Singapore – The Import combination of the AirAsia Philippine Patriots were too much to handle for the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers as Anthony Johnson scored 23 points, and Nakiea Miller scored 22 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, that helped the visitors win over the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers 82-70.
Louis Graham and Kyle Jeffers, playing in his first home game after replacing Donald Little last week, each scored 19 points. Both were monsters on the boards as well as Graham had 15 rebounds, while Jeffers had 13 rebounds.
“It’s very disappointing that both Lou (Graham) and Kyle (Jeffers) picked up 2 fouls early in the game. Kyle was also in foul trouble midway through the 3rd quarter. This really hurt us as we were unable to contain the Patriots’ imports,” said Coach Neo Beng Siang.
Rebounding was a big factor for the Patriots as they grabbed a total of 43 rebounds, 15 of which were on the offensive end. This translated to 18 2nd chance points for the visitors, who also won over the Slingers in their previous match, 80-75. The Patriots are now 2-0 for the season against the Slingers. Both teams will meet again in Manila on May 5.
The Singaporean Duo Sensation of Desmond Oh and Wong Wei Long, who both had big games against the Chang Thailand Slammers last week, only had 8 and 9 points, respectively. They combined for 6/19 shooting.
Former Singapore Slinger Al Vergara felt comfortable playing in the Singapore Indoor Stadium and had 14 points on 4/7 shooting, while going for 2 of 3 from the arc. The AirAsia Philippine Patriots also took advantage of their roster as they played every player in the match. Their bench outscored the Slingers’ bench 24 to 11.
General Manager Michael Johnson said: “We need every guy on our team to be ready to play and contribute. We just didn’t have that tonight.”
The JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers are now 6th on the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League standings with a record of 5 wins and 9 losses. The Slingers have 7 games left on their schedule, 4 of which will be played in Singapore. The next match is against the Westports Malaysia Dragons on April 1st. Tip Off is at 4PM. Tickets are available at www.sistic.com.sg.
Box Scores:
JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers 70 – Graham 19, Jeffers 19, Desmond 9, Wei Long 8, Dulay 7, Canta 5, Pathman 3
AirAsia Philippine Patriots 82 – Johnson 23, Miller 22, Vergara 13, Fernandez 7, Raymundo 6, Wainwright 4, Larong 4, Saldua 3, Ybanez 0, Adriano 0, Laure 0, Ramos 0.
Quarter Scores: 18-22, 36-42, 55-66, 70-82.
