where we have to work harder. We will play a better game in our next outing, instead of playing catch-up.”

Their next outing on January 6 would come in the shape of the league leaders Philippine Patriots, who have won a league-high 7 games. When asked where the Slingers would go from this morale-boosting win, Jeffers replied, “We will get better. We will have a two-week break, and then come together as a team and face the Patriots.”

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Singapore Slingers v Thailand Tigers
1st Q: 16-20
2nd Q: 13-19
3rd Q: 21-16
4th Q: 19-11

Singapore Slingers Game Box Score

Thailand Tigers Game Box Score