Alab Pilipinas flew a thousand miles to Singapore seeking vengeance against the Slingers, but the plot still remains as it is
The Philippine contingent had chances to make things work in their favor, but fell short as they fell to their opening day tormentors Singapore Slingers, 71-68, in the 2016-17 ASEAN Basketball League at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
Ray Parks, who’d had monster outings in the last two games with 30 and 41-point performances, fell victim to the Slingers’ defensive focus on him and made just 15 markers on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. However, he managed to grab 10 boards en route to a double-double.
Lawrence Domingo also made 15 markers by shooting an efficient 6-of-10 clip, with two coming in the third canto that gave Alab their first and last taste of the lead, 43-41, with 7:07 on the clock.
World import Dongjun Lee made his presence felt for Alab, leading the pack by scoring 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds in tonight’s loss, which send them to 2-2 in the middle of the standings.
The Filipinos trailed by as much as nine, 63-54, after a Slingers’ basket by Delvin Goh in the 7:04 mark of the final frame, but managed to climb back into the game with an 8-3 run capped by a Robbie Celiz lay-in to close by four, 66-62, with 4:11 remaining.
Split charities from Xavier Alexander sent the Slingers up by five, 67-62, but Alab, off a split by Domingo and a Cawaling lay-up, inched to within one field goal, 67-65, with 56 seconds left. Unfortunately, that proved to be Alab’s last run, as Leo Kwek and Alexander made baskets to seal the victory for the home team.
American forward Alexander came up big for the Singaporeans, with a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow World Import Justin Howard scored 18 and also had 12 boards. Han Bin Ng had 8 to lead the locals.
Despite the loss, Alab still led a few aspects of the team stats department. They shot better than the Slingers by converting 25 of 60 tries, and also out-rebounded the much taller frontcourt of Singapore, 38-35. The Filipinos also dished the ball better, 13-5.
Alab will welcome the 2017 and try to bounce back with yet another road game, this time in Taiwan, against Kaohsiung Truth at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung City on January 8. The Slingers (4-1) will have another match this Thursday, December 22, against league leaders Hongkong Eastern Long Lions at Southorn Stadium in Hongkong.
The Scores:
Singapore (71) – Lee DJ 16, Parks 15, Domingo 15, Cawaling 8, Lee SJ 6, Celiz 4, Gavieres 2, Mendoza 2, Fortuna 0, Acuña 0.
Pilipinas (68) – Alexander 25, Howard 18, Ng 8, Kwek 7, Folkoff 7, Wong 4, Goh 2, Austria 0, Oh 0.
Quarterscores: 23-16, 41-35, 56-48, 71-68.
