source: singaporeslingers.com

The Singapore Slingers dug deep this Sunday, as they managed to upset ABL contenders the Philippine Patriots 74-69 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Slingers center Kyle Jeffers led his team with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Michael LeBlanc added 15 points playing a versatile role on both ends of the floor for the home team.

The Philippine Patriots were led by Brandon Powell, who scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the visitors, with Jason Dixon adding 12 points in the paint.

The Patriots had set up their stall to shackle Singapore’s Al Vergara, but the diminutive point guard had other plans. The Slingers’ Filipino import did the little things in this game, like playing lockdown defence, and came up with a steal and numerous deflections for his troubles. Singapore fed on his energy and played smothering D to force the Patriots into a timeout with 5:16 left in the first period.

However, the Filipino outfit displayed a higher level of athleticism, with Brandon Powell getting into the paint at will and finishing strong.

Patriots coach Bog Adronado gave his team a pep talk during the timeout and it invigorated the visiting side, as the Patriots started pressing at the halfcourt, with Christian Coronel stealing the ball from backup Wong Wei Long to go for an uncontested layup.

A LeBlanc jumper from 15 feet brought the first quarter to an end as the Slingers somehow managed to grab an 18-15 lead, with the Slingers’ bigman scoring six points to lead the home side.

The Slingers came out roaring from the break, revving up their half court press to force the Patriots into difficult shots, as Singapore took a 25-16 lead with six minutes to go. Al Vergara ran the break to perfection in this run, once lobbing the ball to Marcus Ng for the ally-oop.

But the Patriots rallied behind their backcourt of Warren Ibanez and Coronel, squeezing the life out of every Slinger possession.

With the home team having difficulty even beating the shot clock, the Filipino side, led by Jerwin Gaco’s six points in the second period, battled back to take a 27-26 lead with less than three minutes to go.

Wong Wei Long then saved the Slingers’ quarter as he exploded for seven straight points within thirty seconds, first drawing a foul on Froilan Baguion on a three-pointer. The backup PG completed the four-point play by sinking the ensuing freethrow and then sank another trey as the Patriots turned the ball over.
Wei Long’s heroics ensured that the Slingers went into the half-time break with a slender 34-30 lead.

The third quarter continued to be a defensive struggle, as both teams found the going tough with shots constantly going in and out of the basket.

The Slingers, however, managed to find chinks in the Patriots armour, relying on three different players to score and take a 43-34 lead with a little over seven minutes left in the quarter. Al Vergara once again showed his veteran savvy as he sank a trey, then stole the ball to feed Jeffers for a dunk, forcing Coach Adornado to call time.

The game descended into a foul fest following the timeout, with Jeffers getting called for his fourth foul halfway through the third, putting the Slingers over the limit and the Patriots on the free-throw line.

The Patriots resorted to a full court press to force the Slingers into turnovers, and it showed early promise as Singapore guard Desmond Oh lost control of the ball in the back court, which led to an uncontested Brandon Powell layup.

The Filipino team’s plan backfired as Michael LeBlanc took it upon himself to bring the ball up the court, slaloming past three defenders before kicking the ball to Pathman Matialakan to kiss it off the glass for two points.

Emotions ran high as the two-thousand strong crowd’s energy spilled onto the court, with backup guard Warren Ibanez caught in the crossfire as he took an elbow to his face while attempting to take a charge on LeBlanc. Ibanez was helped off the court after a medical timeout, much to the relief of everyone.

LeBlanc sank both free throws to extend Singapore’s lead to 54-40, with Baguion pilfering the ball from Vergara to score off a layup to end a physical third quarter.
Patriots coach Bogs Adornado was adamant that his full court press could trim the Slingers’ 12-point lead, and it worked in the fourth quarter, as fatigue and unforced errors from Singapore fuelled the Filipino’s eight-point run to start the fourth.

Coach Frank Arsego countered by adding size to his front line, inserting Kyle Jeffers back into the game. But it was fellow bigman Michael LeBlanc that stole the show, operating as an emergency point-forward, as he rebounded the ball and ran the offence, even scoring four valuable points to stem the Patriots’ tide to put the Slingers back up by ten points with less than five minutes to go.

The Patriots continued pressing the full length of the court, with Coach Adornado instructing the taller and longer Khasim Mirza to mark Singapore’s primary ballhandlers. The strategy, however, was rendered useless as Wong Wei Long left the swingman in his dust to go coast-to-coast for the breakaway lay-in.

With 1:49 left on the clock and the Slingers up 69-61, LeBlanc, who had been impressive up to that point, made an uncharacteristic error by committing a flagrant foul on Ibanez.
The Patriots only scored a single point from the flagrant, much to the power forward’s relief, but Ibanez returned to stick a cold dagger into the hearts of Singapore the next possession, sinking a go-ahead three to cut the deficit to four points at 69-65, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Jeffers was fouled on the next possession, but made only one of two free throws to keep the Slingers up by five points. Marcus Ng then attempted to take a charge as Brandon Powell knifed into the lane with 26 seconds left, but was called for a blocking foul, sending the guard to the line.

Powell would sink only one of the two free-throws, but Singapore made it difficult on themselves as they threw the ball away after securing the rebound, leading to a Patriots timeout.

The Slingers managed to force a turnover after the timeout, as the Patriots began fouling to stop the clock, but Singapore managed to withstand the barrage of fouls to prevail 74-69 over the ABL contenders.

The scores:

Singapore Slingers 74 - Jeffers 17, LeBlanc 15, Ng 13, Vergara 11, Matialakan 8, W. Wong 7, Hong 2, Oh 1, S. Wong 0, Sadasivan 0, Khoo 0, Lim 0.

Philippine Patriots 69 - Powell 15, Dixon 12, Coronel 9, Ybañez 8, Gaco 7, Baguion 6, Mirza 5, Sta. Maria 4, Wainwright 3, Andaya 0, Daa 0, Mondragon 0.

Quarterscores: 18-15, 34-30, 54-42, 74-69


Complete Stats:
http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/4466/01/09/87/76VtH0vN9YPjk



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