Singapore, 11th February 2018
The Singapore Slingers bounced back from a disappointing loss to San Miguel Alab Pilipinas, claiming a hard-fought 72-65 win over the Formosa Dreamers in the OCBC Arena.
Despite being mired in a 10 game losing streak heading into the match, the Dreamers gave the home team everything they could handle in their first matchup of the season. In their first matchup of the season, Formosa’s defense forced Singapore into a 34% shooting night from the field. However the Slingers had the advantage on offense because of their shooting from beyond the arc. The Slingers knocked down 6/19 triples, en route to 31% from the three point area. The Dreamers on the other hand shot a frigid 1/10 from beyond the arc, dooming them to another defeat after making a fourth quarter comback.
Singapore was led by a vintage performance from World Import Chris Charles. The former ABL Defensive player of the Year dominated his advantage against Ronnie Aguilar, as the veteran tallied 34 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks. Aguilar finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 6 turnovers in the loss.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, as Singapore held a 39-27 advantage in the half. After two quarters, Singapore shot 38%, while Formosa shot 37% from the field. The Slingers did a better job of moving the ball around, as they notched 13 assists.
The Dreamers would bounce back in the third period. A 7-2 run to finish the third quarter for Formosa trimmed the deficit to only 6 points, 51-45. A dunk by Aguilar to open the fourth quarter got the Dreamers to within four, before Alexander and Charles scored four straight points to bring back the advantage to eight with 8:27 remaining.
New Formosa World Import Cameron Forte would then go to work for his squad, scattering 11 points in the payoff period and keeping them within striking distance. A triple from Wu Sung Wei, the only perimeter make for Formosa in the game with 6:12 to go got Formosa to within 4, 59-55 once again.
But eight points from Charles and a triple from Larry Liew at the 2:00 mark would prove to be too much, as Singapore cruised to the win in front of an approving crowd at the OCBC Arena.
Xavier Alexander backed up Charles with a triple-double performance of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Larry Liew was also valuable, as he spaced the floor with three triples en route to 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Forte had an impressive debut for for the Dreamers as he tallied 26 points, 16 rebounds and 2 steals in his first game in the ABL. Chen tallied 8 points, while Wu had 7 in a losing effort for the Dreamers.
The victory improves Singapore’s record to 8-7.
The Slingers next game is at home on Sunday 25th Feb at OCBC Arena when they face the Saigon Heat.
