Barracudas 89-95 Slingers

Singapore Slingers defeated the Brunei Barracudas 89-95 to secure home-court advantage for the ABL Play-offs.

Brunei who were playing to secure a berth in the play-offs were well-supported by their very vocal home crowd and made a late run at the Slingers to close the final score to 6 points at the final siren. The Slingers lead by as much as 20 points during the contest and never trailed during the game.

For the Slingers import Michael Leblanc was in outstanding form and finish the game with 26 points and 6 rebounds. He was well supported by import Kyle Jeffers who finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Filipino import Al Vergara also had a good game finishing with 15 points.

One of the keys however to the Slingers victory was the play of local Singaporean players Hong Wei Jian 11 points & Desmond Oh 10 points who stepped up and performed under pressure. They were ably supported by Michael Wong, Wong Wei Long, Pathman and Steven Khoo who all made solid contributions in the win.

For the Barracudas Reggie Larry toiled all night and Leonidaz Avenido who finished with a game high 30 points was outstanding for Brunei.

The game start time was delayed by 15 minutes as the Brunei fans who flocked to see their local team play were lined up trying to get into the venue.

Slingers GM Michael Johnson stated "Tonight's game was played with play-off type intensity and atmosphere. The Brunei fans were outstanding and it was probably the best atmosphere we have played in front of on the road all season. This type of game atmosphere should help the Slingers preparations for the ABL play-offs."

Barracudas Team Manager Benny Ang was disappointed with the game's outcome but credited the Barracudas' players for not giving up "We feel disappointed for the droves of fans who came out and packed the stadium to support the Barracudas, as they were expecting history in the making."

"It is now a nervous three-day wait as we head towards the match against the Philippine Patriots and await the outcome of the KL Dragons match against Satria Muda BritAma".

Regardless of the loss, Ang holds great hope for basketball in Brunei: "The Barracudas would like to thank the founders of ABL as it has allowed us to show that there is life in basketball in Brunei."

The Slingers now fly to Bangkok were they will finish out the regular season against the Thailand Tigers on January 24 before returning home to Singapore to prepare for their first play-off game against Satria Muda BritAma on January 31 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.