ABL: Slingers top league with win over San Miguel Beermen

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 — The Singapore Slingers came up with the crucial plays when it mattered most.

Having seen their huge 16-point lead turn into a 59-59 tie in the fourth quarter, the home team dug deep for a hard fought 71-63 win over the visiting San Miguel Beermen.

With the win, the Slingers top the ASEAN Basketball League standings with four consecutive wins after an opening home defeat to the Indonesia Warriors. Along the way, the Slingers also claimed the scalp of last year’s championship winning team Thailand Slammers, boosting their chances of qualifying for the play-offs.

The Slingers started the game brightly. Coming off an emphatic win over the Bangkok Cobras just a few days earlier, the Slingers reveled in their new-found confidence with point guard Donald Dulay (#11) leading the way in scoring. He scorched the Beermen defense with a perfect four of four 3-point shooting for a total of 16 points in the first quarter alone. The Slingers surged to a 24-14 lead after the opening period.

Fellow Slinger import Donald Little (#14) was also dominant in defense for the Slingers, guarding the paint with acrobatic blocks and hauling down eight rebounds in the first quarter alone. It helped that the Beermen struggled in their shooting accuracy, registering only a 33% success rate in the first quarter.

Things did not improve in the second quarter for the visitors. Wayward shooting continued to plague the San Miguel players and this extended to their free throw attempts as well. The Beermen shot a poor four of eight from the free throw line at this point, compared to a perfect six of six for the Slingers.

The second quarter also saw the Slingers clicking well in offense, with forward Louis Graham (#24) feeding Donald Little with quick passes underneath the basket for easy points. The Slingers extended their lead to 39-25 at the end of the first half.

Yet you can never really count out any professional basketball team from the Philippines.

Buoyed by a wide section of vociferous supporters, the Filipino team raised their defensive intensity in the third quarter. The unrelenting pressure on the Slinger ball handlers resulted in five turnovers in the third quarter alone, none more damaging than a wayward pass by forward Steven Khoo (#13) in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Local lad Wong Wei Long (#5) kept his team in the game with a three-pointer and a running one-handed hook shot to preserve the Slingers lead at the 54-48 by the end of the third quarter though.

Yet that was not enough to prevent the San Miguel team from rallying furiously in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 59-59, to the delight of the visiting fans.

Despite numerous opportunities for San Miguel to take the lead for the first time in the game, it was Dulay who came out with a driving left-handed lay up to put the Slingers back into the lead at 61-59. Moments later, it was Graham working his way towards the basket for a 63-59 lead and some breathing space for the Slingers.

Towards to the end of the game, a desperate San Miguel team embarked on a full court press to narrow the gap. This proved to be futile as the Slingers relied on their set plays to get the ball to their guards. Dulay and Wei Long both closed out the match with successive conversions at the free throw line to snuff out any hopes of a comeback by the San Miguel Beermen.

Looking for the Slingers’ fixture schedule? All here: Singapore Slingers 2012 ABL Fixtures

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Slingers vs Beermen
1st Q: 24-14
2nd Q: 15-11 (39-25)
3rd Q: 15-23 (54-48)
4th Q: 17-15 (71-63)

Slingers Game Box Score

Beermen Game Box Score

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