Indonesia Warriors’ Mario Wuysang (in red) was too hot to handle for Donald Dulay (in white) and the Singapore Slingers as ‘Super Mario’ topped the scoring charts with 23 points to help Warriors defeat Slingers . (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images for Singapore Sports Council)
The Singapore Slingers went down 59 – 79 to the Indonesia Warriors in their 2012 AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season opener at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Slingers’ point-guard, Desmond Oh was the only Singaporean to start the game alongside the four new foreign signings – Philippine duo, Donald Dulay & Christoper Canta and American duo Donald Little and Louis Graham.
Slow Start for Slingers
Louis Graham (in white) found it hard to get past the Warrior's Red Sea of Defence in most parts of the game. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images for SSC)
The new Slingers line-up could not find their rhythm and struggled on offense from the start, shooting 1/13 field goal, in the first quarter.
On the other end of the court, the focused Indonesia Warriors jumped to a big lead behind Mario Wuysang’s hat –trick of three-pointers during the first quarter.
The Warriors faced a setback with three minutes remaining in the first quarter when Harold Sta Cruz was not allowed to play because of a wrong jersey number. Cruz was wearing #12 but was registered as the #13.
This was an administrative error on the part of the Warriors as they only received their jerseys today and it was their first game of the season, explained Warriors’ head coach, John Purves.
Despite having one player less on their bench, the Warriors played on strong and closed the quarter with a dunk by Larry Jonathan Smith, leading 22-9.
Warriors’ Jonathan Smith (in red) displayed his aerial prowess with a two-handed jam, which got the crowd on their feet in the first quarter.(Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images for SSC)
No Mercy for Slingers
In the second quarter, the poor shooting Slingers turned to Louis Graham who put up an impressive effort with nine points, eight rebounds and one steal in this quarter.
However, the Warriors continued their dominance with strong performances from Wuysang and Jerick Uy, extending their lead to 43-23 at half–time.
Slingers’ Resurgence Too Little, Too Late
Singapore Slingers’ Centre, Donald Little (in white,#14) driving past two Warriors’ players to score a much needed lay-up,deep in the 3rd Quarter. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images for SSC)
The Slingers brought in Pathman Matialakan in the third quarter who sparked a 7-0 run with Pathman sinking two jumpers and Wong Wei Long hitting a three-pointer early in the quarter.
However, the Warriors were able to answer every play and despite strong performances from Graham which saw the Slingers winning the quarter 20-15, the Warriors still led by 15 going into the final quarter.
The final quarter were well played by the Warriors. Indonesia’s twin-towers of destruction, Smith and Steven Demon Thomas played excellently in the paint as they combined 37 points and 18 rebounds for the game.
Smith continued to exhilarate the crowd with a dunk over 2 feet & 11 inches tall Slingers’ Centre, Donald Little. With their sizeable lead over the home side, the Warriors slowed down play and took their time to convert their chances till the final buzzer rang.
Singapore Slingers #5, Wei Long Wong, upset with the result and performance against the Indonesia Warriors in their ABL season opener. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images for SSC)
First game jitters obviously had the better of the Slingers as they were unable to trim the Warriors lead right from the start.
"I am very disappointed that we came out flat tonight. We practiced well during the week and I am surprised that we didn't execute at all on offense and struggled to get back on defence. Although we showed signs of what we are capable of on defence during the 3rd quarter when we made a small run, overall, Indonesia were able to get what they wanted offensively," summarized General Manager Michael Johnson.
Top Performers
Singapore Slingers: Louis Graham: 23 Points, 23 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 2 Steals, 3 Blocks
Indonesia Warriors: Mario Wuysang: 23 Points, 4 Rebounds, 1 Assists, 4 Steals, 0 Blocks
Game On
The Slingers will try to bounce back from this poor shooting game when they take on the ABL defending champions, Chang Thailand Slammers on Wednesday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 8pm.
For ticketing details and more information, please visit, http://singaporeslingers.com/