The last day in the Kuala Lumpur circuit was an eventful one as, first, the Slingers had a historic
offensive game and, in the second game, NS Matrix kept their win streak alive for the fans.
The Singapore Slingers set the record for most points scored in an ABL competition game in
their win over Louvre Surabaya, 147-89. The Slingers never trailed in this game, but it wasn’t
until the second quarter when they scored 45 and third, 49, that it was clear they were having a
special game.
The total of 147 points was the highest in a game, breaking the record set on 22 April 2018 by
San Miguel Alab Pilipinas (143 points) in the Finals against the Mono Vampire Basketball Club.
This point total also broke the previous record of points scored in a non-overtime game set by
the Slingers earlier in the Batam circuit, also against Louvre Surabaya, where they poured in 137
points.
Additionally, the 16 three-pointers made by the Slingers is a franchise record – surpassing the
14 made, again against Louvre Surabaya in the Batam circuit.
Jackson Mah enjoyed his first time ever in the starting lineup after shining of the bench and
rewarded coach New Beng Siang’s trust with 17 points on 7-11 shooting. The bench players
were on fire for the Slingers as well, especially Tay Ding Loon (18 points, 4 three-pointers),
Justin Chiam (11 points), and Kelvin Lim (12 points).
Kentrell Barkley continued his dominant campaign with a triple-double of 35 points on 16-20
shooting, 16 rebounds, and 13 assists. This was the highest-scoring triple-double recorded in
ABL competitions since Marcus Elliott put up 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists on 9
January 2018.
For Louvre, the trio of Alouine Tew, Jamarr Johnson, and Biboy Enguio all reached at least 20
points to provide the bulk of the scoring for their teams.
The win gives the Slingers (7-4) a sizable lead over the Macau Black Bears (5-6) and Zamboanga
Valientes (5-6) in the standings before we head to the final circuit in Vietnam.
That wasn’t all the intense action that occurred in the day as NS Matrix Malaysia treated their
fans to a fun game that ended with a victory 96-86.
The Heat were still in the lead heading into the last five minutes of the game, but NS Matrix
cranked up the intensity on defense. They’d end up holding the Heat to only one made field
goal through the last six and a half minutes of the game to come from behind and get their
ninth straight victory.
The Heat had control of the game in the first half, shouldered by the hot hands of Jarius Holder.
The long-range gunner went 4-4 from downtown for a total of 17 points in the first half, giving
the Heat a 4-point cushion after leading through the entire first two quarters.
The suspense started to build in the second half as both teams went on runs to swap leads in
the third quarter, setting the stage for an emphatic run by the home team at the end.
NS Matrix enjoyed a top-notch performance once again by Tevin Glass who had 22 points, 13
rebounds, and 5 assists. Notably, he scored 11 of his points during the final run over the last
five minutes that sealed the deal for the Malaysian squad.
Glass was not alone. Isaiah Williams led the team in scoring (24 points, 5 assists) while Amir
Williams (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Wong Yi Hou (19 points) were crucial down the stretch.
As a matter of fact, all four players scored during that fourth-quarter run as well.
It was a tough loss for the Heat who got a big game from Jarius Holder (30 points, 5 three-
pointers) and Hassan Thomas (21 points, 16 rebounds).
The win puts NS Matrix up at the top of the standings all by themselves with a 9-2 record, also
sporting a 9-game win streak – tying the longest win streak by a Malaysian team in ABL
competition. The previous record was set by the KL Dragons, which ran through the regular
season all the way to the Semi-Finals.
The Saigon Heat are now tied with Hong Kong Eastern at 8-3 heading into their home stand at
the upcoming Vietnam circuit from 12-18 February in Ho Chi Minh.
The 2023 ABL Invitational is headed into the final circuit in Vietnam, where the Slingers shall
immediately play on opening day against the Bangkok Tigers on 12 February. The Saigon Heat
shall also play on opening day, entertaining their passionate home crowd with a game against
the Macau Black Bears.
Louvre Surabaya shall play their first game against Zamboanga Valientes on 13 February. NS
Matrix shall play on the same day against the Black Bears.