Singapore Slingers
Singapore Slingers | ||||
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Leagues | NBL (2006–2008) ABL (2009–2023) | |||
Founded | 15 March 2006 | |||
History | Canberra Cannons 1979–2003 Hunter Pirates 2003–2006 Singapore Slingers 2006–present | |||
Arena | OCBC Arena | |||
Capacity | 3,000 | |||
Location | Kallang, Singapore | |||
Team colours | Red, white, gold | |||
Main sponsor | PengWine | |||
General manager | Michael Johnson | |||
Head coach | Neo Beng Siang | |||
Ownership | HSJ Pte. Ltd. Basketball Enterprises Pte Ltd | |||
Championships | 0 | |||
Website | SingaporeSlingers.com | |||
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The Singapore Slingers are a
The Slingers formerly competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL), becoming the first – and so far, the only – Asia-based club to compete in the NBL when they joined at the start of the 2006–07 NBL season.[2] They withdrew from the competition in July 2008,[3] with their decision influenced by the financial costs of travelling.[4][5] They subsequently competed in the "Singapore Challenge Series", where they played against a range of teams from the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Australia.
In October 2009, the Slingers were one of the inaugural teams that began competition in the ASEAN Basketball League. From their inception in 2006 until 2014, the Slingers played their home games at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Ahead of the 2014 ABL season, the Slingers moved into the OCBC Arena. In November 2016, the Singapore Slingers and StarHub have announced a partnership that will see the pay TV operator become the Official Broadcast Partner of the Singapore Slingers for three years.[6] In the 2019–20 ABL season, Singtel became the Official Broadcast Partner of the Singapore Slingers.
History
1979–2002: Canberra Cannons
The franchise originated as the
The Cannons failed to make the playoffs over the next few seasons but won their first NBL championship in 1983 where they downed the
The title was retained in 1984, when the Cannons beat the Brisbane Bullets 84–82 in the Grand Final. Smyth had another big season, being named to the All-NBL First Team for the third straight year.
Canberra made the playoffs for the next three seasons but would fall to the Bullets in the semi-final each time, though Bob Turner did win the club's first NBL Coach of the Year Award in 1985. Championship glory eluded the Cannons until 1988, when they beat the North Melbourne Giants 2–1 in a best-of-three championship series. Smyth was once again was named to the All-NBL First Team after leading the league in three-point percentage, free-throw percentage and steals, and was also named NBL's Best Defensive Player for the third time, while 7'0" (213 cm) American import center Willie Simmons led the league with 3.6 blocks per game. North Melbourne exacted their revenge in 1989, beating the Cannons 2–0 in the Grand Final series. 1989 would prove to be the last NBL Grand Final the Cannons would appear in.
The Cannons failed to make the playoffs again until 1992, where they were eliminated in the first round by the eventual champions, the South East Melbourne Magic. The club's greatest player Phil Smyth left the team after 10 seasons and returned home to join the Adelaide 36ers from 1993 and the Cannons would not reach the playoffs again until 1996, making the semi-finals before being eliminated by the Melbourne Tigers 2–1. Canberra again made the finals in 1997, but were eliminated in the first round 2–1 by the North Melbourne Giants.
Financial problems dogged the club in the late 1990s and the team finally succumbed to its money woes in December 2002. The club managed to play all its remaining games of the 2002–03 NBL season, but were unable to hold on to their star players, including C. J. Bruton, the son of then-coach Cal Bruton and all of their imports. Canberra finished with an 11–19 record and the team was bought by a consortium that moved the team to Newcastle.
2003–2006: Hunter Pirates
After relocating to Newcastle, the new owners renamed the franchise the Hunter Pirates, keeping with the Cannons' maritime battlers theme. The Pirates played their home games at the 4,658 seat Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
In its first season as the Pirates, the team came last after winning only two games. The Pirates' coach, Bruce Palmer who had coached North Melbourne to its 1989 Grand Final win over Canberra, was also controversially fired partway into the season and was replaced by his assistant coach, former Melbourne Tigers championship forward Dave Simmons.
In the 2004–05 NBL season, former Perth Wildcats, Australian Boomers and Australian Institute of Sport coach Dr. Adrian Hurley was employed as coach. A mostly-retooled team produced much better results, finishing 8th with a 15–17 record. The Pirates made the NBL Playoffs only to be eliminated by the Brisbane Bullets in the opening round. Hurley would quit at the end of the 2005–06 season after the Pirates were beaten by the Cairns Taipans in the playoffs.
The club had plans to move from the Entertainment Centre to a new stadium to be built at the
In the end, the Pirates' licence was sold to a Singapore consortium, who renamed the club as the Singapore Slingers and began competing in the 2006–07 season NBL > News.
2006–2008: Singapore Slingers in the NBL
Although the Slingers had relocated to Singapore before the start of the 2006–07 NBL season, they still played occasional home games in Newcastle. The Slingers home venue would be the 12,000 seat Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The re-branding of the club was the brainchild of NBL stalwart and former Canberra dual-championship winning coach Bob Turner who took over as the Slingers' CEO after the handover. The NBL believed the club would open the league to wider audiences and greater revenue. However, due to the distance involved, the team agreed to cover the travel expenses of all the teams which played them in Singapore.[7] The club averaged crowds of only 3,500 at its home games during the season.
In July 2008, following their second season in the NBL, the Slingers withdrew from the league due to the dramatic increase in international travel costs. The Slingers determined that the future focus of the team needed to be on participating in competitions within its local region in Asia rather than weekly games in Australia and New Zealand.[8]
2008–2009: First Singapore Challenge Series
Following their exit from the NBL, the Slingers organised and took part in the Singapore Challenge Series, a round of friendly matches played at the
Formation of the ASEAN Basketball League
Upon their confirmation of entry in the inaugural ABL season, the Slingers announced that they had secured contracts with
2009: Second Singapore Challenge Series
As part of their pre-season training for the ABL, the Slingers organised a second edition of the Singapore Challenge in September 2009, choosing to play four single-match games against
2009–2011: Competing in the ABL
Prior to their first game in the ABL, the Slingers' import player Kyle Jeffers was named as the co-captain for the team's maiden ASEAN Basketball League season, alongside local player Michael Wong.[13]
The opening night of the Slingers'
The Slingers did well in the
After the
Finishing the
The formulative years of the ABL saw local players such as
The Slingers became the first team to cross the 100-point mark in
2014 season
The
The Slingers played their following game against the
The next game saw the Slingers bounce back from defeat with a 77–62 win against Laskar Dreya at the Hi-Test Arena in Batam on 25 August 2014. Lowhorn chalked up an impressive 28 points and 10 rebounds while Kyle Jeffers posted 19 points. Wong Wei Long added a further 14 points for the Slingers to top off a performance which improved the Slingers' record to 6-4 and allowing them to climb up to third position in the league standings.[21]
On 31 August 2014, the Slingers ended Hi-Tech Bangkok City's undefeated run with a dramatic 78–75 victory in overtime. The game saw Dior Lowhorn score a season high 35 big points which included a three-pointer from the baseline in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter that sent the game into overtime. The game also saw Wong Wei Long finish with 16 points while Al Vergara added 11 points and 9 assists off the Slingers' bench.[22] Team captain Kyle Jeffers was injured in the same match when he fell awkwardly while competing for a rebound in the third quarter and had to be stretchered off.
The Slingers subsequently announced on 9 September 2014 that Jeffers had been placed on the injured reserve list while former Saigon Heat centre Justin Howard had been brought in as a replacement. Prior to signing for the Slingers, Howard played two games in August 2014 for the Indonesia Warriors as a temporary replacement for the injured Chris Ellis.[23]
A 79–65 victory over the Saigon Heat in Singapore on 1 October 2014 saw the Slingers inch closer to a playoff berth with Howard putting in a big performance, finishing with 24 points and 20 rebounds. Lowhorn added 20 points and 9 rebounds while Wong added 14 points. Desmond Oh, who started at point guard also contributed 7 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists to help the Slingers improve to an 11–6 record.[24] The game was also notable as the Slingers were dressed in a one-off, all pink ensemble for their 3rd annual Cancer Awareness Game. The pink jerseys were later auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds donated directly to the Singapore Cancer Society.
Home arenas
The Slingers currently plays at the 3,000 seats OCBC Arena which opened in 2014 located at Kallang. In 2013, the Singapore Sports Hub and OCBC Bank announced that OCBC Group will become the largest sponsorship partner of the Singapore Sports Hub and will have naming rights to the OCBC Arena.[25]
From 2006 to 2014, the Singapore Slingers played their home games at the 12,000 seats Singapore Indoor Stadium. During the 2006–08 NBL seasons, it was the highest capacity stadium among the other stadiums.
Season by season
NBL season by season (2006–2008)
NBL champions | League champions | Runners-up | Finals berth |
Season | Tier | League | Regular season | Post-season | Head coach | Captain | Club MVP | ||||
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Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | |||||||
Singapore Slingers | |||||||||||
2006–07 | 1 | NBL | 8th | 33 | 13 | 20 | .394 | Lost elimination final (Townsville) 93–106 | Gordon McLeod | Ben Knight | Mike Helms |
2007–08 | 1 | NBL | 12th | 30 | 6 | 24 | .200 | Did not qualify | Gordon McLeod | Ben Knight | Mike Helms |
Regular season record | 63 | 19 | 44 | .302 | 0 regular season champions | ||||||
Finals record | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 NBL championships |
As of the end of the 2007–08 season
ABL season by season (2009–2023)
ABL champions | Season champions | Runners-up | Finals berth |
Season | League | Regular season | Post-season | Head Coach | Captain | Club MVP | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | ||||||
Singapore Slingers | ||||||||||
2009–10 | ABL | 2nd | 15 | 10 | 5 | .667 | Lost semifinals (Satria Muda) 1–2 | Frank Arsego | Kyle Jeffers Michael Wong |
Michael LeBlanc |
2010–11 | ABL | 4th | 15 | 7 | 8 | .467 | Lost semifinals ( Thailand ) 1–2
|
Neo Beng Siang | Kyle Jeffers Steven Khoo |
Leo Avenido |
2012 | ABL | 5th | 21 | 9 | 12 | .429 | Did not qualify | Neo Beng Siang | Kyle Jeffers | Louis Graham |
2013 | ABL | 5th | 22 | 7 | 15 | .318 | Did not qualify | Neo Beng Siang | Kyle Jeffers | Rashad Jones-Jennings |
2014 | ABL | 3rd | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | Lost semifinals ( Bangkok ) 0–2
|
Neo Beng Siang | Kyle Jeffers | Dior Lowhorn |
2015–16 | ABL | 2nd | 20 | 16 | 4 | .800 | Won Semifinals ( Bangkok) 2–1 ) 2–3
Lost ABL Finals (Malaysia |
Neo Beng Siang | Desmond Oh | Justin Howard |
2016–17 | ABL | 2nd | 20 | 13 | 7 | .650 | Won Semifinals ( Pilipinas) 2–0 ) 1–3
Lost ABL Finals (Eastern |
Neo Beng Siang | Desmond Oh | Justin Howard |
2017–18 | ABL | 5th | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | Lost Elimination Finals (Mono) 0–2 | Neo Beng Siang | Desmond Oh | Xavier Alexander |
2018–19 | ABL | 3rd | 26 | 16 | 10 | .615 | Won Quarterfinals (Macau) 2–1 Won Semifinals (Eastern) 2–0 Lost ABL Finals (Indonesia) 2–3 |
Neo Beng Siang | Desmond Oh | John Fields |
2019–20 | ABL | 7th | 17 | 7 | 10 | .412 | Season cancelled* | Neo Beng Siang | Jun Yuan Lim Desmond Oh |
Xavier Alexander |
2023
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ABL | 4th | 14 | 9 | 5 | .391 | Lost semifinals (Saigon) 1–2 | Neo Beng Siang | Delvin Goh | Kentrell Barkley |
Season record | 210 | 118 | 92 | .562 | 0 Season champions | |||||
Finals record | 37 | 16 | 21 | .432 | 0 ABL Championships |
As of the end of the 2023 season
*Note: Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[26]
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Singapore Slingers roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: 2 January 2023 |
This is the lineup of the Slingers for the
Depth chart
Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
---|---|---|---|
C | Anthony McClain | V Lavin Raj | |
PF
|
Delvin Goh | Kelvin Lim
|
Tay Ding Loon |
SF | Xavier Alexander | Desmond Oh | Ng Shi Yu |
SG | Leon Kwek | Larry Liew | Ng Jing Lun, John |
PG | Marcus Elliott | Lim Jun Yuan | Ng Kian Hao |
Notable Imports
- Brad Davidson
- Larry Davidson
- Blagoj Janev
- Ben Knight
- Shane McDonald
- Ben Melmeth
- Darren Ng
- Luke Schenscher
- Aaron Trahair
- Pero Vasiljevic
- Eban Hyams
- Lee Seung-jun
- Jeremy Kench
- Leonidez Avenido
- Junjun Cabatu
- Jayson Castro
- Don Dulay
- Phillip Morrison
- Al Vergara
- Hassan Adams
- Christopher Vaughn Canta
- Marquin Chandler
- Chris Charles
- John Fields
- Louis Graham
- Rod Grizzard
- Mike Helms
- Justin Howard
- Kyle Jeffers
- Rashad Jones-Jennings
- Michael LeBlanc
- Donald Little
- Donald Rashaad Singleton
- Marcus Skinner
- Jerran Young
- Marcus Elliott
Notable Singaporeans
- Koh Meng Koon
- Michael Wong
- Wai Sian Lim
- Prasad Sadasivan
- Marcus Ng
- Pathman Matialakan
- Hong Wei Jian
- Steven Khoo
- Mitchell Frederick Folkoff
- Damien Goh Teck Beng
- Shengyu Lim
- Wei Long Wong
- Desmond Oh
- Leon Kwek
- Teo Chun Hoe
- Ng Han Bin
- Delvin Goh
- Russel Low
Coaches
- Gordon McLeod (2006–08)
- Frank Arsego (2009–10)
- Neo Beng Siang(2010–present)
References
- ^ "Singapore Slingers secure a range of sponsors - SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. 18 November 2009.
- ^ "Slingers will be competitive". FIBA.basketball.
- ^ "Slingers pull out of NBL". ABC News. 29 July 2008.
- ^ "Slingers expected to pull out of NBL". The Age. 29 July 2008.
- ^ Howell, Stephen (31 July 2008). "Slingers' suicide allows NBL's survival". The Age.
- ^ "Singapore Slingers Net Three-Year Broadcast Deal with StarHub". www.starhub.com.
- ^ "Herald Sun | Breaking News from Melbourne and Victoria | Herald Sun".
- ^ "Singapore Slingers pull out of NBL". Archived from the original on 3 April 2012.
- ^ Chew, Ian. "Singapore Slingers romp to easy win over Indonesian champions Satria Muda Britama". RED SPORTS.
- ^ "Slingers end Challenge Series on a High". singaporeslingers.com. 18 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009.
- ^ Tan, Les. "Singapore Slingers one of 6 teams in new ASEAN Basketball League". RED SPORTS.
- ^ Wong, Erwin. "Singapore Slingers Season Preview: A look at the Challenge Series numbers". RED SPORTS.
- ^ Lin, Jan. "Singapore Slingers spring co-captaincy surprise". RED SPORTS. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Nation, Slingers (11 October 2009). "A view from the stands: Singapore Slingers dismantled the Brunei Barracudas 87-69".
- ^ Tan, Les. "Slinger coach Arsego won't return for next ABL season". RED SPORTS.
- ^ "Delvin and Co return to the court in search of a SEA Games silver".
- ^ "Slingers Sign Former NBA Player Hassan Adams". 9 June 2014.
- ^ "Hassan Adams Released by Slingers".
- ^ Yizhe, Koh. "ABL: Singapore Slingers hang on to defeat Malaysia Dragons 77–68". RED SPORTS.
- ^ "Local 'Twin Towers' Signed for 2014 Season". 19 May 2014.
- ^ "Singapore Slingers Bounce Back with 77-62 Road Win". 25 August 2014.
- ^ "Slingers Hand Hi-Tech Their First Loss With Dramatic Overtime Victory".
- ^ "Slingers Replace Injured Kyle Jeffers with Justin Howard".
- ^ "Slingers Closer to Playoff Berth with Win Over Heat". 1 October 2014.
- ^ "ocbc-singapore-sports-hub-sponsorship". www.ocbc.com. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ "Asean Basketball League season cancelled without a winner". The New Paper. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "Players - Singapore Slingers". 22 October 2018.