So, he found 5 other villages and they went on to form the “Kampong League”. Now, the head of Longkang thinks that his team is very good and may not be a challenge to his team, so he allows all teams in the “Kampong League” to sign 3 players from other villages, as well as 2 players from outside the villages taking part in “Kampong League”.

After 1 year, the chief of Kampong League realize that his team was doing quite well and decided to stick with the same villages that started the Kampong League. After the 2nd year, the Kampong Chief was starting to feel irritated as Longkang had not won a single championship. So what did he do?

He decides to get 1 more team each from the winning villages and add on another village into the league. He also ensure that his team have an edge over the other teams by allowing them to get away with fouls on the court, and also off the court. However, did the Longkang Village head achieve anything?

An email, apparently sent by Mr Hodge, to Mr Kuhan Foo, reads:

“While I was with the Saigon Heat a player by the name of Mark Andaya came to try out for the team. His agent name I believe is Sheryl Sanchez Reyes. Mark was called a ‘filipino monkey’ by the head coach Rob.”

We attach a screen shot of the email in an earlier post.

However, the Asean Basketball League had released a press statement which reads as follows:

(Extracted from Official Website of Asean Basketball League): Monday, 20^th February 2012 – Former Saigon Heat sharpshooter Julius Hodge has been released from the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League’s Vietnamese team after a scorching run in the league which saw him top the points leaderboard.

In an official statement on behalf of the Saigon Heat, General Manager Mr. Connor Nguyen has confirmed that Julius Hodge has been released from the squad for the remainder of the season due to difficulties fitting in because of the differences in the environment and the challenges that come with playing professional basketball in this region.

Hodge has played in a lot of different leagues around the world, including the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, where he was selected as the 20^th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft. Since then he has also gained experience in other parts of the world, including the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy and the Australian National Basketball League.

Saigon Heat will continue on in the league with new import Devon Sullivan, who made his debut in Saigon’s home game at Tan Binh Stadium yesterday against the Bangkok Cobras.

The questions now that is facing the ABL is this:

1) What is the actual reasons for Julius Hodge’s departure from the Saigon Heat? Was it due to the the rumored ‘racist’ sling (‘difficulties fitting in because of the differences in the environment and the challenges that come with playing professional basketball in this region’)?

Had there been a difficulties for Mr Hodge, his performance certainly did not show the troubles that he is, or had been, facing.

2) Will ABL and its management, including that of the Saigon Heat, investigate into this allegations, which comes with a copy of the email that was sent out apparently by Mr Hodge. The old adage that ‘without fire, there would not be smoke’ holds weight for this instance.

We believe that coming clean on such issues is better than deliberating and concealing facts. If anyone had erred in this saga, admit and move on with life. Considering that Mr Hodge had a newborn arriving, it would be unimaginable for him to abruptly leave a team in which he had so much authority in court, considering the number of points he had garnered in his short-lived career.

We certainly hope that all parties are able to resolve the matter amicably, and give fans of the ABL, and especially those of Saigon Heat, a reasonable answer and closure to this matter.

To end off this blog post, we are glad that ABL is ‘investigating’ into this matter:

*Note: This blog post is not meant to incite any disharmony within and outside of the ABL and/or Saigon Heat. All materials obtained for this blogpost, is purely for information and substantiated purposes. We truly believe that with a transparent league will the league be able to grow even stronger.

We truly believe that the ABL should be a league where friends and fans come first, rivalry second.

We would also like to wish Mr Julius Hodge all the best in his basketball career.

The Slingers made their first starting line-up switch after 7 games. Wong Wei Long took over Desmond Oh at the shooting guard spot. But despite swapping the defensive Desmond Oh for an offensive threat of Wei Long, the Slingers struggled to score in the first period. They went down on a 12-0 run and later ended the quarter with a huge hole of 7-21.

Slingers struggling and regrouping during a time-out

The Slingers tried to get back in the 2nd quarter on Donald Little’s inside offense, but it proved to be insufficient as the Dragons’ Wade and Williams continued to scorch the team. Little and Graham proved to be the only bright spark on scoring end, while the rest of the Slingers struggled to put up points for the team. The second quarter was evenly matched 27-26 Slingers as the half ended with the Dragons going up 47-34.

In the 3rd period, the Slingers desperately tried to crawl back into the game. Things were looking good in the first half of the 3rd quarter. With stingy defense, the Slingers managed to slice the lead down to just 8 points on Lim Sheng Yu’s layup with 5 minutes left to go. But after a timeout, the Dragons came out shooting the lights out. T-wade led his team on a 12-2 run that deflated any chance of a Slingers come-back. The 3rd quarter ended with a score of 48-68, with the Slingers trailing by 20 points.

In the 4th, things started to heat up for both teams as Nic Belasco and Donald Little were each called for technical fouls. Donald Little fouled out of the game after picking up another personal foul soon after.  The Slingers had to play the rest of the 4th quarter without their big man whom they were relied on scoring. Apparently, things weren’t looking good for the Slingers. But Lou Graham seized the opportunity to be fired up and he single-handedly carried the Slingers on his shoulders. With his scoring antics, the lead was reduced back to 13 with 6 minutes left to go.

Little sits after his 5th foul

But once again, Dragons called time. And after the crucial timeout, they would answer back with consecutive baskets to reclaim their huge. The Slingers’ end was later sealed when Lou Graham fouled out of the game with 3 minutes left, leaving the Slingers with an undersized line-up. Steven “Yakuza” Khoo tried to keep the team close with his strong play, but there was no stopping the Dragons big man Brian Williams from dominating the paint. Steven Khoo though finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds in this game.

The game ended with the Dragons defeating the Slingers 86-71.

Things are starting to look bleak for the Slingers as usual efforts of Wong Wei Long and Desmond Oh were not present in this game. Slingers 6th man, Wei Long finished with 0 points in this game in his 1st start of the season. Desmond has also been lacklustre since the previous game. Vaughn Canta who was big for the Slingers in the previous game also struggled in this one. He managed only 6 points on 2/10 shooting. Assists also proved to be a problem for the Slingers as they clocked only 1 assist in the entire 1st half and only 6 for the game.

If the Slingers must get back on winning ways, they have to regain their pesky defense and strong contributions from the local stars Wei Long and Desmond.

The Slingers next face the Indonesia Warriors on the 25th February. Regroup, they must, or fall to below .500 in the league table.

-photos by ABL-

I was appalled by the gross misrepresentation of facts in the article, which clearly indicated the journalist’s non-presence at the game.

I took to the liberty to reprint the articles here, while I highlight the points I take issue with in bold:

Patriots survive Slingers in rugged game for 5th win

SINGAPORE — Import Nakiea Miller was thrown out of his comfort zone early but Al Vergara, Bogs Raymundo and Aldrech Ramos hit the clutch baskets as the AirAsia Philippine Patriots outlasted the Singapore Slingers, 80-75, in a rugged game in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League Sunday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Miller, who won the Best Import award while playing for the Kuala Lumpur Dragons last year, was held to just 10 points and three rebounds — far cry from his close to 20 points and 16 rebounds in the team’s first five games.

Aside from Miller’s ‘poor’ outing, the Patriots also survived several dubious calls and non-calls to notch their fourth straight and fifth win overall in six games and keep their hold of the solo lead in the 8-team tournament now on its third season.

Poor officiating nearly turned the game into a boxing match as team enforcers Erick Rodriguez and Ardy Larong got into trouble against the Donald Little, the 6-foot-11 import of the Slingers.

Larong was later disqualified on fouls but not after hitting Little in the abdomen.

Vergara was at his usual best, finishing with 14 points — his second triple enabled the Patriots to regain the lead, 52-48, late in the third quarter. He also had three assists.

“That was a big shot, that kept us going because of some circumstances that almost ruined our game,” said coach Glenn Capacio. The Patriots bloated their lead to 9 points early in the fourth, 66-57, which they valiantly protected to hand the host squad their third setback in seven games,

Capacio and Anthony Johnson, the team’s other import, later rued the officiating.“I programed myself not to get angry because it will not do good to my health but they (referees) made me mad. Grabe, patas akong lumaban, pero kapag ganito nakakataas ng BP (blood pressure),” he added.

Despite the non-calls on him, Johnson finished with 26 points. “They (Slingers) were all over me but the referees won’t call,” lamented Johnson. Raymundo scattered 11 points while Ramos made his presence felt after missing the team’s last three games with 9 points and four boards.

The scores: PH Patriots 80 — Johnson 26, Vergara 14, Raymundo 11, Miller 10, Ramos 9, Ybanes 4, Rodriguez 3, Larong 3, Wainwright 0, Juntilla 0, Fernandez 0, Laure 0. Singapore Slinngers 75 — Graham 19, Canta 19, Little 16, Wong 14, Khoo 4, Wong 2, Khoo 1, Oh 0, Lim 0, Matialakan 0, Goh 0, Ng. Quarters: 18-11, 31-36, 59-54, 80-75.

Well, here you have it: A journal (mind you – not a blog) article written way out of hand.

1) The author cited that “Larong was later disqualified on fouls but not after hitting Little in the abdomen”. This was a clear indication of the author’s absence in the game – and in fact also his laziness to even check the official statistics. 

Larong had only 2 fouls! How could he have been disqualified on fouls? What a joke!

And Larong punched Little in the groin – not the abdomen! As the author was obviously not present in the game, he couldn’t have the slightest chance of visualising where the punch landed.

Well, is this denial or what?

2) The Patriots’ coach and players rue-ing the officiating? Somehow they were claiming that the officials were siding the Slingers. Poor officiating against the Patriots? Who told this journalist would wasn’t even present at the game that? Was it Glenn Cappacio, who instructed his players to attack Donald Little like nobody’s business, that didn’t like the officiating? Why should I then trust a coach whose strategy is to intentionally foul Donald Little on poor officiating? They got a narrow win through despicable disgusting measures and now he’s whining about the officiating. Should I applaud him? Hell, no!

3) Who in the world is Khoo who scored 2 points and Wong would scored 1? Another clear indication that the writer didn’t bother to even check the score. Do you know how insulting this is to the Slingers team if the author is just creating some “make-believe” players on our team by throwing in some “Singaporean” player name?

And please, Donald Little scored 10 points! 10! Not 16!

And all these are coming from www.journal.com.ph. Tell me now, should I trust this “so-called” journal site that is coming up with all the news?

Circumstances proved favourable for the Slingers to take home this game. Patriots star centre Nakiea Miller suffered from foul trouble the entire game and managed to play a total of 18 minutes. However, the Slingers were unable to capitalise on the opportunity to dominate and get the win.

Right from the beginning, the Patriots adopted a “Hack-a-Little” strategy which reaped its results and cost the Slingers their game. Slingers big man, Donald Little was fouled a total of 16 times in the entire game and was sent to the line 8 times. The centre, however, missed 10 of 16 free-throws, which prevented a fourth-quarter Slingers come-back on several occasions.

The Little Big Man's free-throw woes

In total, the Patriots team committed 27 fouls (as compared to the Slingers’ 16) To give a fuller picture of what the Philippine Patriots was doing, the players who went sent to “hack” Donald Little: Laurie, Ramos, Raymundo and Rodriguez combined for a total of 14 fouls. To add to the “foul” situation, 2 other Patriots players were ejected (Nakiea Miller and Ardy Larong) from the game.

Both teams started the 1st quarter with both teams exchanging baskets and making defensive stops. The score was tied at 9 apiece even with 2 minutes left until the Patriots broke out on a 9-nothing run. Anthony Johnson was instrumental as he collected 5 points in that stretch. Thankfully for the Slingers, Vaughn Canta would convert both of his free-throws with 9 seconds left to stop the bleeding. The 1st quarter score: 11-18.

The 2nd quarter belonged to the Slingers who came alive on offense. Steven “Yakuza” Khoo drew a foul on Nakiea Miller and sank both of his foul shot. Then, after a steal from Louis Graham, it was the Yakuza again who would lay the ball into the rim, on the break. Donald Little then drew another foul on Nakiea Miller, who was forced to leave the game with 3. The Slingers capitalised on the opportunity to climb back into the game. Not to mention, they did it on rebounding and defense. With 2:51 left to go, Canta sank two of his foul shots to give the Slingers their first lead of the game at 30-29. The quarter would end on a 6-0 Slingers run to put them up 36-31. The Slingers also outrebounded the Patriots 22 to 13 at the half.

During half-time, the Slingers team took the opportunity to distribute the Cancer Awareness “Pink Jerseys” to the 12 highest bidders.

Presentation of pink jerseys at half-time

This proved, however, to be a temporary distraction for the Slingers who seemed to lose focus in the opening minutes of the third quarter. It took only 30 seconds for the Slingers’ lead to be reduced to 1 on Nakiea Miller’s inside shot and Aldech Ramos’ jumper. And exactly one minute later, the Patriots took their 1st lead after a turnover from Desmond Oh that resulted in a wide-open Al Vergara lay-up. This forced the Slingers to call time.

The time-out proved useful to stop the bleeding, as the Slingers managed to slow a Patriots offensive and even take a momentary 48-47 lead into the game on Wong Wei Long’s 3 foul shots with 4 minutes to go in the third. However, the Patriots responded with key baskets from Anthony Johnson, Al Vergara and Ardy Larong that gave the Patriots a 59-54 lead at the end of the 3rd.

The story of the 4th quarter was about Donald Little’s free-throw misses. Although Wei Long and Vaughn Canta came up big for the Slingers with 4 stellar three-pointers, to keep the game close at the top of the quarter, it was the “Hack-the-Donald” strategy that fell the Slingers. Throughout the game, Donald Little who was “hacked” by Raymundo, Laurie and Rodrigues of the Patriots, which has accumulated into a fair amount of frustration on the centre’s part.

As Nakiea Miller fouled out of the game with 3:30, the Slingers tossed the ball into their centre’s hands. However, this proved fatal. Although Little was sent to the foul-line, he just couldn’t convert. And not only did Little missed 5 of 8 freethrows in the final quarter, but he even missed 2 dunk shots that could have allowed the Slingers to get back into the game.

With one minute left in the game, frustration was on the high. Ardy Larong of the Patriots was thrown out of the game for getting into a scruffle with Little. Then, it was Little who would later come up with an unsportmanlike foul on Warren Ibanez. The Patriots went on the take the game 80-75.

Anthony Johnson and Al Vergara came up big for the Patriots, scoring 22 and 14 points respectively. On the Slingers end, Louis Graham was the high man with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals. However, it was not enough to lead the Slingers to a win.

A bright spark for the Slingers though was Vaughn Canta who scored a season-high 19 points in the game. This was Canta’s best game yet, signalling the end of the defensive forward’s offensive woes. Slingers’ local stand-out, Wong Wei Long, also continued to shine in this game with 14 points. Desmond Oh, however, had a dismal game, but it was due to his knee injury.

When asked if the Patriots is the best team that Slingers had played this season, Louis Graham divulged the question. Instead, he just replied, “free-throws”.

Another downside for the Slingers though was their defense. As Don Dulay pointed out after the game, it was “poor team defense” that killed the Slingers team in this game. This resulted in 80 points scored by the Patriots, which is the most scored against the Slingers this season. When asked what kept the Slingers from winning the game, Wei Long replied “we shot badly from the free throws line and we did not come out strong during the second half”.” But he indicated that “the Patriots’ American Import(no.23), Anthony Johnson was on fire and he hit many contested shots”.

The Slingers are now 4-3, having lost their 2nd game in the row. Now they face a tumultous task next Sunday as they try to regroup and return to winning ways against the Malaysian Dragons at the MABA stadium.

In the Slingers match-up against the Beermen, I proposed 4 key points for the Slingers to win. After the game, I went back to my checklist and lo and behold, all of them were done. Today, I’ll do the same for tomorrow’s game. Having watched both the Patriots and the Slingers play, this are my key points for the Slingers to take this one home:

1) The Battle of the Point Guards

Tomorrow, long-time Slingers fans would be greeted by a familiar sight. The man who once held the helm for the Slingers is now the assassin on the opposing team. Yes, it is the return of Al Vergara to the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the place where he played and was groomed in the past 2 years.

Al Vergara is a great player, and a great guy who have served the Slingers with heart and humility. He has been a warrior on the team and carried the team through the thick and thins of the previous 2 seasons. Not to mention, he has been dubbed the best point guard in the ABL by Coach Ariel of the Dragons.

There is little wonder why this is so. Al is currently the league-leader in assists with 7.0 per game. He is also averaging 10.8 points and 3 rebounds, and shooting a deadly 40% from beyond the arc. This is phenomenon numbers for a point guard in ths league.

Looking at the last few Patriots games (which were all big wins), in each of them, Al scored in double-figures. And he was dishing out assists. 12 to be exact in the blow-out of the Dragons! This guy is in top-form at the moment.

Enter in Don Dulay, the replacement for Al Vergara for the Slingers. Double-D is amongst the league’s premier point guards as well, averaging 12.8 points per game. Most notably, we saw how Dulay came out big with 16 1st-quarter points in the San Miguel game. But he cooled off in the last game, managing only 12 points.

Double-D's passing: the difference to the Slingers' offense

Having studied Dulay’s game, I must say that Dulay’s game is quite comparable to Al. Both control the ball well and shoot the three with accuracy. But one thing that Al has edged Dulay statistically this season is “passing”. Dulay IS a great play-maker. We have seen him from the stands dishing out crazy assists that led to good plays. His passing is seriously unrated and unreflected on the stat sheet. Although he manages only 2.8 assists per game, this doesn’t mean that cannot pass as well as Al. All he needs to do is just reform his games to clock in those dimes.

The Slingers have 2 excellent off-the-ball imports in Donald Little and Louis Graham. As compared Anthony Johnson of the Patriots or Tiras Wade of the Dragons, Lou doesn’t carry the ball with him as much. This leaves much room for point guard creativity in the Slingers. And that, I say, is the missing link to the Slingers fractured offense.

And Double-D is this missing link to the Slingers offensive puzzle. Yes, the Slingers need him to score, but more importantly, the Slingers need him to create. With his stability and dribbling, Dulay will shine if the Slingers would run their offense through Dulay’s passes. Let’s say Double-D records 6 assists per game, and Slingers win!

After all, from the Slingerfan’s point-of-view, Dulay was Al’s replacement. He isn’t a downgrade, but an upgrade.

And there’s no better time than tomorrow for Double-D to prove that point!

2) A resurrected Louis Graham

Lou G, the Slingers marksman have been shooting bricks in the last few games. We all know he is a helluva shooter, but the shots just ain’t going for him. ”Sweet Lou’s” shooting woes is in fact the main source of the Slingers’ offensive woes. If those shots would fall, the Slingers would be scoring 70 to 80 points a game.

"Sweet Lou", The Slinger assassin

So, what’s the problem with Lou G’s shooting? Well, I took the time to look at the shot charts as well as the tapes. It’s clear. He is simply taking too many contested shots! Yes, Lou G is an NBDL player! He can create his own shot, and hit big ones. But that’s not how he is going to score a 20-point night!

The fault doesn’t line with Lou G alone! Where did “Sweet Lou’s” catch-and shoot gone to? He was raining buckets in the pre-season games from those shots. But these days, I’ve seen him settled for difficult turn-around jumpers, fade-aways etc.

For the Slingers to win, we gotta bring that back to Lou G’s game. And it’s just him that can do it! The Slingers playmakers have to spot him. They have to catch him in his sweet spots, and feed him those passes. Trust me, he will knock them down!

Should “Sweet Lou” be revived tomorrow, the Slingers stand a good chance to take the game away.

3) Shutting down the Slingers age-old nemesis, Nakiea Miller

If there’s one guy that long-time Slingers fan would remember who has never played for the Slingers, it would be none other than the loud-mouthed Nakiea Miller.

Yes, we got to watch those 3s coming from Nakiea Miller

Nakiea Miller has stepped into the Slingers home turf and wreaked havoc on us on several occassions (not to mention diss some of our fans in Singapore). He took away our play-off hopes while playing for Satria Muda in Season 1. Then in Season 2, he killed us in each game we played the Dragons.

It’s high-time these things change!

And with Donald Little, there’s great hope that they will. Little, the defensive monster out of Cincinatti, is our hope against Miller. He IS going to be the guy who would shut down Miller in the paint.

What the Slingers have to watch out for, though, is Miller’s three-point shots as a centre. Someone with the length just have to cover him when he is way up at the top of the key (where he shoots his three-pointers). And with Slingers top-grade defense this season, it can be done.

If Miller’s scoring can be limited to less than 20 points tomorrow, the Slingers stand a good chance to take the game tomorrow!

4) Fans – it’s YOU, once again!

Once again, for the Slingers to win! It’s up to the fans to get behind their team! The Slingers face a potential hostile crowd tomorrow with lots of Patriots fans who might turn up. The fans have got to prevent our SINGAPORE Indoor Stadium from getting converted into a Patriots home-ground! Slinger fans, we got to cheer and LOUD! We got to create a positive atmosphere for the Slingers to blow-out their opponents tomorrow! So, fans, let’s do our part!

Wear WHITE, so we can identify you and sit behind the Slingers bench. (It’s 110 and 111 by the way)

Let’s go, Slingers, Let’s go! Beat the Patriots and climb to the top!

Well, one of the perks of being the Captain of the Singapore national basketball team is this: Getting to walk into the Istana and meeting the President.

On the 7 February, Steven “Yakuza” Khoo “was given the opportunity to represent the team for the Team Singapore Istana dinner. The various athletics were gathered in a massive one-off “meet-the-president” session.

Here are some of the photos:

The "Yakuza" walking in

The "Yakuza" with Mr President

The "Yakuza" with the DPM

The "Yakuza" shaking hands with the President

Slingers on lifestyle magazine cover

In another news, Slingers Wong Wei Long, Donald Little and our 16-year old wonderkid, Delvin Goh are featured on the NTUC Lifestyle Magazine. The full Singapore Slingers’ story is covered, thanks to one of the writers being an avid Slingers fan! So, be sure to grab a copy of the Lifestyle Magazine to read about the Slingers.

Slingers on Lifestyle mag

Slingers on buses

The Slingers are not only on Magazines, but they are on buses too! If you are out in town, be sure to catch Desmond Oh, Don Dulay and Donald Little out on the streets with 5 such Singapore Slingers buses heading the roads.

You might even get to ride one to the Slingers games.

Slingers on bus

Slingers injury update

Last but not least, Slingers defensive stopper Desmond Oh is nursing a knee injury after getting kicked by Chang Thailand Slammers Sopon during the fourth quarter of the previous game. The injury took the D-Glove out of the game. But the question remains if it will also take him out of the next. Till day, Desmond is listed as day-to-day. It is still probable that he will play on Sunday’s top of the table clash against the Patriots should he recover on time.

Desmond's knee injury

That’s all for today, folks.

Be sure to come down to the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 4pm this Sunday to get behind your team against the Philippine Patriots!

Just a shout-out to all the Slingers fans out there: A bunch of cheering fans will be seated at area 110 and 111, so do come and join us! And heeding the official Singapore Slingers management call: Please wear WHITE to support your team!

The 1st versus the Nets:

The 2nd versus the Jazz:

The 3rd versus John Wall’s Wizards:

5 days ago, he was a nobody. But right now, he has become a sensation, the talk of the basketball world, and even the talk of the town.

Well, there’s really much to learn from his guy. He’s humble. He made used of the opportunity. He believed that nothing was impossible. And here he is, starting for the New York Knicks and leading the team to new heights.

If you are wondering how this even relates to the Slingers, here it is: Jeremy Lin was an underdog, just like the Slingers in the ABL, a league in a region dominated by Filipino basketball supremacy. No one will ever think of Singapore defeating the Philippines in the basketball. No one would ever think the Slingers could be the champs. But no one thought J-lin would make it either.

Here’s the take-away: Never assume. And history…is history. Whatever past glories are past! The Singapore Slingers face a tall task on Sunday against the Philippines Patriots, who is currently the top team in the ABL, and a team that has won one championship. It would be an important game for the Slingers. In fact, it would be a pivotal one. Defeat the Patriots on Sunday, and climb to the top of the league once again. Lose and drop to 3 losses.

A win would certainly be big! Because it will send another signal to the league that the Slingers mean business. And before the game, no one knows for sure whether the powerhouse or the underdog would win.

I would say, Slingers, go for the W! Climb up to the top of the table. Then, go for the ABL championship!

Well, if Jeremy Lin can do it, so can you!

Let’s go, Slingers, Let’s go!

I got some pretty nasty comments (which I thought took it a little bit too personally – and seriously) from supporters of the San Miguel Beermen thinking I was “attacking” their team in my blog post. To be affront, I have nothing against the San Miguel team. I’m cool with them. Nothing against the players or management or whatsoever. Well, in fact, kudos to the San Miguel management team. Thanks for donating to the team an autograph jersey and partnering in the Slingers’ charity cause! It’s a really nice gesture!

Well, these fans (not all) just probably weren’t aware that I was describing a situation in ABL more than anything else – having mentioned a few other teams other than the Beermen. Well, I haven’t got any negative comments from other teams though since I’ve written the article, so I’m really wondering what’s going on here…

Well, let’s see what we got here:

Jordan Cruz to the Singapore Slingers:

haha! that’s why u wont win a championship in this league! your coaches are so immature to stick to imports that don not bring anything good to your team.

no wonder why a lot of filipino basketball fans hate slingers team. ive read a lot of comments in FIBA site about their arrogance. Geez! IF (that’s a big if) ever u win an ABL championship, its not because u didnt replace ur imports but because they played well

Gian Floresca:

haha! SLINGERS !!! THE NEW!!! SOUTH EAST ASIA’S weeping boys!

BITTER OVER aVENIDO’S departure i guess???

Jordan Cruz again:

haha! ur right Gian, The neeew weeping boys of South East asia, The Slingers !!!!! hahahaha

Ivan Floresca:

haha…. kidstuff by the SLINGERS…they probably been playin too much of ANGRY BIRD!!

Dito Na Budoy:

singapore slingers relies too much on imports ahahahahaahaha

That last from Jordan Cruz:

its normal for fans of sanmiguel to react that way…

These are just some of the nasty comments, which I really don’t have much more to say. Only that, that’s a lot of hate on our team here: “Slingers coaches are immature”, “Slingers are the weeping boys of Southeast Asia”, “kidstuff by the Slingers”, and this one outright, ”a lot of Filipino fans hate the Slingers team”. And all these were coming from not one but a few San Miguel fans!

Well, to be fair, some give quite good reasons for import changes, and I can accept that people don’t take my opinions. It’s fine. Everyone is entitled to theirs. But still….what????

This sure is some REAL hostility towards the Slingers, from my point of view!  “Its normal for fans of sanmiguel to react that way?” I sure hope not! Because I know many of them don’t.

Well…Slingers fans, if you must, have a good laugh over this:)

But I’m sure not laughing the way some people are dissing the Slingers team…

It just gets me all fired up for the Slingers to play the Patriots on our homeground come Sunday!

Peaceout! <3