Dragons burn up Slingers’ unbeaten home record in impressive 84-74 win

Story by Erwin Wong and Koh Yizhe/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, November 22, 2009 - Eight days ago, the Singapore Slingers trailed the Satria Muda BritAma team by 10 points with three minutes and 26 seconds to play, and yet managed to eke out a morale-boosting two-point road win.

This time at the same stage of the game, they were 16 points behind to an irrepressible KL Dragons team, and there was to be no repeat of the Houdini act.

Rudy Lingganay and Chris Lonichi led the Dragons with 21 and 20 points respectively, as the Malaysian-based team ended the Slingers' unbeaten home record with an impressive 84-74 victory in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).

One-time Slinger Jamal Brown chipped in with 14 points and Bandaying Fhadzmir added 11 as the visitors relentlessly attacked the Slingers off the dribble and got free on the perimeter for open looks, where their shooters outscored their opponents 48-34.

Hong Wei Jian led the Slingers with a season-high 18 points, but Michael LeBlanc shot poorly for the third consecutive game, missing 9 of his 13 shots to finish with 13. Kyle Jeffers pounded the boards for another double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, but was well-policed by Lonichi, Jamal Brown and Chee Li Wei.

The Slingers' second loss in the last three games could be attributed to poor free throw shooting (10/20, 50%), turnovers (16), botched open lay up attempts and sizzling hot accuracy from the Dragons on the outside, but the story of the game was simple – the visiting team simply wanted the victory more.

"They played great basketball, and shot the ball really well. They must have shot 60, 70 per cent?" said Slinger co-captain Kyle Jeffers, who then proceeded to scan the box score in disbelief as it revealed that the Dragons had in fact less than 50% accuracy from the field (34/73, 47%).

He continued, "They were hitting big shots. We couldn't get into our offence like we used to, but take nothing away from them. They played like they wanted it more."

The Dragons' shooting percentage seemed higher than the actual probably because they made all the shots which mattered, at the opportune time. The hungry Dragons gained the first foothold on the match, and were determined not to let the Slingers back into it.

The Slingers led for all of 38 seconds, and on the rare occasions when they did, were unable to muster together a huge run to extend that advantage.

When a streaking Wei Jian got on the end of an Al Vergara pass on the fast break for a 32-29 Slinger lead midway through the second quarter, it looked like they might just break the game open with one of their famed scoring runs which have been a hallmark of their home games. But the Dragons were instead the ones who did, replying with a 12-0 run to ensure they entered the half-time interval with a 41-34 lead.

The Slingers chipped away at the deficit once again, and regained the lead when Vergara finished off a Wei Jian pass to make it 45-43 three minutes into the second half.

But Vergara then missed his only two free throws of the game, and the Dragons proceeded to close the door on the home team with a game-turning 21-2 run. Brown, Lingganay and Lonichi scored 17 points during this period, as they had their way with the Slingers who had no answer to the long-range bombardment from Lonichi and Lingganay, while Brown had a couple of three-point play opportunities.

Wei Jian's trey and Michael Wong's three free throws reduced the lead to 13 at the end of the third period, but it was always going to be difficult for the sluggish Slingers to overcome the dominant Dragons at that juncture of the match.

"The crucial moment of the game was during the third quarter, when they blew the game open and got a big lead on us," said Slingers' co-captain Michael Wong, who had a season-high 10 points. "We tried to bring it under 10 points before the start of the fourth, but we couldn't, so that was a big setback for us."

He continued: "A lack of effort from us on both ends of the court was probably the reason why we lost today. We didn't handle ball like we used to offensively, and defensively it was a lack of effort. I don't think it was due to over-confidence. We knew we had a target on our back, and prepared all week for this match. Both teams wanted the win, but we were just on the losing end this time."

Lonichi, who along with Lingganay made three of five from beyond the three-point arc, opened the fourth quarter scoring with another long-range basket. Brown also got into the act as the triple-threat trio scored all of the Dragons' 18 final quarter points.

Wei Jian's lay up made it a 12-point game, but the Dragons - as they had done all match - responded in fine fashion with another trey from Lingganay. Brown completed another three-point play which gave the Dragons an 84-65 lead, their largest of the game, before a game-ending Slinger rally brought it down to 10 as time ran out on the hosts.

The Dragons team and crowd celebrated wildly as time expired, but the abject looks on the Slingers' faces fully expressed their disappointment at the result, and more importantly, the process.

"We have to work harder on our defence, and our execution on offence," said reserve point guard Wong Wei Long, who marked his first game back from chicken pox with a scoreless game and two turnovers in nearly eight minutes of game time.

When asked to describe his performance, Wei Long had no qualms giving a brutal self-assessment. "It (the illness) is not an excuse. I was too rushed on my shots, and did not execute what coach wanted. I have to work really hard on my shooting and ball-handling. It came out bad today, and I'm very disappointed."

The game umpires had to deal with some stick from the coaching staff of both teams. Dragons coach Goh Cheng Huat remonstrated at length about an alleged incorrect reset of the Slinger shot-clock midway through the second quarter, while Slingers counterpart Frank Arsego was displeased with a pair of soft fouls called within a four-second span in the final period with the Slingers trailing by 14, sending them into the penalty zone with half the quarter still to play.

But Marcus Ng acknowledged that the refereeing was a non-factor in the defeat. "We couldn't string together our plays and didn't play to the intensity like we wanted. We have no one to blame but ourselves."

The Slingers fall to 5-2 in the win-loss column, while the Dragons' win after two straight defeats improve their record to 3-4. Both teams will now have more than two weeks to prepare for their next game.

The Slingers will play at home again to the Thailand Tigers in the first matchup between both teams on December 7, while the Dragons will look to carry their excellent performance on to the next match against the Brunei Barracudas two days later.

Attendance: 2,314

Quarter by Quarter Scores
Singapore Slingers v KL Dragons
1st Q: 19-20
2nd Q:15-21
3rd Q: 19-25
4th Q: 21-18

Singapore Slingers Game Box Score

KL Dragons Game Box Score