Dark horses Slingers proved to defending champions Brisbane Bullets, naysayers and fans alike that even underdogs have their day. For the Slingers, that day was Dec 2, as they earned themselves a 119-102 victory, ending the Bullets’ 4-game winning streak and their 6-game losing streak.

Dark horses Slingers proved to defending champions Brisbane Bullets, naysayers and fans alike that even underdogs have their day. For the Slingers, that day was Dec 2, as they earned themselves a 119-102 victory, ending the Bullets’ 4-game winning streak and their 6-game losing streak.

Possibly one of the biggest upsets of the season, the Slingers’ win was a smooth one, as the team breezed through all the quarters. Ironically, the Bullets didn’t have the pleasure charging through the Slingers, as their name might suggest.

1st Quarter Performance

The Slingers ditched their usual habit of starting slow, and showed no signs of a dilatory performance. Thankfully, the team ended the quarter 13 points ahead of the Bullets at 34-21 despite several careless turnovers.

2nd Quarter Performance

Mike Helms and Ben Knight led the team further as they shot multiple 3-pointers barely minutes into play, bringing the Slingers into a game-high lead of 20 points. Much as the Bullets tried, the laggard comeback they attempted did not suffice in absorbing the damage done by the mighty Slingers. The game ended at half time with the Slingers leading by 10 points with a score of 58-48.

3rd Quarter Performance

In the 2nd half, with Rod Grizzard and Helms both on fire, the Bullets failed to penetrate the Slingers’ surging victory as Helms led the charge to make use of the opposing team’s unusually weak aim and slippery passes.

Michael Wong and Koh Meng Koon were given court time, the 3,000strong  crowd gave resounding cheers of encouragement. A last-minute charge by the Bullets ended the quarter 83-74, with the Slingers still in the lead.

4th Quarter Performance

Much as the Bullets tried, they failed to catch up with the fantastic performance by the Slingers as the team breached the 100-point mark with more than half the quarter to go. The sturdy Slingers were tough nuts to crack, as their excellent transitions and aggressive rebounds, buoyed by dynamic duo Helms and Grizzard brought them to a victory of 119-102. Helms was later voted as Player of the Week for Round 11 of the 2007/2008 National Basketball League (NBL) HUMMER Championship on Dec 4.

The 1st Slinger to win the weekly honour this year, Helms narrowly edged out Gold Coast Blaze’s James Harvey and added another surprising achievement to the Slinger’s list this week.

The fact that this amazing American was playing for a team that is anchoring the 13-team NBL table and also joined the list of formerly honoured players consisting of players from championship chasing team shows the calibre of his skills.

Coaches’ Comments

Slingers head coach Gordon McLeod was understandably ecstatic following the team’s triumph:“We beat last year’s championship-winning team – they have been consistently scoring above the 120-mark in most of their games, but we kept them under a 100 points right up until the final minute,” he said.

“We have finally played well in all 4 quarters, and have been playing well in the past 4 weeks although we did not win on the road. We’ve been travelling for 2 weeks on away games, and it’s great to be home to such a rousing welcome. It was a great effort by the team, especially with Shane (McDonald) out with an ankle injury, and we hope to build on tonight’s result to tackle the rest of the season.”

A disappointed Bullets’ coach Joey Wright conceded the loss with a thumbs-up to the home team:

“The Slingers deserved to win because they played very well tonight, and I am disappointed with the results because you don’t expect to lose when you enter a game.”


Top 3 scorers:

(Slingers) Helms, 31 / Grizzard, 24 / Knight, 21
(Bullets) Williamson, 23/ Rychart, 20/ Bruton, 18


The Slingers will be playing their next home game against the West Sydney Razorbacks at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Dec 19, 7.30pm.