Philippine Patriots!

Philippine Patriots import injured again

apsrising — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:31:51 +0000

source: Jonas Terrado | mb.com.ph

The Philippine Patriots could miss the services of import Anthony Johnson when they take on Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma on Saturday in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Johnson, who returned to action in the Patriots’ 54-48 win over the Chang Thailand Slammers in Bangkok, re-injured his hamstring which could likely force him to take another rest.

“He actually felt the pain after the game and he’s being checked by Dr. (Raul) Canlas to see if there’s a need for him to rest,” said coach Louie Alas.

The former PBA import had 13 points and seven rebounds against the Slammers highlighted by a triple with three minutes that put the Patriots up for good. He incurred the injury for the first time during the Patriots’ win over the Brunei Barracudas at last October 3.

In that contest, he scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds but got hurt when he attempted to save the ball from going out of bounds with five minutes left in the game. The Patriots won, 71-62.

The squad co-owned by Harbour Centre’s Mikee Romero and businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco are back playing at home after two hard-fought wins on the road. That propelled them to gain sole possession of top spot with a perfect 4-0 slate.

“This will be a good chance for the boys to relax a bit. It was a tough two weeks for us,” said RP Patriots team manager Erick Arejola. “The game on Saturday will give our boys the benefit of a long rest.”

It will be the first time that the Patriots will take on Satria Muda since their masterful three-game sweep of last season’s rugged title series.

A lot has changed for the Indonesians since that series as their core players of last year’s team were forced to play for BritAma’s other team in the local National Baskeball League season.

Despite the presence of wily guard Mario Wuysang and Filipinos Kiko Adriano and Don Camaso, Satria Muda had just one win in four games.

RP Patriots embarrass Slammers

apsrising — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:59 +0000

source: Jonas Terrado | mb.com.ph

Anthony Johnson made sure his return would be a memorable one as he exploded for eight points in the final three minutes to help the Philippine Patriots beat the Chang Thailand Slammers, 54-48, and grab the solo lead in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Season 2 Saturday in Bangkok, Thailand.

Hardly a factor in the first three quarters where he was held to just five points, Johnson rediscovered his deadly touch just in time as the RP Patriots rolled to their fourth straight win in as many outings.

The Slammers slipped to 3-1.

Johnson, who missed the team’s last two games due to hamstring injury, came through with the game’s biggest shot – a huge three-point – that enabled the Patriots to seize the lead for good, 45-43 with 3:36 left.

The shot turned out to be the push the RP Patriots needed as Egay Billones also made a clutch basket following a miscue by the Slammers for a 47-43 lead.

The Slammers, however, refused to give up the fight easily as they closed in at 45-47 on a basket by Filipino import Eric Canlas.

But the 6-foot-5 Johnson rose again to the occasion, hitting four straight points that gave the RP Patriots – co-owned by Mikee Romero of Harbour Centre and businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco – enough breathing room, 51-45, with 1:10 left to play.

“Our defense was working as planned but we just couldn’t convert our shots in the first three quarters,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas. “Good thing we strengthened our defense in the fourth quarter and our shots finally fell.”

Johnson, who incurred his injury during their 71-62 win over the Brunei Barracudas three weeks ago, finished with 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting along with five rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

With Johnson struggling early, 6-foot-10 Donald Little took the scoring cudgels to finish with 14 points aside from posting seven rebounds, three assists and five blocks while Billones chipped in 10 markers.

Little and Johnson also had a great defensive effort on Thailand import Jason Dixon as they held the former RP Patriot player to just 11 points and seven rebounds – the first time he failed to post a double-double performance.

The Patriots trailed by as many as eight points in the second quarter due to poor shooting.

“The difference is that we practically shut them down in the fourth and we made the shots that we couldn’t hit in the early goings,” said Alas.

RP PATRIOTS 54 — Little 14, Johnson 13, Billones 10, Ybanez 6, Salangsang 5, Cabatu 2, Jaime 2, Crisano 2, Sta Cruz 0, Fernandez 0, Llagas 0, Sta Maria 0.

THAILAND 48 — Pinitpatcharalert 13, Dixon 11, Piroon 5, Jantuma 5, Lertmalaiporn 5, Canlas 4, Baguion 3, Sillapapipat 2, Supachai 0.

Quarters: 6-13; 24-29; 35-38; 54-48.

Game Stats:

Game Saturday
(Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig City)
8 p.m. — RP Patriots vs Satria Muda BritAma

RP cagebelles rip Singapore, 101-34, for a sizzling SEABA start

apsrising — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:55:14 +0000

Source: gmanews.tv

The RP women’s national basketball team debuted in style in the 7th SEABA Women’s Championship, dealing Singapore a sound 101-34 beating Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The lady dribblers of coach Haydee Ong were unforgiving on defense. Using a stifling pressure defense, the Nationals forced the Singaporeans to commit 36 turnovers.

The Filipinas also completed 22 steals, three of them came from Fil-Am Melissa Jacob.

On offense, the RP cagebelles shot a respectable 28-of-52 attempts from the field for a steady 47-percent clip, including 10 triples.

“We showed them that we can play with a killer’s instinct. Despite having big leads early, we continued to pound it against our rivals and stay competing until the end . This is the kind of game we want to show against big guns like Malaysia and Thailand,” said Ong.

Fatima Tolentino finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the host team, which opened a 10-0 lead and didn’t look back from there.

Sarah Tan was the lone Singaporean player in double figures with 16 points, including four treys. But the visiting team failed to solve the full court press employed by the Nationals for most part of the game.

The team takes a breather Monday and will be back in action Tuesday against five-time champion Malaysia.

The Malaysians also had a good start by posting an impressive 84-60 win over Indonesia in the first game.

“It’s a big game because if we beat Malaysia, then we will advance one step into the the finals. We have to work hard defensively because Malaysia is a good perimeter team and has big players,” added Ong.

Defending champion Thailand completes the five team cast of this tournament. All competing teams will play in a single round robin with the top two squads disputing the crown.

Thailand squares off with Malaysia in the main game Monday after the Singapore-Indonesia tussle.

The Scores:

PHILIPPINES 101 – Tolentino 19, Arayi 14, Mercado 10, Tioseco 10, Jacob 9, Valencia 8, Gloriani 7, Pineda 7, Grajales 6, Adriano 5, Borja 4, Jose 2.

SINGAPORE 34 – J. Tan 16, Ang 8, Koh 4, Lim 3, Sunarko 2, Sim 1, Tok 0, Lau 0, Chee 0, E. Tan 0, Tang 0.

Quarters: 19-7, 44-12, 73-29, 101-34

Patriots Remained Unbeaten

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:48:58 +0000

Source: ABL NEWS | Saturday, October 23, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010, Bangkok – With a little bit of down-to-wire stardom by Anthony Johnson, the Philippine Patriots were able to rally a late run and carved their way to a 54 – 48 victory from a low-scoring and tightly contested match up with Chang Thailand Slammers.

The Patriots were battling uphill for the entire game, but the surge triggered by Anthony Johnson’s 3-pointer with 3:36 minutes left to play in the 4^th quarter. Johnson went on to score another 4 points to lead a 9 – 2 run which kept Patriots lead at 51 – 45 with less than 28 seconds left. Ernesto Billiones and Johnson added another 3 free-throws to seal the game at 54 – 48.

Both teams were in a shooting slump almost entire game, with the Slammers managed to hold a 13 – 6 lead to end the 1^st quarter. The shooting strokes for both teams seem to be a bit better, and Slammers leading 29 – 24 to end the half. 3^rd quarter was another disastrous offensive performance, with Patriots slightly edged the Slammers 11 – 9 3^rd quarter points. The slump remains until the decisive run which cost the home team a pivotal head-to-head victory.

The “Little Big Man” Donald Little was the backbone of the Patriots, leading his team with 14 points 7 rebounds and continue his dominant defensive presence with 5 block shots. Anthony Johnson added 13 points, 8 in the final 3 and a half minutes. Billiones added another 10 points for the Patriots.

Chang Thailand Slammers were led by Sopon Pinitpatcharalert, scoring a team high 13 points including 3/5 from beyond the arc in less than 21 minutes of action. Jason Dixon added a quiet 11 points & 7 rebounds. Slammers primary offensive weapon Chris Kuete was DNP, believed to be sidelined due to the previous collusion with Satria Muda’s Marcus Morrison.

Monster Trio notched Barracudas 1st victory

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 14:38:23 +0000

Source: ABL NEWS | Saturday, October 23, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010, Jakarta – Monster performance by Chris Commons, Chris Garnett & Bryan Faundo powered Brunei Barracudas to edged Satria Muda BritAma 87 – 70 for their 1st victory of the AirAsia Asean Basketball League 2010/2011 season.

The Brunei Barracudas ended a-3-games losing streak and found its first win of Air ASEAN Basketball League 2010/2011 season. Barracudas crushed Satria Muda BritAma 87-70 in Britama Arena, Jakarta. For Satria Muda, this is a 2-games losing streak at home after failed to beat Chang Thailand Slammers in the previous game.

Barracudas were just up 15-14 at first quarter, 37-36 at halftime and dominated the next two quarters. The Barracudas led 59-50 at the end of third quarter before ended with big margin 87-70.

The presence of coach Bong Ramos gave Barracudas a big boost. They played well organized defense to limit the new Satria Muda big man, Antoine Gerrard Broxsie. Duo Chris Commons and Christopher Garnett gave Broxsie, Celedon Camaso, and Ronald Capati hard time to attack the basket.

In other side, the duo became nightmare in Satria Muda defense. Strong inside play from both players, with helped from Bryan Faundo, they scored most of Barracudas points of the game. Chris Commons scored 38 points, the highest of tha game. Christopher Garnett and Bryan Faundo each made double double. Christopher garnett scored 16 points 21 rebounds and Bryan Faundo 16 points 17 rebounds.

Marcus Morrison scored 22 points for Satria Muda but he only managed to shoot 8/24 from the field. Broxsie had a double-double with 17 points 23 rebounds.

The Barracudas were 34/81 (42%) from field goal range and sank 6 of 24 (25%). They out-rebounded the hosts 55-44. Like the previous game it was a poor shooting night for Satria Muda as they went 23/79 (29%) from field-goal range and 8/32 from three-point range.

Bong said that he just had three session of practise with his team before facing Satria Muda.

“I just told the players my philosophy in basketball at first practise. Then I just organzing small things in offense so that they caan execute well. In my opinion if I can make the field goal up to 40 percents, we will win this game and actually my prediction is right,” said Bong after the game.

Bong watched Satria Muda played against Slammers last weekend. But he said he was not spying Satria Muda.

“Barracudas asked me to joint at Monday. I have some business to do last week,” he continued.

Chris Commons said the presence of Bong made the offense run well.

“It seems that I could scored very easy but it wasn’t. It’s just my teammate helped me much to got the open space to execute like the coach asked,” said Chris.

Satria Muda assistant coach Tri Adnyanaadi Lokatanaya said that the strategy didn’t running well.

“We planned to make one of the Barracudas starters fouled out by attacking straight to the basket individually. But they managed to escape the foul until the end of the game,” he said.

Dragons ended losing streak with 81 – 74 victory over Slingers

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 14:35:34 +0000

Source: ABL NEWS | Saturday, October 23, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010, Kuala Lumpur – With the reunion of Nakiea Miller & Alex Hartman, The Westports KL Dragons finally snapped a 3-games losing streak and earned their 1st victory of the AirAsia Asean Basketball League 2010/2011season.

The addition of Nakiea Miller to the KL Dragons’s roster might just be what the doctor ordered. The KL Dragons are looking to come off with a victory against the Singapore Slingers in their second home game with a chance to avenge a heart breaking lost to the Slingers in their last meeting. The Singapore Slingers; wearing their red jerseys, looked fired up and ready to cause another upset in Dragons’s lair.

The Dragons won the tip off but it was Desmond Oh from the Slingers that opened up the scoring from beyond the arc. Both teams came out firing from all cylinders but it was KL Dragons’s Rudy 3pointer that gave the Dragons the lead at 11-10 with 5:45 remaining in the quarter. It continued to be a close game throughout the quarter until Slinger’s marksman; Leonidez Avenido tied the game at 17-17 from downtown.

Both teams continued their blistering pace with the Dragons retaining the lead through their suffocating defence in the paint and using their size to hound the board, out rebounding Slingers 10-6. Dragons managed to force a turnover in the final minute but were unable to cash in resulting in a foul on the other end. Slinger’s Jeffers Kyle failed to convert both free throws to cut the lead. Nakiea Miller’s hot hands managed to steal the ball in the final seconds but missed the buzzer beating half court shot. Dragons’s ended the quarter shooting 50% from the field and a blistering 67% from 3 point land.

Looking to continue their hot streak from the first quarter, Dragons opened the 2^nd quarter with another 3 pointer from the corner. Both teams however went through a period of drought, failing to convert several attempts on both ends. Slingers however continued their attack and managed to break the drought in the 7^th minute through Pathman Matialakan’s basket. Guards Al Vergara and Oh Wei Jie used their speed and agility to attack the basket and creating plays for their other teammates.

Leonidez Avenido tied the with one of his four 3pointers of the night, tying the game at 33. There was some drama on court when Leonidez allegedly stepped on Dragons’s captain Alexander Hartman’s foot causing him to trip, no one was charged with a technical. Slingers managed to regain the lead on Ng Han Bin’s basket but it was the continuous plays and teamwork of Hartman and Miller that kept the Dragons in the game. A miss on the Slingers end resulted in a fast break by Hartman which tied the game at 40-40 with 2:02 remaining in the 2^nd.

Hartman continued his work by opening the 3^rd quarter with a turnaround jumper in the paint which was followed by a thunderous dunk that got the crowd and his team all fired up. His teammates fed off the energy from the crowd and continued their suffocating defence which led to the Slingers racking up 21 turnovers in the game.

Miller’s presence in the paint forced the Slingers to score from the outside. Slingers however had their marksmen No.18 Leonidez Avenido racking up 23points as well as big man No.24 Marcus Skinner muscling his way though Dragons’s interior defence for easy lay ups. Hartman closed out the 3^rd quarter with an isolation play on the top of the key and converting his crossover, bringing the Dragons’s lead to 67-59.

Things got more physical in the early 4^th quarter as Miller and Skinner exchanged blows below the basket. It was a close game throughout the 4^th as well but Dragon’s own marksman No.34 Patrick jan Cabahug and Miller’s interior plays kept the Dragons ahead. Slinger’s captain was fouled out of the game with 6:02 left in the game on one of Miller’s baseline drive. After getting a much needed rest, Hartman was inserted back into the game to continue his onslaught on the Slingers defence, making them seem flat footed at times.

Skinner however managed to bring his team within 3 points through his turnaround jumper from the baseline with 2:47 remaining in the game but unfortunately again through the stifling Dragons defence, they managed to force a turnover and drew a foul. Miller managed to convert the pair of free throws, making it a 2 possession game. A timeout was called by the Slingers coach for a final push but was nullified again by Miller’s 6^th block of the night and Rudy’s free throws which put the game away for good, earning the Dragons their first win of the season.

Black to Coach RP team in SEA Games

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 06:58:18 +0000

Source: Manila Bulletin

By WAYLON GALVEZ

September 27, 2010, 9:08pm

Ateneo’s multi-titled mentor Norman Black is set to be named head coach of the national team in next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo’s multi-titled mentor Norman Black is set to be named head coach of the national team in next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

A ranking official of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) said the 52-year-old Black was the top choice from a short list of coaches because of his achievements, particularly the past five years with the Blue Eagles in the UAAP.

“He will be named as coach of the national team,” said the source who asked not to be named as the 73rd UAAP best-of-three Finals is ongoing, which the reigning two-time champion Ateneo is currently leading opposite Far Eastern University, 1-0, after winning Game 1 (72-49) over the weekend.

SBP executive director Noli Eala confirmed that Black, who won numerous titles in the PBA and considered as one of the greatest imports ever to have played in Asia’s first play-for-pay league, is one of the top candidates with FEU coach Glenn Capacio.

“We’re not going to make any announcement until after the collegiate season. But we’re leaning on either Norman Black or Glenn Capacio depending on the outcome of the UAAP Finals,” said Eala.

However, the same source mentioned that Capacio has already declined the job and instead, offered support as part of the coaching staff.

According to Eala, he believes that Black is interested, but will need clearance from the Ateneo management should he be the one appointed for the post.

Eala also pointed to Black’s coaching experience, including a ‘Grand Slam’ championship he won with with San Miguel Beer in 1989, and a coaching stint with the national team during the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan.

That team, composed of the core of All-Filipino champion SMB led by Allan Caidic and reinforced by Alvin Patrimonio, as well as amateur standouts like Marlou Aquino and Kenneth Duremdes, lost in the bronze medal game against Japan.

Black is the third winningest coach in the 36-year history of the PBA with 10 championships, 9 with SMB and one with Sta. Lucia Realty.

The national team hasn’t lost the SEA Games basketball gold since 1991, defending its title seven straight times. The last RP team to win it came in 2007 during the Nakhonratchasima Games where the Harbour Centre backed Nationals – coached by Junel Baculi – won games by an average winning margin of 43.0 points.

The game was not included in the 2009 Laos Games. (Tempo Sports)

Players: Ramos Right Man For The Job

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 06:51:04 +0000

Source: Brunei Times

Jason Thomas

Bandar Seri Begawan – They say two heads are better than one. The Brunei Barracudas couldn’t agree more believing that Bong Ramos’s return at the helm will make the side more organised.

Still without a win in their first three Asean Basketball League (ABL) games, the Barracudas brought back Ramos to replace American Ozell Wells as the head coach on Wednesday, and the consensus among players is that the Filipino is the right man for the job with Wells still playing an important role as an assistant coach alongside Wong Yee Chai.

“It’s a good move,” said Vice-captain Esmond Tan, who played under Ramos during the team’s inaugural season last year. “Coach Wells is more into offence but coach Bong is a mixture of offence and defence.

“We already know his plays so for most of the locals it is easy. Coach Bong also emphasises punctuality so we get to him and it will take us time to adjust to his system. But I’m glad he’s still around, he knows a lot about basketball. “I’m looking forward to playing under coach Bong again and I’m sure he can bring us our first win,” Tan told The Brunei Times yesterday.

Ramos arrived from the Brunei International Airport straight to the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat on Wednesday night for his first training session with the players.

He won’t have to wait long to prove that the club made the right choice in re-hiring him, with the Barracudas facing Satria Muda BritAma at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta tomorrow. Though Ramos might be familiar with the locals, the backbone of the team will be playing under him for the first time. With the starting-five from last season having already left for greener pastures.

Ramos is looking at a whole new set of faces in his line-up. American imports Chris Garnett and Chris Commons join the trio of Asean imports of Ramsey Williams, Bryan Faundo and Chester Tolomia as the players who start every game.

Having played in a club that Ramos used to coach, point-guard Williams said that the former Indonesian national team handler’s reputation precedes him.

“I heard about coach Bong before when I was playing for Air21 Express (in the Philippine Basketball Association) last year. He was the team’s head coach but that was before my time.

“Coach Bong is more systematic … more focused on the little things. Running us through the sets and making sure we execute. Coach Wells is more motivational. “I think it’s going to be a lot better, a lot easier. More stable offensive sets, it won’t be so stagnant,” added the Filipino-American who runs the plays for the team.

Ramos was also assistant coach at PBA’s Barangay Ginebra and Talk n’ Text – working under ex-Philippines national team head coach Vincent `Chot’ Reyes in the latter.

Ramos made his name in the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) where he was named the 2003 Coach of the Year for guiding Aspac to a quadruple championship that same year.

Lim Aik Hock felt the communication skill Ramos brings to the floor is one of his strong points. “It’s easier with him because he speaks a lot louder. I can hear him from the other end of the court,” said Lim, adding that Ramos is more organised.

For Benjamin Lim, the difference between Wells and Ramos was crystal clear. “Coach Wells’s style is more laidback. He lets the players express themselves more,” he said.

“We will eventually get a win with coach Wells, but it will just take longer our season is only 15 games long. “With coach Bong it’s more controlled. It’s easier for him to get his ideas across and plus he knows the locals better.

“But it’s good that coach Wells is still around, we can really use him because he knows a lot about the international players and imports,” he added

Brunei’s first professional basketball club, Xavier Fong, Presley Ho, Hj Md Badri Hj Suhaili, Jamri Ramlee and Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin make up the rest of the Barracudas roster. . — Source: Brunei Times

Barracudas recall Ramos

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 03:11:34 +0000

Source: The Brunei Times

Bong Ramos. Picture: BT file

The Brunei Barracudas have dropped head coach Ozell Wells (Above) in favour of his predecessor Bong Ramos who led the Bruneian side to a 6-9 record in last season’s ABL. Wells is now the assistant coach of the team. Pictures: BT file

Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Wells named new assistant

STILL in search of their first Asean Basketball League (ABL) win, the Brunei Barracudas yesterday dropped head coach Ozell Wells in favour of his predecessor Bong Ramos.

The Filipino led the team to a 6-9 record last year that saw them fall short off making the playoffs in the inaugural season, finishing fifth in the six-team tournament.

As its stands now, the Barracudas will have a tough time just finishing second from bottom.

With three losses in their opening three games, the Barracudas are last in the league though the Westports KL Dragons have also yet to record a win.

Though Ramos is now back in the hot-seat, Wells will still play an integral role in the set-up as an assistant coach. The American joins Wong Yee Chai, who is in his second year as a deputy.

“We had to make a change,” said Barracudas manager Benny Ang yesterday.

“We felt something was wrong with the team. We brought back the man responsible for our success last year, a man familiar with Brunei basketball and more importantly, the ABL. He wasn’t available at the start of the season but he recently became free.

“The best part is that coach Wells graciously accepted the offer to stay on as an assistant and we appreciate that greatly. He knows a lot about basketball and he has a lot to offer.

“Now for the first time the team will have one head coach and two assistants, and that is something that was always lacking. Now, we have coaches well placed in various positions to better communicate with the players and bring the team forward.

“Coach Bong accepted the offer yesterday (Tuesday) and he arrived today (Wednesday),” added Ang.

The team had its first training session under Ramos yesterday evening.

Ramos was previously assistant coach at the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) Barangay Ginebra and Talk n’ Text working under ex-Philippines national team head coach Vincent ‘Chot’ Reyes in the latter.

Ramos made his name in the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) where he was named the 2003 Coach of the Year for guiding Aspac to a quadruple championship that same year.

He went on to become Indonesia’s national coach the same year.

The Barracudas will next take on Satria Muda BritAma in Jakarta on Sunday.The Brunei Times

Slingers burn Dragons 74-61 to secure second win of season

apsrising — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 02:54:30 +0000

Source: Red Hoops

By Kenneth Tan/Red Hoops. Photos by Vanessa Lim/Red Sports and Tan Jon Han/Red Sports

Leo Avenido (Slingers #18) celebrates after scoring two consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Filipino import ended the game with 20 points, of which five were from downtown, to lead the Slingers to their 74-61 victory over the KL Dragons. (Photo 1 © Tan Jon Han/Red Sports)

Singapore Indoor Stadium, Sunday, October 17, 2010 — The Singapore Slingers beat the visiting KL Dragons 74-61 in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) this afternoon at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The Slingers improved to a 2-1 win-loss record while the Dragons are still without a win three games into the second ABL season.

New Filipino import Leo Avenido was undoubtedly the hero as he repeated his 20-point scoring feat in the opening game against Satria Muda. Avenido had five three-pointers and eight rebounds in the game.

“Again, it’s just lucky that I make big shots! They (my teammates) assist me with those shots so I took it,” chuckled the 31-year-old when asked about his heroics.

However this was no luck according to Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang.

“I told him that if he’s open, he have to feel confident to take the shot because he’s one of our best shooters in the team. Rather than having him dwell on the ball, trying to draw fouls with three defenders on him, he just pushes himself through,” explained Neo.

Avenido was followed on the scoring charts by captain Kyle Jeffers’ 18 points and 12 rebounds. Al Vergara scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds and new American import Marcus Skinner chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds.

For the locals, it was a game to forget as only Steven Khoo and Desmond Oh were able to chip in with two points each, with the former grabbing one rebound and the latter grabbing five.

Coach Neo was definitely not satisfied with that.

“Their performances are up and down and not consistent. I’m quite tough on that but I have to give them confidence as they are locals. We need to promote them to get better,” he said.

In a game where they never relinquished the lead, the Slingers were always in command as their lead often went beyond 10 points. However the Dragons, led by new import Alexander Hartman, kept reducing the deficit to raise a few eyebrows among the local fans when they closed to within four points at 51-55 early in the fourth quarter.

In the end the Slingers managed to withstand that pressure with a late scoring spree that included five three-pointers to sink their neighbours by a 13-point margin.

Coach Neo was a relieved man after the match.

“Basically starting off, we shared the ball around, but after the first two quarters when we led by 10 to 13 points, we were a bit selfish. (In the second half) We’re suppose to come out hard, but we were a bit sloppy. On turnovers, we were not strong enough and did not value the ball thus giving them a chance to get back. But our defence stopped them and we hung on to the game at least,” he elaborated.

The Dragons have a 2-1 record over the Slingers in last season’s head-to-head encounters but the Slingers were determined to put one in the win column when Leo Avinedo stole the ball from Jason Killeen and assisted Kyle Jeffers to score within 10 seconds of the start.