H O O K E D - Get high on the Singapore Sling(ers)!

Get high on the Singapore Sling(ers)!

Written by Darrel Chua

Page 1 of 2

With the examinations over and Christmas just around the corner, one can't help but taste the holiday spirit in the air. After all, school's out and the most wonderful season of the year is here! It doesn't get any better, does it?

Well, yes it does. Singapore's first and only professional basketball team - the Singapore Slingers - took the festivities up a notch with a resounding 119 - 102 victory over the National Basketball League (NBL)'s defending champions - the Brisbane Bullets. Now, that calls for some celebration!

        To the uninitiated, the Singapore Slingers is one of the 13 teams which play in Australia's Hummer National Basketball League (NBL). Comprising teams from New Zealand and Australia, the Slingers is the league's newest member and the only team from Asia.

        Currently in their second season, the Slingers (one wonders why they are named after a cocktail) prop the table and have come off a 0 - 6 losing streak with a convincing win over the Bullets.

        Watching from our exclusive courtside seats, courtesy of Mr Singh, co-owner of the Slingers, the team hardly looked like one which has not tasted victory in their last 6 games.

#33 Ben Knight, captain of the Slingers, leading by example. He finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Spurred by a vociferous 4000 strong home crowd, the home team surged to a commanding 34 - 21 lead on the back of a 14 - 3 run, in the last 4 minutes of the first quarter.

Star shooter #23 Mike Helms bags another 2 on his way to a game high 31 points.

        The Slingers never relinquished the lead although the Bullets did come close to snatching the lead at the start of the fourth quarter. A couple of shots from beyond the arc by Ere #25, Bruton #3 and a jumper by Williamson #4, cut the lead to 4 points with 9:23 remaining on the clock.

        The Singapore team, however, was determined not to slip up. With Mike Helms #31, Grizzard #1 and the Slingers' captain, Ben Knight #33, emerging as the lead playmakers of the match, the combined score of 76 points from the trio eventually led their team to the emphatic victory.

        The Slingers' confidence that they had bagged the game in the last few minutes of the match was starkly evident with the introduction of 3 local players into the match. Michael Wong #11, Koh Meng Koon #10 and P.Mathialakan #15 were given the opportunity to pit their skills against a much higher level of competition than they were used to. Expectedly, the home crowd greeted this change in the on-court players enthusiastically, with their rapturous applause.

        It was more of an exhibition match in the final minutes as a visibly despondent Bullets team realized the insurmountable task in front of them. Again, the crowd got onto their feet when Grizzard slammed home a monstrous dunk off a fast break to leave everyone exhilarated and in awe.

#1 Grizzard bringing down the house with a one-handed jam

The ecstatic coach of the Slingers, Gordon Mcleod, pointed out that his team played "4 quarters of great defense" and that it was sheer hard work and determination that pulled off this upset.

It couldn't have come at a better time too, as it was just the sort of morale-boosting performance to see the team through the next few games away from home. The spectators, buoyed by the team's victory, were clearly in a celebratory mood as well. Their incessant cheering, clapping and jeering made for a humorous and entertaining experience of being part of such a boisterous crowd.

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