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| ABL |
By Ivan Saldajeno
SINGAPORE--The Singapore Slingers began 2016 on a high note with a 73-65 victory over Mono Vampire in the first ABL game of the new year at the OCBC Arena on Sunday night.
The Slingers needed to withstand a final outburst by the slumping Mono Vampire to regain solo lead in the team standings.
Singapore nearly blew a 20-point third quarter lead as Mono Vampire went on a 16-2 fourth quarter run to cut the gap down to two, 65-63, with 2:34 remaining in the game.
But back-to-back triples from Wu Qingde saved the day for the Slingers as they closed the game on an 8-2 rally to notch their ninth win in 11 matches, a half-game above Hi-Tech Bangkok at the top of the table.
Xavier Alexander led Singapore with a near triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, while Wu tallied 12 points overall.
Anthony McClain had 19 markers of his own with 14 boards, while new non-Asian reinforcement Michael Fey contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one block for the slumping Mono Vampire, which slipped to 2-10, dropping its first game with new coach Soonthornpong Mawinthorn.
Box Scores:
Singapore 73-Alexander 22, Howard 17, Wu 12, Rosales 9, Oh 8, H. Ng 5, Toh 0
Mono Vampire 65-McClain 19, Kruatiwa 18, Fey 11, Apiromvilaichai 10, Sekteera 3, Baguion 2, Muangboon 2, Samerjai 0, Chaiwat 0
Quarterscores: 24-18, 39-26, 59-47, 73-65
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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