Westports Malaysia Dragons. Photo from ABL.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia– Westports Malaysia puts its nine-game winning streak on the line against rival Singapore in Game 1 of their best-of-five Finals series in the 2016 ASEAN Basketball League Finals Friday night at MABA Stadium here.
The Dragons hope to keep their fire going in front of their home crowd and see a different result in their second consecutive trip to the championship round.
Malaysia made it to the finals last season but got swept by Hi-Tech Bangkok City in a best-of-three duel.
Westports Filipino head coach Ariel Vanguardia, who has been calling the shots for the Dragons since 2012, will continue to bank on the services of his American imports Reginald Johnson and Calvin Godfrey and Filipino recruits Jason Brickman and Matthew Wright.
Johnson and Godfrey have been doing the heavy lifting for the Dragons — averaging 20 plus points and 10 or more rebounds per game — while also getting enough support behind the solid play of Brickman and Wright.
Brickman has been making life much easier for his team. Nobody’s better than the Fil-American playmaker when it comes to distributing the ball as he averages nearly 11 assists per game while the Fil-Canadian Wright has been his team’s most potent outside scorer.
“We’re in the finals right now so I think we’ve been very successful,” said the 25-year-old Wright.
Vanguardia is looking to steer the Dragons to their first title but it won’t be easy with the Slingers standing in their way.
The Slingers will be making their first appearance in the finals.
Led by American imports Justin Howard and Xavier Alexander and Filipino standout Kris Rosales, Singapore had quite a run this season that included a 10-game winning streak.
And in breaking through the finals, Singapore had to topple defending champion Bangkok.
The odds are about even heading into the finals opener with the two teams splitting their four meetings in the elimination round.
The Dragons enjoy homecourt advantage after as the No.1 seed. The first two games will be played here before the series shifts to nearby Singapore, a six-hour drive from the Malaysian capital.