ABL Finals: Malaysia looks to regain home-court edge in Singapore

Westsports Malaysia Dragons. Photo from the ASEAN Basketball League website.

SINGAPORE — Westports Malaysia is looking to pull off what Singapore did in Kuala Lumpur—steal the home-court advantage.

After getting stunned on their home floor in the opener, the Dragons are ready to take the fight to Singapore in Game 3 of the ASEAN Basketball League best-of-five finale at the OCBC Arena here. Game time is at 8 p.m.

With the series tied at 1-1, Malaysia is eyeing a crucial lead in the series but the Dragons’ Filipino head coach Ariel Vanguardia knows it’s not going to be walk in the park.

READ: Malaysia bounces back, ties ABL Finals vs Singapore at 1-1

“It won’t be easy, we’ll take it one game at a time. [Singapore] is a tough team. They are very cohesive,” Vanguardia told reporters after their Game 2 win in Malaysia.

The Dragons are up against a determined Slingers side who are hoping to wrap up the series and finally take home their first ever ABL championship in front of the sold out arena in the Lion City.

But with pride in play, Vanguardia is confident that he’ll be getting more from his local cast especially against their Singaporean rivals.

READ: Jason Brickman eyes Europe, not PBA, after ABL Finals

“Our locals also don’t get much credit. I use a 9-10 man rotation every game. We can be deep,” he said. “Our locals are ready. They’re playing with a lot of pride because of the rivalry.”

The Dragons have Fil-Canadian Matthew Wright, who was named Heritage MVP, cunning Fil-American guard Jason Brickman along with imports Reggie Johnson and Calvin Godfrey at their disposal.

But eyes will be on Malaysia’s local crew led by Ma Chee Kheun, Loh Shee Fai, and Wee Seng Wong, whose production in Game 2 was crucial in knotting the series.

READ: Fil-Canadian Matthew Wright named ABL Heritage MVP

The Slingers, though, are motivated to bounce back and regain their advantage especially with ABL history within their reach.

“The coaching and management gave us the confidence,” Slingers local Wu Qingde told the ABL website. “They give us a lot of encouragement. They want us to get back and work things out.”

Fil-American guard Kris Rosales, whose defensive presence proved to be a key in Singapore’s Game 1 victory, is not looking too far ahead.

“I think it’s great we came out of [Malaysia] with at least with one win. Now we have 2 home games, we’ll just take it game by game,” he said.

After letting the Dragons control the boards in Game 2 leading to a crippling 20-point edge in second chance, the Slingers are hard pressed to work double-time on the defensive end.

“We have to step up our defensive assignments so offense will be easier,” Rosales said.