ABL: Singapore slings Beermen to second loss

The league-leading Singapore Slingers leapt out to an early lead and later survived a fourth quarter rally try by the San Miguel Beermen, to win 71-63 on their home court, for their fourth victory in five tries, Wednesday night in the Asean Basketball League.

In what became the theme of the day, Donald Dulay connected on his side's first attempt of the game, a three-pointer that gave the Slingers a lead they would not extinguish for the remainder of play.

 

By halftime, Singapore's lead ballooned to 13, and it became 16, 41-25, less than a half a minute into the third, on Donald Little's two-pointer.

An 8-1 run by the Beermen over the third and fourth quarters made it clear that they weren't going down without a fight, but Filipino-American Chris Canta snapped the Slingers' quiet spell, making it a five-point game, 56-51, at the 8:52 mark of the fourth quarter.

 

Undaunted, Beerman Froilan Baguion hit a two-pointer that cut the lead down to two, and then Junemar Fajardo equalized things, for just the first time since the opening tip, at 59-all, after putting back his own miss.

But the Slingers were equally unfazed, answering back with seven straight, five by Wei Long Wong, in a run that made it 66-59 with 56 seconds left to play, and the game firmly in Singapore's hands.

Dulay, who most recently played for the Alaska Aces in the PBA, sizzled from the field for the Slingers, leading them in scoring with 23 points on a 7-of-15 shooting clip.

Louis Graham came off the bench for 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Wei Long Wong dropped 11.

 

The Beermen got a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds from Darlon Johnson, and 15 off the bench from Baguion, but poor shooting did them in all day. 

San Miguel shot just 35 percent from the field, compared to Singapore's 40 percent clip. The Beermen were also tepid from long-range, making just two-of-16 treys, and the line, where they were 13-of-22. 

Singapore is now on top of the standings with a 4-1 record, while San Miguel wound up at .500 with a 2-2 mark. — Adrian Dy/JVP, GMA News

Scores:

Singapore Slingers 71—Dulay 23, Graham 16, Wong 11, Little 10, Oh 5, Canta 5, Matialakan 1, Lim 0, Khoo 0.

 

San Miguel Beermen 63—Johnson 19, Baguion 15, Thomson 10, Fajardo 6, Avenido 4, Rizada 4, Fernandez 3, De La Pena 2, Cabatu 0, Gonzales 0, Luanzon 0, Mangahas 0.

 

Quarter scores: 24-14, 39-26, 54-39, 71-63.