Basketball is back and for the Singapore Slingers, it was a tough but productive day one in the 2022
ABL 3X3 International Champions Cup at the Discovery Shopping Mall in Bali, Indonesia as they try to
shake off the rust of the pandemic and prepare for bigger things to come as things go slowly back to
normal.
The Slingers started off their campaign with a 14-21 defeat against Vietnam Red and Gold. With VN Red
and Gold coming out of the gates red hot and the Slingers still trying to adjust to the 3×3 style of play it
was the Vietnamese team that dominated early. The Slingers had a late game charge as they tried their
best to claw their way back into the game, but in the end they had given the Vietnamese team too big a
start to run down. Delvin Goh and Lim Jun Yuan were the best on court for the Slingers but the lack of games over the past
2 years really showed in the Slingers first game back to serious competition.
In their second match in Pool A, the Slingers found their rhythm in the sweltering heat and went on to
win 17-11 against Louvre Indonesia. The Slingers came out more committed on defense and with much
better team work and ball rotation the floor opened up and the Slingers players stepped up.
JY Lim caught fire late in the game hitting four two-pointers to help his side hold on for the victory but it
was a much improved team effort that led the Slingers to a win in their second match of day 1 of the Bali
tournament. Slingers local players Lim Jun Yuan and Delvin Goh led the Slingers scoring with 14 points &
9 points respectively after the first two games.
Game 3 of the day saw the Slingers struggle with their outside shooting from the start and even a late
comeback with Slingers JY Lim hitting a tough driving layup and a two point shot late was not enough
for the Singapore Slingers to pull back the much taller Ahmedabad 3BL line up. Ahmedabad ended up
taking the match 21-16 relegating the Slingers to 3rd place in there pool after day 1 of competition.
With the win over the Slingers the Indian team finished day 1 second in the group while the Slingers
cling on to their head-to-head advantage over Louvre Indonesia to progress to the round of 16.
The Slingers will head into day two of the ABL 3X3 International Champions Cup in third place in the
pool and will face Thailand’s Shoot it Dragon in a do-or-die match with the winner advancing to the
quarterfinals.
