The Playoffs are here. Only the best have made it to this stage and only the best will advance
from the Semi-Finals to the Finals. From there, only the best of the best will be named the
champions of the 2023 ABL Invitational.

With the seedings that were a result of the performance of each team throughout the four
circuits over the first two months of the year, each of the teams know who their opponents will
be. They know who is in the way of their road to glory.

Saigon Heat (#1, 11-3) vs Singapore Slingers (#4, 9-5)
Head-to-head record in 2023 ABL Invitational: 1-1
All-time Head-to-head record in ABL competitions: Singapore Slingers 22-7 Saigon Heat

Two of the longest-tenured teams in the ABL will face each other in the first round of the
Playoffs in the 2023 ABL Invitational and they had a long history of playing against each other as
expected.

Ever since the Heat’s first ABL season in 2012, they’ve played against the Singapore Slingers for
a total of 29 times in ABL competitions. However, these games have been mainly in the favor of
the Slingers who have won over 75 percent of these games.

The Heat are hoping for a boost of home-court advantage in this upcoming series, with the
Playoffs being competed in Ho Chi Minh City. In the past, however, that hasn’t been as big of an
advantage as one would imagine. The Heat have only won 3 out of a total 13 games at home
against the Slingers, with 4 wins outside of Vietnam.

Nonetheless, most of those games are from further in the past. Looking purely at this 2023 ABL
Invitational, the games between these two teams have been as close as they can get.
When they played against each other in the Batam circuit, The Slingers overcame double-digit
deficits twice in the same game. They claimed the lead in the final seconds and win by only one
point, 84-83.

The Heat got their revenge in the rematch played in the Vietnam circuit, going ahead in the last
few minutes after trailing most of the entire second half to win, 71-68.
Across two games, both teams' average margin of victory was only 2.0 points per game. It rarely
gets closer than this.

Semi-Finals: Game 1 – March 6
8:00 PM (GMT +7) – Saigon Heat vs Singapore Slingers
Semi-Finals: Game 2 – March 8
8:00 PM (GMT +7) – Singapore Slingers vs Saigon Heat
Semi-Finals: Game 3 (If Necessary) – March 9
8:00 PM (GMT +7) – Saigon Heat vs Singapore Slingers
*If only one series extends to Game 3, the game will be played at 7:30 PM (GMT +7)

Hong Kong Eastern (#2, 10-4) vs NS Matrix Malaysia (#3, 10-4)
Head-to-head record in 2023 ABL Invitational: 1-1

These two clubs don’t directly have a long history as the Heat-Slingers do as NS Matrix are a
new franchise in the 2023 ABL Invitational.

So far, the two have split the games played against each other. NS Matrix won the first clash in
the Batam circuit, 75-70, riding the big performance from Amir Williams of 31 points, 15
rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.

Eastern returned the favor in the last game of the last circuit in Vietnam with a 73-62 win,
though could be noted that both teams had already locked up their Playoff spots and Amir
Williams was not playing due to an injury.

All in all, these are two teams with deep talent in their lineup. Whether it is Ting Chun Hong and
Wong Yi Hou for NS Matrix or Oliver Xu and Adam Xu for Hong Kong Eastern as local players or
Dominic Gilbert (Eastern) and Wong Chong Han (Matrix) as heritage players, it will be tightly
contested.

Even though these two franchises have only played twice so far, they do have so history
entwined because of their players. NS Matrix have a few players that have played for the
previous Malaysian ABL franchise, KL Dragons, and Hong Kong Eastern had never lost to the
Dragons in the 9 times they played against each other. That makes NS Matrix’s win the first loss
ever that Eastern had lost to a Malaysian club in ABL competitions.

Moreover, both of these teams have players who are the core of their respective national
teams who recently played against each other in Mongolia in a high-stakes game.

Semi-Finals: Game 1 – March 6
6:00 PM (GMT +7) – Hong Kong Eastern vs NS Matrix Malaysia
Semi-Finals: Game 2 – March 8
6:00 PM (GMT +7) – NS Matrix Malaysia vs Hong Kong Eastern
Semi-Finals: Game 3 (If Necessary) – March 9
6:00 PM (GMT +7) – Hong Kong Eastern vs NS Matrix Malaysia
*If only one series extends to Game 3, the game will be played at 7:30