After losing their first game of the season, the Singapore Slingers have not looked back as they strung together five straight victories to make them the hottest team in the league right now. Up next for the Slingers is a matchup against a familiar foe in Hong Kong Eastern at the OCBC Arena.
These two teams were the finalists two seasons ago and the celebration of Hong Kong Eastern on Singapore’s home-court is still fresh on the minds of the remaining members of the Slingers. They can get some measure of revenge if they can deal the visiting team another road defeat.
Xavier Alexander made history in Singapore’s latest win over the Saigon Heat where he scored 18 points in the 78-75 victory to become the third all-time leading scorer in the ABL.
Alexander, who is in his fourth year with the Slingers, is putting up 20.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and a career-high 9.2 assists.
In Singapore’s last victory, it was Jerran Young who carried the offensive load with 27 points in the game. Big man John Fields added another double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds while Delvin Goh missed out on it with 15 points and nine boards.
Even with these big performances, it was not a comfortable win for the Slingers as the Heat put up a scorching hot run in the end-game. Singapore averted disaster as they hung tough to prevent the massive collapse from happening and keep their winning streak alive. Singapore was outscored 24-14 in the final quarter. They led by 10 points in the last two minutes but saw it dwindle down to just two points. Alexander sank an important free throw in the end game to give them a three-point lead but they still had to hold their breath as the sweet-shooting Murphy Burnatowski missed his opportunity to send the game into overtime.
Against Hong Kong Eastern, the Slingers need to be wary of Marcus Elliott and Sam Deguara. Although the two have yet to find the right balance in their attacks, they are outstanding talents who can dominate the game.
