Slingers Spurred To Face Sydney
After racing to a 3-0 unbeaten record in the Singapore Challenge Series, the Singapore Slingers now face their strongest challenge to date as they take on the Sydney Spirit, the first non-Asian team to feature in the series this year, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 4pm this Sunday (today).
The Slingers outfit, which pulled out of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) this season to focus on preparing for a proposed ASEAN league in 2009, will certainly be out to prove themselves against the Sydney Spirit, a team which currently lies 9th in the 10-team league, having won one out of their four games this season.
Slingers head coach Gordie McLeod will certainly fancy his team’s chances, given their impressive victories over Filipino teams Air 21 and the Purefoods Giants in the first three games of the Singapore Challenge Series.
“I’m very pleased with how far the Slingers have come and the good contributions we’ve gotten from the whole team in our games so far,” said McLeod.
However, he warned that facing the Sydney Spirit would be a whole new ball game.
“Sydney will certainly bring with them a very different playing style from the teams we’ve been playing, so the key to victory will be our ability to adapt to that,” commented McLeod.
Former Adelaide 36er forward Darren Ng will look to lead the team with his NBL experience and silky shooting touch. He top scored for the Slingers with 23 points in the last game against Purefoods Giants, making 75% of his shots from beyond the arc in front of a record crowd of 6,000 spectators.
“The game against the Sydney Spirit will be a good opportunity for us to measure ourselves against an NBL team and know just where we stand,” said Ng.
“We’ve been working on our chemistry and teamwork throughout the last three games, and we definitely relish the chance to prove ourselves against Sydney this Sunday.”
Come at 4pm and buy the tickets onsite at the SISTIC counters!
