ZHUHAI – The Singapore Slingers held their ground against the Wolf Warriors in overtime, 107-103, as they notched their seventh victory of the season.
After an entirely lopsided first half and the Slingers having led by as much as 16 points, the home squad closed out the third quarter trailing by only ten points, 69-79. The Warriors banked on the trio of Mike Bell and former NBA players Mike Taylor and Eddy Curry as they combined for a whopping 72 points.
The Slingers were like men on a mission, creating a swift 7-3 run after tip-off. Delvin Goh, John Fields, and Xavier Alexander led the charge for Singapore once again early in the game. They also got some help from sharpshooter Tay Ding Loon who likewise erupted with three triples after coming off the bench.
But Taylor did not seem like the guy who gives up easily. His stint in the NBA has definitely enabled him to unleash his inner beast especially at the most crucial times. And true enough, he went full beast mode in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring eight points including a triple that got them the lead, 89-88, with two minutes to spare.
The game went all the way down to the wire with Alexander sinking his two historic free throws as he sent the game to overtime. The X-Man continues to claw his way to the top of the ABL All-time Scoring List as he surpassed former Slinger Chris Charles to clinch the second spot next to another Slinger Justin Howard.
The Warriors’ aggressiveness would not be seen in overtime period as the trio of Alexander, Fields, and Young dominated down the stretch. Taylor led his squad with an ABL career-high of 32 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and five steals. Big men Curry, Bell, and Cai each had a double-digit outing but the three ran out of gas nearly halfway through the fourth quarter.
It was another relatively quiet night for Jerran Young but he came up big in the dying minutes of the game and still tallied a near triple-double of 15 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds.
The Singapore Slingers, standing at a 7-4 record, will be returning to the friendly confines of the OCBC Arena as they host the struggling 1-8 Mono Vampire on Sunday.
SCORES:
Wolf Warriors – Taylor (32), Bell (21), Curry (19), Cai (15), Yan (10), Shentu (6)
