The Singapore Slingers opened the 2017-2018 ABL season on a sour note, falling to the new-look Formosa Dreamers at home, 73-77, Sunday at the OCBC Arena.
Despite trailing for most of the contest, the Slingers relied on a late surge in the fourth quarter to give them a winning chance.
The Dreamers were ahead 68-62 in the last five minutes of the game but the Slingers answered with seven straight points, including a layup by Delvin Goh, to give Singapore the lead. Unfortunately, it proved to be only a momentary advantage as Malcom Miller immediately answered with a basket of his own.
The Slingers and Dreamers then went back-and-forth as the lead changed for the next set of possessions.
But a collapse on the offensive glass gave an opening for the Dreamers. Miller forced a shot that missed badly but William Artino was there to clean up the rebound and a putback to put Formosa ahead for good. The Slingers failed to convert on the other end as the Dreamers sealed their first win of the season with shots from the charity stripe.
Slingers veteran Alexander had a stellar all-around game of 24 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. He also had six steals, one short of his personal best. Jerran Young made a solid first impression with 20 points while John Fields had 12 points and eight rebounds. However, the two new reinforcements struggled from the field, hitting only a combined 11-of-33.
The Slingers were active on the defensive end to come up with 15 steals but they weren’t able to capitalize their opponent’s mistakes. They only had a 39 percent shooting clip and couldn’t find their mark from beyond the arc, going only 2-for-11 from the field.
For the Dreamers, Tevin Glass led the way with 24 points 10 rebounds. William Artino also finished with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds and provided the go-ahead basket for his squad. Malcom Miller meanwhile chipped in with 16 points and six boards.
The Slingers look to bounce back in their second game when they head to Thailand and take on the Mono Vampire Basketball Club on Wednesday, November 21.
