Slingers repeat over RP Patriots

MANILA, Philippines - The Singapore Slingers hammered out a 67-59 victory over the Philippine Patriots to tighten up the battle for the No. 1 seeding in the Final Four in the first ASEAN Basketball League at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last Wednesday.

Import Michael LeBlanc sizzled for 21 points, including 15 in the second period that kept the Slingers in the thick of the fight after the Patriots threatened to pull away early.

Filipino reinforcement Al Vergara and Steven Khoo then took over in the final period as the Slingers beat the Patriots for the second time in three meetings.

The win was Singapore’s seventh against four losses while dealing the Patriots their third setback against nine victories.

Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma and the Brunei Barracudas tote 7-5 and 5-6 records, respectively.

The Patriots need to win their remaining three games, including a showdown with the Kuala Lumpur Dragons tomorrow, to claim the top spot and the homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Patriots surged ahead at 23-9 but LeBlanc took over for the Slingers, who also toughened up on defense that saw them limit the RP cagers to just eight points in the second quarter that ended at 24 all.

Vergara and Khoo then combined in an 8-0 run to turn a slim 57-54 lead to an 11-point spread, 65-54, with a minute left in the contest.

“This is not to take anything away from the Slingers because they really executed their plays on both ends very well. But I felt we didn’t play smart. We had opportunities but we simply could not cash in on it and we also tried to outshoot them when we started very well defensively,” said Patriots coach Loiue Alas.

Jason Dixon, who posted his seven straight double-double performance for the Patriots, also had 21 points but got only six rebounds this time.

LeBlanc drew support from Kyle Jeffers who made 11 points and 10 rebounds while Vergara had nine points while orchestrating the Slingers’ offensive plays.