The Mono Vampire Basketball Club squandered a huge lead, but still managed to escape the Singapore Slingers with a 91-88 decision on Friday at the OBCB Arena in Singapore.
Michael Singletary and Sam Deguara powered Mono with 26 points apiece. The two World Imports also combined for 28 rebounds to help their team earn their seventh victory.
Mono squandered a 22-point lead in the second half as the Slingers rallied in front of their home crowd. A jumper by Xavier Alexander knotted the game up at 79 apiece under four minutes remaining.
But Mono kept its composure late in the ball game. Three straight baskets by Deguara, Paul Zamar, and Darongphan Apiromvilaichai put Mono ahead by six points with two minutes left. The two proud teams then fought tooth and nail in the final seconds of the ball game.
Singapore’s made one last gallant stand in the end. Xavier Alexander was fouled while taking a desperation three with 5.3 seconds remaining. Alexander made his first two free throws that made it a two-point game, 90-88. He missed the third foul shot but the Slingers managed to get the ball back with 3.6 ticks left.
Alexander tried to lob an entry pass to Chris Charles but he was being well-defended by Deguara. Mono foiled the Slingers’ last attempt and managed to survived to improve their team record to 7-4.
Paul Zamar contributed 13 points while Jason Brickman flirted with a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Mono used an 18-1 run in the last five minutes of the second quarter to give them control of the game. They lost their momentum come the fourth period, before eventually regaining their composure to close out the win.
For the Slingers, Alexander provided strong numbers despite the loss. The X-Man tallied 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, to go along with 3 steals. Charles was equally superb with 17 points and 13 boards.
The Singers have now suffered their sixth loss in 11 games.
