Slingers post second straight win
The Singapore Slingers narrowly avoided their first defeat of the new Asean Basketball League season after Alab Pilipinas gave them a big scare at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna, last night.
Their mean defence shone through in the final quarter as they eventually overcame their opponents 71-66.
The Slingers had looked in trouble at half-time when they were down 39-30, but eventually managed to level the scores at 55-55 by the end of the third quarter.
In the final period, Alab Pilipinas opened the scoring to take a 57-55 lead, but the Slingers rallied after that. Yet again, they impressed with their defensive play, restricting the hosts to just seven points in the final nine minutes in front of more than 4,000 spectators.
The Slingers' American imports came out tops in offence, with big centre Justin Howard posting 22 points and 20 rebounds and swingman Xavier Alexander recording his second consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The locals players played a big part too, as forward Leon Kwek kept up his double-digit scoring with 11 points and eight rebounds, while point guard Wong Wei Long sank four-of-10 from beyond the arc en route to 17 points.
The Slingers will play their next two games on the road. They head to Ho Chi Minh City to take on Saigon Heat on Saturday before meeting the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions on Dec 7.
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