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)

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