Plucky Singapore Slingers fall to Shanghai Sharks
SINGAPORE – Going up against tournament favourites the Shanghai Sharks, nobody gave the Singapore Slingers a chance when the two teams clashed in Friday’s (Sept 23) Group A Merlion Cup clash at the OCBC Arena.
SINGAPORE – Going up against tournament favourites the Shanghai Sharks, nobody gave the Singapore Slingers a chance when the two teams clashed in Friday’s (Sept 23) Group A Merlion Cup clash at the OCBC Arena.
But the underdogs were not about to roll over without a fight. In front of about 1,800 fans, the Slingers displayed the same sort of fighting spirit that propelled them to a runners-up finish in last season’s Asean Basketball League (ABL) as they made life uncomfortable for the Sharks in a physical, bruising and at-times fiery encounter.
However, buoyed by former NBA star Fredette Jimmer, who scored a joint game-high 29 points, the Sharks’ quality eventually shone through as they pulled away from the faltering home team in the final quarter to secure a 89-67 victory.
Nonetheless, the Slingers still managed to advance to the semi-finals courtesy of their 79-71 win over Taiwan’s Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor on Wednesday. They will take on the Mighty Sports (Philippines) in the semis tonight.
Reflecting on a hard-fought match, Slingers head coach Neo Beng Siang said he was pleased with the way his charges battled on court, but said that a controversial refereeing call had caused his players to lose focus in the final quarter.
“We definitely were in the game for the first three quarters, but then there was two crucial calls by the referee for fouls on their players which we felt shouldn’t have been given,” said Neo.
“That allowed the Sharks to pull ahead by a larger margin and from then on, my players lost their focus and began complaining to the referee instead.
“I’m happy with the fighting spirit overall, but in the final quarter, most of the players started to falter and they gave up on running back to defend.”
Neo also pinpointed Jimmer as the match’s key player, and admitted his team struggled to contain the former Sacramento Kings star.
“The opponents had a lot of quality in their team, especially with Jimmer because he is an all-rounder and can score from almost anywhere,” said Neo. “We kept rotating our players to try and contain him but it was just too hard for us and as you can see, he made a huge difference with his scoring.
“But overall, we still need to work on several aspects of our game, especially in terms of our teamwork as I felt we were playing as individuals instead of as a team today.”
Meanwhile, the night’s earlier match saw the tournament’s first 100-point game as the Philippines’ Mighty Sports defeated reigning Asean Basketball League (ABL) champions the Westports Malaysia Dragons 105-78.
The result meant the Dragons, who were beaten 70-99 by the Seoul Samsung Thunders on Thursday (Sept 22), failed to advance to the semis, with both the Thunders and Mighty Sports booking their spot in the final-four instead.
Saturday’s (Sept 24) semi-final fixtures at OCBC Arena Hall 1
6:30pm: Singapore Slingers vs Mighty Sports (Philippines)
8:30pm: Shanghai Sharks vs Seoul Samsung Thunders