Salvacion and Tubid are the Stat Performers Against Singapore Slingers

From Singapore Slingers Website

The Singapore Slingers ended the Singapore Challenge Series on a high with a dominant 100-68 victory against Ginebra Barangay at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Armien Kirkland was the top scorer of the game with 23 points and Sunday Salvacion led the visitors with 17 points.

Playing their much anticipated season finale in front of more than 4,000 enthusiastic fans, the Slingers started the ball rolling for a dazzling display of basketball action with a powerful alleyoop dunk by star forward Eric Sandrin off a timely assist from Al Vergara on the fast break to open the scoring for the home team.

This paved the way for coast to coast action that thrilled the fans as the teams traded the lead for the next three minutes.

Rebounding, however, proved to be the Achilles heel of Ginebra Barangay as they were out-hustled on the boards by the home team, grabbing only 5 rebounds while the Slingers crashed 11 boards.

Sandrin led the Slingers with 5 rebounds in the quarter, while sharp shooter Armien Kirkland found his groove downtown, leading the team with a perfect 4-for-4 from the field which yielded 9 points as the Slingers went into the break leading 26-21.

The visitors kept the game close in the second quarter, as guard Sunday Salvacion led his team with 7 points in the quarter. Local player Hong Wei Jian gave the Slingers a double-digit lead (35-25) for the first time in the game with a timely triple and the visitors proved unable to close the gap, ending the quarter down 38-45.

The turning point of the game emerged in a thrilling third quarter that saw key momentum swings between the two teams.

Encouraged by the thunderous crowd, Ginebra Barangay mounted a determined comeback after halftime as Ronald Tubid ignited his team with two triples to inch his team within 2 points of the Slingers at 49-51.

However, the Slingers kept their composure to keep the visitors at bay and erupted on a 9-0 run with a Sandrin triple and three consecutive fast breaks in the last two minutes of the quarter to gain an 18-point lead (69-51) before the start of the final quarter.

The Slingers’ team effort eventually proved too strong for the visitors, as five players (Armein Kirkland, Eric Sandrin, John Fitzgerald, Al Vergara, Hong Wei Jian) chipped in with double-digits each to lead the team to a 100-68 victory. Local player Hong Wei Jian, who had his strongest performance of the season with 11 points, added the icing on the cake for the Slingers with a spectacular dunk on a fast break to end the game on a sweet 100-point note for the home team.

Slingers coach Frank Arsego was extremely proud of his team’s effort. He said: “We played a tremendous game and the team really kept its composure well to win tonight.”

Praising Weijian’s effort, he added: “Weijian is a very hardworking chap that has a lot of potential. You have just seen a fraction of what he’s capable of today. If he continues training hard, I’m sure he can be someone special for Singapore one day.”

A visibly happy Weijian said: “I feel that I still have room for improvement but I’m really happy to be given the opportunity today and I I’m glad to have repaid the coach’s faith in me.”

Star Performers:

Singapore Slingers:
1. Armein Kirkland (23 pts, 5 RBs)
2. Eric Sandrin (20 pts, 11 RBs)

Singapore Slingers: Ginebra Barangay:
1. Sunday Salvacion (17 pts, 4 RBs)
2. Ronald Tubid (12 pts, 6 RBs)