The match was off to a bleak start as the Slingers played poorly against the Townsville Crocodiles in the 1st quarter. But as the crowd remained unfazed in their support of the Slingers, the game was increasingly better as the score elevated in the remaining quarters, scaling the team to new heights.

The Slingers not only packed a punch in the last few quarters but also put on quite a show. Rod Grizzard chalked up an impressive personal score of 32 points while John Fitzgerald was of great assistance in defence. Michael Wong also put in a glorious 2 pointer which gathered the strongest applaud of the night.

Overall, the team played well with Shane McDonald’s steady performance in addition to captain Ben Knight’s and Blagoj Janev’s assistance in netting in 22 and 17 points respectively.

The Crocodiles who lost Rosell Ellis and Bradley Sheridan due to injury might have been under strength but that was not the reason why the Slingers defeated them with a 101-86 win. It was visible that the away team had a different playing style, one that was far more aggressive, you might even say it was similar to that of the reptile they are named after.

In addition to injuring his elbow in the last 2 quarters of the game, star player Mike Helms was fouled out in the last 8mins 23secs of the 4th quarter, garnering echoing boos from the crowd. Despite this, the Slingers still managed to wriggle out of the reptile’s grip emerging as the victorious team.

1st Quarter Performance

Grizzard started off with a measly point while Janev and Knight netted 5 points similarly. With Helms scoring 8 points, they brought the Slingers to an 18 point score overall, which was still considered a far cry from the Crocodiles, who netted 35 points with the aid of Kelvin Robertson and Ben Pepper who scored 8 points each.

Not to forget, Galen Young, Daniel Egan, Greg Vanderjagt, Chris Cedar and John Rillie whose points here and there combined the score to 35 points, almost double of the Slingers’.

2nd Quarter Performance

While all the Townsville Crocodiles were instrumental in putting in points in the 2ndst quarter of the game, the Slingers weren’t far behind. They showed a slight improvement in their performance as they lagged behind 11 points. Knight stepped up his game, putting in 14 points for the team, ending the quarter with a score of 41 to 52. It was not much but it gave the fans some hope as the vision of the Slingers bagging their 1 win of the season became clearer.

3rd Quarter Performance

A long break at half time gave the Slingers a boost as they discussed what aspects they could work on as a team. After which, they came back into the game with great defence. And of course, as the adage goes, “the best offense is the best defense”.

As Grizzard’s inspiring 3-pointer propelled the Slingers to a lead of 68-67, emotions ran high as the vision of winning that night was as clear as day. The 3rd quarter was not only adrenaline pumping for the players but also gave the audience a rush of blood to the head as Grizzard put in a magnificent dunk, assisted by speedy McDonald.

Of course, the 2-pointer put in by Wong just before the buzzer rang scored the most resounding cheer of the night. Similar to a World Cup scenario, Wong ran with open arms towards his team as they punched their fists in the air. The ended with a fetching score of 72 to 67 with the Slingers in the lead.

4th Quarter

The 4th quarter was unnerving as crowd favourite Helms was fouled out. Thankfully, Fitzgerald stepped up and showed great defence, pulling down several rebounds. Another player who was fighting to keep the Slingers in the lead was Knight whose intense effort was evident from the look of pure determination he wore as he resolutely grabbed rebounds.

With an improved defence system, the team had several turnovers which also contributed to their offensive attempts. And this ended in a sweet, sweet victory for the Slingers with a lead of 101-86.

McLeod Praises

“I thought everyone really contributed well, that’s what we need to have success in the league. Hopefully our offense will start to improve, we’ll be better at learning how to use different players. To get this win is a real boost.”

Indeed, as Coach Gordon McLeod said, this win was not only a boost to the Slingers’ morale but so also to the team’s fans, whose energy was felt strongly in the stadium. The coach not only dished out praises for each and every player on the team, he also gave credit to the wonderful, albeit small crowd that turned up to support the Slingers.

Coach McLeod said, “The thing that was absolutely fantastic was, there wasn’t a huge crowd tonight but boy didn’t they make some noise! The atmosphere was electric, it was great.”

He also pointed out that the Slingers fed off the supportive atmosphere and such energy from the crowd is needed, even when things do not go well.

While the boys deserved their win, so did the Slingers fans who were out there screaming their lungs out. Feelings were indescribable and the only way to share the taste of triumph is to be there for the Slingers when they play their next home game against the Melbourne Tigers on Wednesday, 17 Oct, 7.30pm at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Go, go, go Slingers!

Top 3 scorers:

(Slingers) Grizzard, 32 / Knight, 22 / Janev, 17)
(Crocodiles) Pepper, 17 / Robertson, 15 / Young 14 / Rillie, 14

The Slingers will have a 10 day break before heading to Queensland for consecutive games with the Gold Coast Blaze and the Brisbane Bullets on 13 and 14 Oct respectively.