OCBC Arena, Singapore – In the absence of the injured Hassan Adams, the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers relied on their locals to notch a win over the visiting Saigon Heat. Wong Wei Long finally broke off a shooting slump and led all players in scoring with 23 points while Larry Liew added 16 points. Justin Williams of the Saigon Heat had a double-double performance with 20 points and 24 rebounds. The Slingers stopped the Heat’s winning streak at 3.
“Our locals stepped up big time with the absence of our injured import, Hassan Adams. Wong Wei Long finally got his offensive game going. Larry Liew, as we said, will be a big help for us offensively as well this season,” said Coach Neo Beng Siang, Head Coach of the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers.
The Slingers went off to a hot start behind the streaky shooting of rookie Larry Liew who finished with 8 points in the 1st quarter. Kyle Jeffers established his presence inside early on as well by registering 6 points. He finished with 16 points. The Saigon Heat were frustrated by the Slingers’ patented defense that saw them converting on only 5 out of 16 baskets.
Russel Low and Wong Wei Long combined for another 10 points for the Slingers, who grabbed the lead at the end of the 1st Quarter, 26-13.
The visiting Heat finally got things going on the offensive end in the 2nd Quarter, led by Dustin Scott’s 11 points. He finished with 17 points.
Singaporean Larry Liew had other plans though and kept the Heat at bay by scoring another 8 points in the 2nd. Wei Long added another 5 points to his scoring total. At the halftime break, the Slingers had a comfortable 11 point lead over the Heat, 46-35.
The duo of David Arnold and Justin Williams combined for 17 points in the 3rd Quarter that saw the Slingers lead trimmed to 3 points. Shooting woes bothered the Slingers as well as they were only able to make 6 of 20 field goals. Russel Low was also slowed down by foul trouble as the Slingers went with a small line up in the court.
Fans at the newly built OCBC Arena were in for a treat as both teams traded baskets in the final quarter. Wong Wei Long’s free throws early on extended the Slingers lead to 5 before back to back baskets from the Heat’s Williams and Arnold cut it down to 1. Wei Long seemed to be the man to the rescue as he made another basket to put the Slingers’ lead to 3. The Heat’s Froilan Baguion scored 4 consecutive points after Dustin Scott converted on his free throws that saw the Heat take the lead 68-65 with 4:54 left in the game.
Al Vergara, who finished with 10 points, tied the game with a 3 pointer that notched the score at 68 all. Both teams traded baskets before Wei Long hit another 3 pointer that saw the Slingers take the lead 73-70.
With 23 seconds left, the Heat tried to steal one over the home team. Leo Avenido though botched a layup and Scott missed both his free throws that could have given the Heat the lead. Han Bin Ng was fouled and made both free throws that sealed the victory for the Slingers, 77-74.
The JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers face the Laskar Dreya South Sumatra for their next game at the Senayan Gym in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Slingers’ next home game is on Sunday, August 10, at the OCBC Arena against the Indonesia Warriors. Tip Off is at 4:00PM.
Box Scores:
JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers 77 – Wei Long 23, Larry 16, Jeffers 16, Vergara 10, Low 5, Han Bin 4, Desmond 2, Delvin 1, Qingde 0.
Saigon Heat 74 – Williams 20, Arnold, 19, Scott 17, Baguion 9, Avenido 9, Nguyen NT 0, Phan 0.
Quarter Scores: 26-13, 46-35, 61-58, 77-74
