Determined to bounce back from last season, the Formosa Dreamers opened their 2018-2019 campaign with a resounding 77-73 road victory over the Singapore Slingers Sunday at the OCBC Arena.
Tevin Glass steered the Chinese-Taipei squad with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Malcom Miller added 16 points and six boards. William Artino, Formosa’s main big man, had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds and provided the clutch basket with 38 seconds left to give his team the lead for good.
The Dreamers had control for most of the contest leaning on their steady shooting and defense. However, a late surge by the Slingers in the fourth period made it into a back-and-forth affair in the last five minutes of the ball game. After being down for much of the second half, the Slingers were able to finally grab the lead courtesy off a Delvin Goh layup, putting Singapore up 69-68. The two teams then traded blows fighting to gain control. But Artino’s late basket off the offensive glass proved to be the difference. Miller’s shot missed awkwardly and Artino was there to clean it up to put Formosa ahead, 74-73. The Slingers failed to convert on the other end and the Dreamers sealed the game with free throws.
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For the Slingers, Xavier Alexander filled the box score with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. He was also a force on the defensive end, stealing the ball six times, one shy of his career-high. New reinforcements Jerran Young and John Fields had quiet debuts in the loss. Young had a solid outing of 20 points while Fields had 12 points and eight rebounds. The two World Imports unfortunately only went 11-of-33 from the field.
As a team, the Slingers struggled shooting the basketball going just 39 percent of the field, including 2-for-11 from downtown. The Dreamers shot better at 44 percent and outrebounded their opponent 43-37.
The Dreamers, who only won a single game in their debut season in 2017, have a new coach in Dean Murray. Murray is a seasoned mentor with credentials in the NBA D-League and has coached in numerous countries. Through his leadership, together with the team’s three new imports, plus the significant contributions from the locals, propelled Formosa to a huge win this early in the season.
