5th December 2015: San Juan, Philippines
Behind a dominant second half from Howard and the electric play of Xavier Alexander, the Singapore Slingers broke open what was a close game en route to a dominating 86-67 win over the Pilipinas MX3 Kings at the San Juan Gym.
The Kings were able to stay close to the Slingers, as Arizona Reid came out blazing with 10 first quarter points to tow the Kings. They also played aggressive scrambling defense, trapping the Slingers in the backcourt at all opportunities. This proved to be a successful strategy, as the Singapore squad looked out of sorts against their Philippine rivals.
This went on in the second quarter, as the Kings stayed aggressive on defense and played together. The Kings also featured newly acquired Jason Deutchmann, a veteran of the PBA. He was able to chip in four points in the quarter including a key triple to vary up the offense. However the Slingers still had enough firepower to remain in front, 34-28 at halftime.
The third quarter was a foreshadowing of how this game would end, as the Slingers made a concerted effort to feed the ball in the post once they broke the press of the Kings. Justin Howard began to make mincemeat of AZ Reid, who was tasked to defend Howard due to their new import not available for the game. With Reid needing to conserve energy for offense, Howard just dominated in the paint scoring 12 points in the quarter. However the Kings leaned on Reid, and finished the quarter only down four points, 55-51.
The final quarter was when the dam burst for the Kings. Howard was still scoring inside, but this time Alexander joined the party. There was no one on the Kings’ squad athletic enough to keep up with the speedy Alexander, as he scored on a variety of drives to the basket including a nice slam dunk. With the Kings’ will broken due to the multiple baskets in the paint, the Slingers cruised to victory, pulling away in the 4th.
Howard proved that height is might, notching 31 points and 21 rebounds, to go along with 5 assists. Alexander flirted with a triple double, finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block.
For the Kings, they were led by Reid’s 22 points and 13 rebounds. Former PBA player Willie Miller posted 15 points in the losing cause.
The Singapore Slingers will look to keep their impressive run going when they travel to Ho Chi Minh City to play the Saigon Heat on December 12 at the CIS Arena in Vietnam.
The Singapore Slingers are currently in second position on the ABL ladder with a 6 win – 2 loss record.
Slingers Leading Player Stats:
Justin Howard: 31 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists
Xavier Alexander: 24 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals
Kris Rosales: 10 points, 4 rebounds
Wu Qingde: 6 points, 4 rebounds
Leon Kwek: 6 points, 4 rebounds
1st Quarter Score: Slingers 18 – Kings 15
Half-time Score: Slingers 34 – Kings 28
3rd Quarter Score: Slingers 55 – Kings 51
Final Score: Slingers 86 – Kings 67
