The Saigon Heat had their best week of the 2017-18 ABL season so far and their twin upsets over the erstwhile undefeated Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team and Chong Son Kung Fu Basketball Club was more than enough to claim two spots in our list for Players of the Week.
A member of the Singapore Slingers, the only other team that scored two wins this week, earned the spot as the best local.
World Import Player of the Week
Maxie Esho, Saigon Heat
Unhappy with how their campaign was going, the Heat pulled off a big move by getting Maxie Esho to replace Travele Jones. He provided immediate impact for Saigon and had one of the best performances in a quarter this season during the payoff period of the Heat’s winover Kung Fu.
Esho initially looked like he would only be the anchor of Saigon’s defense but he made it clear that he’ll also be a big part of their offense. He had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks against Hong Kong Eastern in their overtime game before dropping 35 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals against Kung Fu.
Notable contenders:
Akeem Scott, Saigon Heat – 22.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG
Xavier Alexander, Singapore Slingers – 21 PPG, 8 RPG, 8.5 APG, 3.5 SPG, 1 BPG
Chris Charles, Singapore Slingers – 23.5 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1 APG, 1.5 BPG
Heritage Import Player of the Week
Michael Williams, Saigon Heat
Even with the outstanding play of Saigon World Imports Esho and Scott, the two victories this week would not have been possible if David Arnold was not reclassified as a local because this gave the Heat a chance to plug in the talented Michael Williams into their Heritage Import spot.
Williams was on fire against Hong Kong Eastern with 39 points on 14 of 25 shooting from the field but that was not all he did as he added 7 rebounds and 9 assists to his big performance. His clutch shooting forced the overtime period and put Saigon Heat up ahead in the extra period.
He followed this up with another all-around outing Kung Fu with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists to complete the double upset.
Notable Contender:
AJ Mandani, Singapore Slingers – 15 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Local Player of the Week
Ng Han Bin – Singapore Slingers
For the first time this season, a member of the Slingers is selected as the Local Player of the Week. Although Ng Hanbin had a relatively quiet performance against Tanduay Alab Pilipinas in their first game, he rebounded with a big outing against the CLS Knights Indonesia.
In the game against the Knights, Han Bin exploded for 14 points in the first quarter before tying up a career-high 22 points at the final buzzer. He also made 5 threes in the game.
The sweet-shooting Hanbin has looked very confident in taking shots as of late as he averaged 12.5 points on 50 FG% this week alongside 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Notable Contender:
Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Tanduay Alab Pilipinas – 17.5 PPG, 6 RPG, 5 APG
Josh Urbiztondo, Tanduay Alab Pilipinas – 14.5 PPG, 9/17 3P Shooting
