Singapore Slingers aim to finish with a flourish
Coach Neo believes Singapore outfit are getting into their groove at business end of the season
The Singapore Slingers look to end the regular season on a high note, starting with a crucial victory against Saigon Heat on Sunday.
Their season has been riddled with erratic performances, but they look to put those behind them as they fight to secure a place in the Play-offs with five games of the regular season remaining.
Coach Neo Beng Siang said: "After our three-day break of the Chinese New Year, we have had pretty decent training.
"It has helped the players to recover and it's been good for them to get back into shape.
"We haven't really secured a Play-offs spot so this Sunday's game is very important for us because if we can win, we're pretty confident about making it."
Sunday's opponents Saigon sit sixth in the nine-team Asean Basketball League table, just one place below them.
A win would ensure that the Slingers maintain their position in the standings, but a loss would see them slip to sixth - the last available Play-offs spot.
However, Neo is hopeful that they can still finish in the top four.
Neo said: "We're still looking for the top four and anything can happen but we have to do our part.
"We need to start winning games and the rest depends on the other teams' performances. But for ourselves, we need to be hungry for success in every game."
Neo liked what he saw of his players during the training sessions but he stressed that they still must transfer that focus onto the court on gameday.
That is especially important, as their home form this term has been mediocre, with only three wins out of seven.
Slingers guard Larry Liew said: "We never really played well in home games this season but we are adjusting now so hopefully we'll play better for the rest of the season.
"We don't want to disappoint the crowd because it's our home crowd."
In their last home game, against bottom-placed Formosa Dreamers two Sundays ago, the Slingers were made to sweat for their 72-65 win.
Swingman Xavier Alexander feels the poor home record is down to the team taking time to gel on the court.
He said: "This season, we made some changes (to the roster) and we brought in some guys and we're still trying to figure each other out but these things happen in games.
"It's just something that we need to fix up in practice and I think it will be fixed up by the time the Play-offs come."
He said that everyone in the team is working hard and aiming to do their best for the remainder of the season.
He added: "We're just trying to stay focused, trying to tweak our offence and defence to get the team ready for the end of the season.
"We're locking in, focusing in on our next game and on the Play-offs run."
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