Singapore Sunday 26th November 2017
The Singapore Slingers only needed to come home and play in front of their fans to rediscover their old fiery form. After suffering a road loss to start their campaign in the 2017-18 ASEAN Basketball League season, the Slinger defeated the CLS Knights, 77-66, Sunday night at the OCBC Arena.
The Slingers used a strong finishing kick led by their two World imports Xavier Alexander and Ryan Wright were unstoppable in the fourth quarter. Alexander rebounded from a poor outing in China as he led all scorers with 27 points in the contest.
Alexander scored back to back baskets midway through the fourth quarter to give Singapore a 68-60 lead. After a mini-run from CLS, it was Wright who heated up to provide the finishing touches for the win. First, he nailed one of his patented mid-range jumpers and then showed his leaping ability by scoring on a tip-in to give the Slingers a 76-64 lead.
Wright notched another huge double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds to serve as Alexander’s main backup. The do-it-all forward and long-time Singapore World import added 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block to his game-high scoring output.
Russel Low gave Singapore a boost from the bench with 10 points. The Slingers still struggled once again from the three-point range as they only made 1 of 11 attempts. However, they were solid from the two-point range making 47% of their shots from inside the arc.
The CLS Knights, who won their first game in the ABL against the Formosa Dreamers, simply did not have the energy for a strong finish in the contest. They were held scoreless for a three-minute span in the fourth period which ultimately spelled their doom.
The Knights were led by their new World import Evan Brock who stepped in for the injured Duke Crews. He scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds but did not have enough energy in the end game. Freddie Goldstein added 16 points while Brian Williams notched 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The struggles for Mario Wuysang continued as he did not score in 36 minutes of play but he did get 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Compared to their last game against Formosa, CLS did not get the output or the energy from their locals to come up with another victory.
