SINGAPORE - The Singapore Slingers will include two new import players to their 12-man squad for the Merlion Cup 2017, adding Filipino guard Mikee Reyes and Canadian centre Ryan Wright to the mix.
Lim Jun Yuan, Desmond Oh, Wong Wei Long, Tay Ding Loon, Toh Qing Huang, Leon Kwek, Xavier Alexander, Ng Han Bin,Delvin Goh and Russel Low complete the team.
The tournament, which takes place from Sept 20-24 at the OCBC Arena, will see the Slingers up against six of the best teams from around the region.
The teams are the Shanghai Sharks (China), Adelaide 36ers (Australia), Satria Muda Pertamina (Indonesia), Yulon Luxgen Dinos (Chinese Taipei), Jeonju KCC Egis (Korea) and NLEX-SCTEX (Philippines).
The Slingers will be under the guidance of seasoned coach Neo Beng Siang and assistant coach Michael Johnson. Oh will captain the team for this year's Merlion Cup.
Neo said: "The Slingers have had an exciting past few seasons making it to the ABL Finals two straight years, the team is pumped to battle at the Merlion Cup in front of our home fans.
"We'll see fantastic regional stars as well as former NBA (National Basketball Association) players and we are looking forward to taking on the best in the region," he added. "International tournaments such as the Merlion Cup bring the best talents together and it's our chance to show fans that we can compete at the highest level. The Merlion Cup is also valuable preparation for our 2017-18 ABL season."
Added captain Desmond Oh: "The teams playing for this year's Merlion Cup are tough but we are always ready to take on this challenge. There is always renewed vigour playing tournaments in Singapore especially with the supporters encouraging and cheering us on.
"We hope that we can continue to inspire local basketball players and that we can help in the continuous development of the sport in the country."
This year's Merlion Cup will see seven teams competing against each other for the first time, with three matches being played each tournament day.
Tickets for the event are available for purchase at http://www.apactix.com/events/detail/merlion-cup-2017
