The Singapore Slingers aim to make it three wins from as many games when they take on a new-look Saigon Heat in Ho Chi Minh on Saturday.
After opening the season at home with a victory against the Malaysia Dragons, the Slingers overcame an 11-point second-quarter deficit against Alab Pilipinas in the Philippines on Sunday to make it a perfect 2-0 start to the season.
The Heat enter the 2016-17 ASEAN Basketball League season with an air of confidence about them, having signed two-time world MVP Christien Charles from Bangkok Hi-Tech, and the well-credentialed Filipino-American Joshua Munzon from California State University, Los Angeles.
The new recruits join returning Heat players in US import Lenny Daniels and ASEAN heritage player David Arnold (Viet-American).
The biggest improvement for the Heat will come from the addition of ABL veteran Charles.
The 35-year-old former Villanova Wildcats star is a defensive force, collecting the league’s defensive player of the year award on two occasions (2013 & 2016).
Charles’ ability to stifle the opposition’s offence, and rebound, will be a major upgrade for the Heat on last year’s import production.
Munzon joins the Heat after a successful US college career, where he displayed good scoring ability by averaging 12.4 points per game in his senior year in 2014-15.
A 192cm (6’4”) guard, Munzon appears to be more adept at driving and slashing to the basket than shooting from the outside.
The Heat will hope Munzon’s driving ability will create open shots for Daniels and Arnold.
The matchup between Slingers’ star big man Justin Howard and Charles should be one of the highlights of the game.
The two towering centres have played against each other many times in the ABL and know each other’s game well. Whoever can get on top of that matchup will give his side an edge.
Howard has been in scintillating form, playing every second of both Slingers’ games, averaging 22 points and 13.5 rebounds a game.
Xavier Alexander has also provided match-winning contributions in both contests, averaging 17.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4 assists a game.
Alexander’s defence has been outstanding, and his defensive rebounding has led to many points in transition for the Slingers. He is likely to get the assignment of shutting down Daniels or Munzon.
Second-year forward Leon Kwek is having a breakout season so far with 15.5 points a game, 6.5 rebounds and 4 assists, and veteran guard Wong Wei Long is averaging 13.5 points a game.
The Slingers will once again be without injured pair Wu Qingde and Larry Liew.
Wu (knee) is expected to miss another month of the season while Liew (hamstring) could be back within two weeks.
Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang is pleased with his team’s start to the season but is wary of Saigon in front of their vocal home supporters.
“We feel good about the start to our season,” coach Neo said.
“But there’s still a long way to go and we need to continue to get better every week.
“We expect Saigon to be a tough challenge this week. The new recruits definitely make them a better team than last season.”
The game will be played at Saigon Heat’s home court at the Canadian International School at 5.00pm.
Slingers fans can watch the contest Live on Hub Sports Arena (Channel 112/205) or on mobile devices on the StarHub Go app.
Article written by Michael Farrell
