SINGAPORE – Trailing by a massive 16 points with five seconds to go, the Singapore Slingers had no chance of winning, but could reduce their deficit against Hong Kong Eastern with one last attempt.
But after a lacklustre pass from Larry Liew to the unmarked Chanceler Gettys was intercepted by Eastern’s O’Darien Bassett at the three-point line, Gettys could only sigh in disbelief.
Bassett then ran out of time to score another basket in a sequence that summed up the Slingers’ disjointed performance on Saturday night. They struggled in almost all departments, slumping to a 68-52 defeat at the OCBC Arena.
It was their first defeat after three matches in the 2023 Asean Basketball League Invitational and the rueful smiles on the faces of coach Neo Beng Siang, Gettys and Xavier Alexander after the game said it all.
Neo had expected a tough fight from Eastern but was left disappointed by his players’ meek performance.
He said: “We weren’t disciplined enough to execute our offensive and overall, our defensive end is also horrible.
“Eastern are tough, they’re aggressive and that really killed us because we were a bit soft today.”
The Slingers had a decent start, drawing fouls and making full use of the resulting free throws to race to a 5-0 lead. But two three-pointers from Bassett wiped out that advantage and the momentum quickly shifted.
The hosts could not find any rhythm with their shooting, converting just four of their 20 field-goal attempts in the first quarter – with Americans Kentrell Barkley and Alexander drawing blanks.
The only saving grace was at the free-throw line. The Slingers made nine of 11 to keep pace with Eastern as the first period ended 18-18.
Despite the crowd cheering them on, the Slingers could not keep up with Eastern’s speedy and patient play and trailed 37-31 at half time.
The second half followed the same pattern as the Slingers failed to match their opponents’ physicality and missed too many shots. Eastern outscored them 18-9 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 55-40 and were largely untroubled in the final period.
The Slingers made just 19 of 70 field goals, a woeful 27 per cent. They sank three treys, missing 12, while the visitors nailed seven from beyond the arc and converted 28-of-65 (43 per cent) of their total field goals.
Taking advantage of the Slingers’ sloppy play, Eastern made seven steals and committed seven turnovers. The Slingers stole the ball only once and gave it away 13 times.
Despite seven rebounds and three assists, American veteran Alexander had a match to forget.
He missed all nine of his attempts and failed to score a single point while clocking the full 40 minutes. Gettys scored 25 and had 22 rebounds, while remaining import Barkley had 13 points and rebounds apiece.
Neo said Alexander, 34, was dealing with personal issues but called on the rest of the team to step up ahead of Sunday’s match against Zamboanga Valientes.
“Every player has to be accountable. Players get negative, especially when they’re not scoring and want to perform,” said Neo.
“It is what it is, I have to keep encouraging them and let them feel confident. I hope the players go back, have a good rest and come back focused.”
Alexander admitted he was disappointed in himself. He said: “I’m the leader, I have to take full responsibility of what my team does.
“They look to me to be the leader on offence or defence and I just need to play harder and better.
“Today was just not my day. I’m pretty upset I wasn’t able to help my team on the offensive end, I just look to be more aggressive the next day.
“It’s early in the season, we can only go back to the drawing board...
“Tonight was a good lesson for us. Then we’ll forget about it. Tomorrow is a whole new day, so we need to come with confidence and be ready to play.”
