It was a sharp shooting, fast-paced action kind of night for the Singapore Slingers as they take another
win inside MABA stadium against Louvre Surabaya and capped off their KL circuit on a high as they
continue their campaign in the 2023 ABL Invitational.
Just like their first game against the Indonesian ball club, the Slingers came out flying in the first half
scoring 70 points against Surabaya’s 39. What was a five-point lead at quarter time ballooned to 31
points at the half. The Slingers lead continued to grow in the third quarter allowing their starters to get
some much needed rest and the bench to get valuable minutes as they cruised to a 147-89 final score.
Kentrell Barkley led the way for the Slingers with a triple-double performance behind 35 points, 16
rebounds and 13 assists while CJ Gettys added another double-double with 22 points and 13 boards.
Xavier Alexander led the team on both ends finishing with a triple double, 15 points, 10 rebounds and 13
assists.
The biggest story of the night, though, was the Slingers overall team contributions as everyone got into
the act. would go to Jackson Mah who was rewarded with a starting role after his efforts against the Macau Black Bears. His
first start in his young pro career. Mah did not disappoint finishing with 17 points and 3 assists on a night
when he shot 63% from the field.
Jackson would not be the only one from the locals to hit double digits as Tay Ding Loon dropped a career
high 18 points, 12 of which came from three-point range. Veteran Delvin Goh finished with 10 points 4
rebounds and 3 assists while Kelvin Lim added 12 points off the bench. Rookie Justen Chiam impressed
with his 11 points and 5 assists for the night.
The Slingers’ huge lead over Louvre Surabaya gave their youngsters the opportunity to get some playing
time. Muhammad Amirul made his debut for the Slingers finishing with 7 points and 1 rebound in just
eight minutes of action. Chiam logged the most minutes for the rookies as he saw action for 18 minutes
while Yung Juen Teo also got the opportunity to see some action.
The Slingers win against Louvre Surabaya sees them improve their standings to 7 wins & 4 losses and still
holding down the fourth and final playoff spot, two wins clear over Zamboanga and the Macau Black
Bears.
The Slingers will now travel to Ho Chi Minh for the fourth and final regular season ABL circuit where
everything is expected to get tougher and tighter. The Slingers will be aiming for a perfect run in the Ho
Chi Minh to lock in a playoffs birth.
The Slingers will fly into Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday 11 th Feb and will face the Bangkok Tigers on the
12 th February before a match-up against hometown favorites Saigon Heat on the 15 th February. They will
then cap off their Ho Chi Minh circuit against the Zamboanga Valientes who’s currently being led by
former Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers on 16 th February.
