Frustrated Singapore Slingers bitten by Mono Vampire
Coach Neo criticises Singapore side's lack of killer instinct
| SINGAPORE SLINGERS | MONO VAMPIRE |
| 65 | 67 |
The same problems of wastefulness keep returning to haunt the Singapore Slingers yesterday, as they suffered their fifth loss in eight Asean Basketball League games this season.
The latest setback came against Thai visitors Mono Vampire, who departed the OCBC Arena with a 67-65 victory.
It was doubly frustrating for the Slingers as Xavier Alexander's last-ditch attempt to tie the scores went in, only for the umpire to disallow it as the shot had been taken after the buzzer.
Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang described it as a fair call but was critical of his men for letting slip a six-point lead in the final quarter.
He said: "Today's loss is ours to blame. We never set the tempo when we were up by six points. We've been facing the same problems... It's sad, but we need to stay positive as a team."
The Slingers, last season's runners-up, have committed similar mistakes against Alab Pilipinas and Saigon Heat - leading into the final period, only to fall short.
Mono led 14-12 after the opening period but the hosts edged 30-28 ahead at half-time.
Aided by a solid defensive performance from 2.14m centre Anthony McClain, who had a game-high 23 rebounds, the Slingers extended their lead to 47-41 after the third quarter.
But they then struggled with their shooting, converting just five of 21 shots in the last 10 minutes.
Alexander had a team-high 17 points but missed three-quarters of his 16 attempts.
Teammate Marcus Elliott had 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, while local player Delvin Goh also had a double-double - 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Slingers, who are seventh in the 10-team league, face the Heat in their next game at home on Jan 29.
Alexander said: "We started off slow, but we've seen the potential of our team and how good we can be. We've just got to continue to build on that going into this break."
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