It was a jam-packed 5th week for the ABL! Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team continues its blazing start while Tanduay Alab Pilipinas and Saigon Heat finally made it into the win column. Records were made and new heroes emerged.
Here’s what went down in Week 5:
- Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team (Record: 6-0)
Previous Week: 1
Last year’s champions flexed their muscles last week, coming out with two impressive victories. They first took down Tanduay Alab Pilipinas in a tight battle at home, 99-96, as they leaned on a career-night for Tyler Lamb. The Thai-American poured in 32 points, including five three-pointers.
Hong Kong Eastern then went on to deliver a 120-97 beating to the Formosa Dreamers, setting an ABL scoring record with all fielded players chipping in. This broke the previous record of 116 points set by the Westports Malaysia Dragons earlier this season and also beats Eastern’s own record of 115 as the most points scored in a non-overtime game from last season.
They will be looking to finish out the 2017 schedule undefeated as they take on the Singapore Slingers this Wednesday. Take note that the Slingers were also the team that dealt Eastern their first defeat last season.
- Chong Son Kung Fu Basketball Club (Record: 3-0)
Previous Week: 1
Chong Son Kung Fu firmly remains at the number two spot as they hold the second-best record with a 3-0 slate. They will take that undefeated record into 2018 as they have no more games scheduled this year, giving their players a nice long break.
They return to action on January 6, 2018, on the road against the CLS Knights and we’ll soon get to know if the vacation left them well-rested or got them rusty.
- Singapore Slingers (Record: 3-3)
Previous Week: 4
The Singapore Slingers arrested a two-game losing skid with an important road win over the CLS Knights. Playing at GOR CLS Kertajaya is always a tough task for visiting teams, but the Slingers had the X-Man. Xavier Alexander led the way with a dominating performance of 39 points (career-high), to go along with 16 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Slingers were down by as much as 13 points, but last year’s runners-up were able to pull out the win.
They will be hoping to close out 2017 on a high note, visiting Hong Kong Eastern to wrap up their regular season series.
- Saigon Heat (Record: 1-1)
Previous Week: 9
The Saigon Heat got themselves into the win column thanks to a herculean effort of Akeem Scott. The World Import exploded with 37 points on 13 of 17 shooting to help the Heat overwhelm the Mono Vampire Basketball Club, 110-94.
Aside from Scott, Saigon also got big games from their three other imports. Travele Jones filled up the stats sheet with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Moses Morgan showed off his old form with 26 points, including with 5 triples. Meanwhile David Arnold chipped in with 23 points and 8 rebounds.
Their efforts combined to tie a league record 17 three-point shots made in a single game, sharing the feat with Mono Vampire Basketball Club and Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team.
It was a much needed win after losing their season opener to the Formosa Dreamers and Saigon Heat will look to carry that momentum forward as they go on to visit Mono Vampire in a rematch on the road.
- Tanduay Alab Pilipinas (Record: 1-3)
Previous Week: 8
After tasting yet another defeat at the hands of Hong Kong earlier in the week, Tanduay Alab Pilipinas found themselves still looking for answers. They gave Eastern everything that they had, yet still came every so slightly short in the final moments.
Fortunately, they were able turn things around as they finally notched a win at the expense of the Formosa Dreamers, 78-61. Alab was without an injured Ivan Johnson but Reggie Okosa powered his team with a 19-point, 19-rebound performance.
It will certainly be a good feeling for Alab Pilipinas to head into the holiday season with their latest victory on their minds.
- Mono Vampire Basketball Club (Record: 3-3)
Previous Week: 3
It was an uncharacteristically poor outing for the Mono Vampire Basketball Club this past week. After winning three straight games, they’ve now suffered back-to-back losses. Their latest demise was a tough pill to swallow as they were knocked down hard early on and never recovered. They lost in disappointing fashion, 110-94, against the Heat on the road.
Reggie Johnson was hobbled by foul trouble all-game long and he ended with just 7 points on six shot attempts and 14 rebounds. The hulking big man also committed 10 turnovers in the first half alone. Johnson was a force in the first four games of the season for Mono Vampire, but his tendency to foul early and in bunches the past two games have steered the team in the wrong direction.
Mono Vampire will look to end 2017 strong as they host the Heat in rematch on Thursday.
- Westports Malaysia Dragons (Record: 1-2)
Previous Week: 6
The Westports Malaysia Dragons will be the one of the first two team back in ABL action after the New Year’s Break into the fold on January 3, 2018 when they visit the Tanduay Alab Pilipinas in the Philippines.
- CLS Knights Indonesia (Record: 1-4)
Previous Week: 7
It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Indonesian team. After their opening day victory, they have stumbled four straight times into losses. Their recent loss was against the visiting Singapore Slingers wherein they surrendered a 79-71 defeat despite holding a double-digit lead at one point.
The club has made efforts to stop the bleeding by adding in new players, but it will take time for everyone to adjust to each other.
Luckily, they will not have any more games to play until next year so that’s plenty of time to fix things up. The Knights will try to halt their losing streak when they go up against the Chong Son Kung Fu on January 6, 2018.
- Formosa Dreamers (Record: 1-4)
Previous Week: 5
It just wasn’t the picture perfect home debut weekend for the Dreamers.
They were on the tailend of two difficult matchups and when the dust settled, they suffered back-to-back losses. The played two consecutive games up against a hungry and determined Tanduay Alab Pilipinas which was followed by a rampaging at the hands of Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team.
Some of the struggle was due to the absence of James Forrester who was put on the injured list. New addition Chou Tzu Hua had a solid debut and looks to be a good piece in the rotation, but the Dreamers still have a lot of work to do as they head into the holiday break.
