12th September 2014, Saigon – Wong Wei Long scored 7 big points down the stretch to lift the Jobstreet.com Singapore Slingers to a 76-73 victory over Saigon Heat at the CIS Arena, Saigon.
Wei Long finished with 13 points on a 5-for-9 shooting night. Former Heat player Dior Lowhorn led the Slingers with 27 points, while Justin Howard made a big contributions in his first game with 18 points and 20 rebounds. With this win, the Slingers improved to an 8-5 record for the third position in the 2014 AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League standings.
“Justin (Howard) stepped up big time for us and our local players made key contributions in this game. Wei Long made a couple of clutch shots down the stretch,” said Lowhorn after the game. “I had some jitters tonight because it’s the first time I have ever played against an old team. But I’m glad we picked up this big win on the road.”
The Heat were red hot from the field in the first quarter, shooting 63% from the field. Saigon went up as many as 12, 22-10, following a three-pointer from Leo Avenido with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
But the Slingers fought back in the second quarter. Singapore closed the first half on a 10-3 run. Lowhorn, who had a quiet first period, scored 6 points during this burst to help the Slingers trimmed their deficit to 41-38 at the halftime break.
Holding on to a 47-44 lead with 5:36 left in the third period, the Heat suffered a big blow after Dustin Scott committed his fourth foul. Singapore took full advantage of Scott’s absence by pounding the ball to Lowhorn who was guarded by David Arnold. Lowhorn made three straight layups to put the Slingers in front, 55-51, with 1:28 left.
Justin Williams tried to inspire his team to make a rally after scoring on a layup and rejecting Lowhorn’s layup on the other end to cut the Heat’s deficit to 67-66 with 4:36 left. But, the Heat were unable to reclaim their lead after making a costly turnover which led to a Lowhorn’s layup. The Slingers had a 72-66 lead after Wei Long splashed a triple with 3:18 left.
Saigon, however, managed to get with in 1, 72-71, on a three-point play from Scott and a two-pointer from Avenido. Unfortunately for Saigon, Wei Long calmly hit two clutch shots down the stretch to give the Slingers a 76-73 with 1:16 left. Then, Wei Long made a big play on the defensive end by forcing Leo Avenido to make a turnover. With 58 seconds left, the Heat failed to grab the rebound on three Slingers’ missed shots. The Heat had one last chance before the buzzer rang after they made a steal with 2.3 seconds left, but Avenido’s triple was still short.
Williams finished with 27 points 14 rebounds, Avenido had 19 points and Dustin Scott added 14 points for the Heat who dropped down to a 5-7 record.
The Slingers will have a one-week break before welcoming Hi-Tech Bangkok City on Friday September 19 at the OCBC Arena, Singapore. The Heat will try to bounce back next Sunday September 21 when they host the Indonesia Warriors.
Saigon Heat: Williams – 27, Avenido -19, Scott – 14, Baguion – 11, Phan 2.
JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers: Lowhorn – 27, Howard – 18, Wei Long – 13, Han Bin – 6, Oh – 5, Low – 5, Wu – 2.
