VietNamNet Bridge – Saigon Heat lost their first match 90-65 to the Singapore Slingers in the ASEAN Basketball League on Saturday.

Justin Howard of Singapore Slingers (centre) helps his team beat Saigon Heat 90-65 in their ASEAN Basketball League match on Saturday in HCM City. — Photo aseanbasketballleague.com

The home turf and crowd of local fans were not enough to push the hosts, who could not resist Singapore Slingers’ domination from the beginning of the game.

Once again, led by the hot shooting of Leon Kwek, and the steady presence of Justin Howard, the Slingers gave the undermanned Heat a rude welcome inside the CIS Arena, to notch their third straight win in the tournament.

“I have full confidence in my team. It is a good team win. I didn’t realize I put those numbers up,” Howard said on aseanbasketballleague.com. “Three and zero sounds a lot better than 20 and 20,” he added.

While the Heat lost badly, head coach Tony Garbelotto believes his team will only get better as the season progresses.

“There’s no excuse. We just didn’t play hard enough. That team will expose you when you don’t play hard, and that’s what happened,” Garbelotto said. “But we’re okay. It looks worse than it was, but it can’t be any worse.”

The Slingers will be back on the road on Wednesday against the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions, in what is expected to be an exciting battle between two undefeated teams. The Long Lions will then fly to Viet Nam to face off with the Heat on December 10. 

VNS