Basketball: Slingers lose 88-79 to Matrix Malaysia to slide down ABL table

SINGAPORE – Ahead by 13 points against NS Matrix Malaysia with less than nine minutes on the clock, the Singapore Slingers were in prime position to make it three-for-three in the 2023 Asean Basketball League Invitational in Batam on Monday.

But it all began to unravel in the fourth quarter at the Hi-Test Arena, as the Malaysians turned up the tempo, using their physicality to overpower the Singapore side and beat their Causeway rivals 88-79.

In their earlier meeting in Singapore on Jan 2, the Slingers had snatched a narrow 84-82 victory over the Matrix.

But the Malaysians had clearly done their homework, noting that their opponents had struggled against more physical teams in their losses to Hong Kong Eastern and Zamboanga Valientes in the first round.

Slingers coach Neo Beng Siang was not satisfied with his team’s performance as they had let slip a 16-point lead. The loss of starter Larry Liew, who injured his finger in the first quarter and was taken to hospital, had affected the team, he said.

He added: “After Larry injured his finger, we weren’t playing together and we were playing too individually. The opponents also became very physical and we’re too soft... We need to stay positive and play together as a team, stick to the game plan and be accountable individually.”

Buoyed by back-to-back wins in Batam, the Slingers were on a roll as they raced to a 10-0 lead by capitalising on their rivals’ lax defending and staying sharp to force turnovers.

While the Malaysians reduced the gap with crucial three-pointers by Ting Chun Hong, the first quarter ended with the Slingers leading 28-21. The Matrix continued to pressure their opponents in the next two quarters but the Slingers held on to close the half at 49-35 before claiming the third quarter 65-56.

But things started to go south in the final period as the Slingers’ defence fell apart. At 76-76, the Malaysians picked up a rebound after Delvin Goh missed a three-pointer and Jonathan Wong sank a trey to give his side the lead for the first time.

The numbers told the story for the Slingers in the fourth quarter – they were outscored 32-14 as the Matrix completed their comeback to clinch the win and leapfrog their rivals to second spot in the eight-team table.

The Singapore side are fourth with 10 points, two behind Matrix and Saigon Heat, and three behind leaders Hong Kong Eastern.

Kentrell Barkley and Chanceler Gettys were the Slingers’ top performers on Monday with 20 points apiece. Barkley had 17 rebounds and seven assists, while Gettys posted six and five respectively.

Gettys, 28, said: “We started well. We played great team defence and had good transition. Then we slowly declined, they got physical with us and we didn’t handle it well. We need to improve our physicality and ability to stick together as a team... bounce back with a win, that’s what we need to do.”

Local stalwart Goh, 27, added: “We needed to make some adjustments to our defence but they were just breaking us down. We have to be mentally tougher moving forward. Now, we will get some rest, watch some game footage and come out ready to play.”