By Dugout Philippines
SINGAPORE--Despite missing out on the top seed of the ABL semifinals, Singapore will still enter the knockout stages on a positive note.
The Slingers downed fellow semifinalists Saigon Heat, 100-73, in the final game of the regular season at the OCBC Arena on Sunday.
The match that started an hour and a half after the tipoff time of the Malaysia-Pilipinas game in Kuala Lumpur had Singapore torching Saigon, 25-12, in the final frame to finish the season with a 16-4 record.
But with the Dragons, who had already beaten the Kings just as the Slingers-Heat match was heading halftime, owning the tiebreaker, the Slingers slipped to the second seed.
Justin Howard and Xavier Alexander each tallied 17 points before sitting out the rest of the second half for Singapore, which will take on defending champion Hi-Tech Bangkok in the Final Four beginning on Saturday.
David Arnold had 26 markers, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal to lead Saigon, which will take on Malaysia in the other semifinal pairing that will start on Feb. 28.
Both series are best-of-three affairs with the Dragons and the Slingers holding home-court advantage.
Box Scores:
Singapore 100-Howard 17, Alexander 17, Rosales 14, Wu 14, Wong 11, Goh 8, Toh 8, Oh 5, Kwek 4, H. Ng 2, J. Ng 0, Lim 0
Saigon 73-Arnold 26, Williams 20, T. Nguyen 12, S. Nguyen 5, To 3, Morgan 3, Trieu 2, Tran 2, Ngo 0
Quarterscores: 23-21, 48-39, 75-61, 100-73
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