It was just one of those games when everything came together for the Singapore Slingers as they took down the Saigon Heat, 101-67, Wednesday night at the OCBC Arena.
Everything they needed to happened actually did as Singapore continues its climb from the lower portion of the ABL team standings. The Slingers have now won three of their last for games for a 4-5 win-loss tally.
All starters for Singapore scored in double digits. They forced their opponent to less than 35% shooting from the field. They held them below 17 points in three quarters and even got something from the bench. When these things all happen in one game, then it would most likely be a win for Singapore.
Marcus Elliott was extra aggressive all game long as he attacked the Heat’s defense relentlessly en route to 29 points on 12 of 23 shooting from the field. It is high highest scoring output as a member of the Slingers and he tied his Slinger record with five three-point conversions in the game.
Singapore got the jump on Saigon as they quickly built their first double-digit lead of the match 17-7 after a basket from Leon Kwek. However, the Heat battled back and were only down by two points, 25-23, at the end of the first quarter.
The Heat momentarily took the lead early in the second as their new import Malcolm White got going in the shaded area. The Slingers quickly recovered and capped the first half with twin triples from Elliott to install a 15-point advantage 54-39.
An 8-0 Singapore run midway through the third period punctuated by a Delvin Goh dunk broke the game wide open as they stretched their lead to 27 points, 70-43. Saigon never made a threat to come back into the game as the Slingers led by as many as 36 points.
Anthony McClain, Xavier Alexander, and Goh all finished with double-doubles in the game. McClain had 18 points and 19 rebounds, Alexander chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Goh was also effective in the match as he finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Kwek also tallied double digits with 13 points on an efficient 6 of 12 shooting from the field.
White and Tyshawn Taylor led the Heat with 15 points apiece but they did not shoot well from the field. White only made 7 of his 15 attempts and Taylor had an even worse performance with 7 field goals made in 26 attempts. Sam Thompson, the only remaining original import for the Heat, had 14 points while none of their locals managed to score more than six.
Singapore goes on the road in their next game as they take on Hong Kong Eastern on Friday at the Southorn Stadium in what would be a closed-door game. Saigon will also remain on the road as they take on Mono Vampire and the Formosa Dreamers of February 2 and 4.
