Mike’s Back

And then there were ten….. Almost a roster! Back in the warmth of Singapore Mike Helms arrived this week to commence training with the Slingers. Looking at his 6 foot 1 frame this year round he looks like he has found a few pounds in his time not playing. As stealthy as he is, he still has his explosive prowess around the basket.

Seeing the group training together gives the feeling of a very interesting season ahead. A young group, but a immensely talented group this new batch of Slingers has the potential to mix it with the very best the NBL can throw at them.

Again there will be a dynamic duo of import in Mike Helms and Rod Grizzard a much more formidable pairing compared to last season’s duo in Chandler and Helms. Look to see Grizzard handle the ball this season too as the 203cm frame has the versatility that will prove to be a hard defensive assignment.

A welcome addition to the group and court general for the Singapore National Team is Michael Wong. Making the adjustment to banging away with the big boys has been no problem for Michael. Just in training he has shown he can step up and it will be an interesting season for him as he will get to refine his skills even further.

More to come……

Our Team, Our players, Our Pride.

The Season Ahead….

Well back again after a long absence.

Finally after months of not knowing, the Slingers are glimpsing the first ray of light shining though what was turning out to be the long dark tunnel of the off-season. Going up against challenges seem to be the norm for the NBL’s only asian-based team and moving into the second season has shown no sign of smooth sailing.

For now the Slingers are full steam ahead and working towards making an impact in their second season in the Australian National Basketball League.

With the roster still being finalized the Slingers are shaping up to be as competitive if not better than last season. With the likely return of All-star Mike Helms and the possible addition of a second round NBA draft pick the Slingers should have the firepower to match any offensive package the league has to offer. Not to mention the day in day out, grinding away, work ethic of Ben Knight and the addition of a few familiar faces the Slingers should be on track to make a solid stand this season.

Travelling to Brunei to the 7th annual Brunei Cup invitational, the Slingers will have the least amount of pre-season training than any other team. The nine day tournament will give the team some much needed game play and provide a good platform for the new group to feel each other out and gel as a cohesive unit.

With head coach Gordon Mcleod away on Australian National Team duties and the loss of Dean Vickerman to New Zealand, Assistant Coach Neo Beng Siang will be stepping up to fill the role with NBL Hall of Famer Michael Johnson backing him up.

Traveling on 13 separate trips last year the team struggled to gain some sort of consistency whilst on the road. Showing promise this season with only 8 road trips gives the team less of the long hauls between Singapore and Australia or Singapore and New Zealand. We’ll only have to wait and see if this has an impact on improving the Slingers poor road record.

The next couple of weeks will see some interesting announcements from the Slingers camp as the final touches get put on a roster set to compete in the 2007/08 NBL Championship.

Our Team, Our Players, Our Pride.

Slingers Come Up Short.

Two straight is all the Slingers could manage as the 36ers put an end to the Singapore’s winning ways. Being a team that struggled to find their rhythm earlier in the season Adelaide have recently found form and managed to lead from the onset causing Singapore to mount a late comeback which would prove to difficult to overcome.

Posting 25 for a game high, Brett Maher lead the visitors to the victory. Having a quiet night on the court both Marquin and Mike managed to sneak in 20 points each but it still wasn’t enough to come away with the ‘w’.

Looking at the stats for the game you could almost mistake it for a different outcome as the Slingers out shot out rebounded and the hosts. The telling factor was the urgency to take care of the ball. With a total of 8 turnovers for the game the Adelaide 36ers would narrowly escape with the upset as the visiting Slingers’ total was 15 for the match.

Next stop is West Sydney as the Indoor Stadium will play host to an improving squad of Razorbacks. Again this will be a tough match as West Sydney, sitting dead last on the ladder will have nothing to lose and will come out firing on all cylinders.

Time to Shine.

Looking like a different team the Slingers put on a display unseen to the Singapore Indoor Stadium crowd this season. A sense of cohesion seemed to surround the Slingers as they marched off to a seventeen point lead at the first break. Another milestone was reached as the Slingers and Breakers hosted the first non-Australian clash of the NBL’s history and both teams were up for the challenge. Top scorers for the Breakers was Carlos Powell as he posted 43 for the match and a game high scoring record. Fortunately the Breakers could not stop the onslaught of well executed offence as the Slingers showed that they would not be intimidated and took command for the get go.

 Marquin Chandler and his recently found form was unstoppable. The Slingers swingman backed up his player of the week honours and showed the Singapore crowd what they missed out on just three days prior.

After beating Wollongong on the road the Slingers put themselves in a must win situation against the Breakers. New Zealand are a strong team in their home arena as they sit in playoff postion but are comparable to Singapore on the road as they have struggled to find their footing posting 1 win and 6 losses.

Likewise for Singapore this game was about pushing for that playoff birth. A win was not good enough. For the basketball fans it was about how the Slingers were going to win.

Showing their potential, the Slingers gave the home town fans a glimpse of what could be a season turn-around. Both Mike Helms and Marquin were instumental in this team win. With the imports playing well, enables the defence to be drawn out creating easy opportunities for the big guys. This also allows good open looks for the long range specialists which have up until now been under-performing.

All of a sudden the League’s smallest team is now showing that they can work together and the results follow. The focus now centres on Adelaide who after struggling the past few games have now strung two wins together including a win on the road against 3rd placed Sydney Kings. Losing the inaugural opener to the Slingers, the 36ers will look to even up the club series and deny Singapore a third straight win.

Our Team, Our Players, Our Pride.

If a tree falls in the woods…

Here is the conundrum… If an All-Star is carving up the rest of the league all season long but there is no one there to see him, is he still an All-Star? You bet he is! But that is the problem Singapore’s very own 2006 NBL All-Star, Mike Helms is facing. Undoubtedly one of the most talented imports to grace the courts of the NBL this side of the millenium, Mike Helms has been single-handedly causing headaches for every opposing coach the Singapore Slingers have faced. Quite simply, there is no player in the league that can stop him. Averaging 22.8ppg, Mike has proved he has it all. Hops: he can sky with the best of them (refer to pic). Shot: he can shoot the 3 with deadly accuracy. Speed: He can blow past his defender with ease. And finally and probably most importantly: He has the ‘fro. All this lead to Mike being a unanimous selection as a World All-Star in the annual 2006/07 NBL All-Star game to be played in Adelaide, Australia on the 25th November 2006. Yet still there are many in the Singaporean basketball community that do not know who Mike Helms is? Now there are many reason why this could be. And I am not even going to touch on this long-winded saga, but what is clearly apparent is the fact that Mike Helms is the best basketball player in Singapore. Watching Mike Helms totally dominate on the basketball court is like watching Tiger Woods dominate the golf course, David Beckham dominate on the football field or Fernando Alonso dominate on the race track. The only difference is, the Singaporean public can watch Mike Helms dominate his sport live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, unlike the other 3 examples, who will probably never ever enter Singapore to showcase their talents. Dont believe me Mike Helms is the best player in Singapore? Check him out… The next Singapore Slingers match on the 13th December 2006 is against the New Zealand Breakers, a team sporting their very own All-Star in Carlos Powell, the most explosive power forward in the league at the moment and Brian Wethers, a former league scoring leader. The Breakers look like they will be the team fighting hardest to keep the Singapore Slingers from reaching the playoffs in the first year in the league, so this match-up will be one that will go down to the wire. This will be yet another opportunity for the Singaporean community to witness the phenom called Mike Helms.

No longer the ‘Hammer’ but now the Axe

Coach killer Shane Heal formally known as the ‘Hammer’  has now axed his way through another tribunal hearing. After dicing his way through All-Star NBA player Mark Price, Shane Heal has moved back into a familiar role in the NBL – being a trouble maker. With enough coaching time under his belt equivalant to the broad range of non-EPL related sport programs in Singapore the newest player/coach in the NBL has gone out and decided to set another great example for his team the South Dragons.

Firstly – if you don’t like a guy (especially if he’s acomplished 100 times more than you as a player) ,  don’t fight it, take his job!

Secondly – If your team can’t get their shit together, why not start a fight?

And finally – Don’t worry about any tribunal hearings because we’ve got rules for this and we won’t tolerate it.

The following is partly from www.nbl.com.au in regards to the Shane Heal – Sam Mackinnon on court incident at the Vodafone Arena Melbourne  

And of course the opinions expressed are solely those of the author and in no way represent those of the National Basketball League.

“given his (the Axe’s) previous record in appearing before the Tribunal (we know you’re a pain in the ass but we know how to deal with your shit now) and his being marginally more(you started it again) responsible for what happened on the floor – fined $1,000.

 $1000 bucks for a repeat offender. please. suppose it’s a better look than suspending a player/coach for the first time.

Keep up the good work coach!

Fit for the Race.

Tuesday the 7th of Movember and in Australia the ‘Race that stops a nation’ was set to take flight. Melbourne Cup Day and the annual ANZA get-together was in full swing. It’s no wonder the Cup has it’s nickname as hordes of well-dressed colonial hooligans gave up their duties for the day in exchange for large hats and free-flowing champaigne – Tough Day!?

Starting off their three week period with no game it was no surprise that the Slingers were on standby to lend a hand. But before they could enjoy the festivities the Slingers were back at their home track at BAS sweating it out.

The Team was put through their second lot of physical testing for the season. From agility test to endurance the boys were worked out thoroughly shedding that extra weight before the main event. Giving an excellent indication of how far they have come from the start of the season the second lot of test showed where the main points for perfection were needed.

Coach Mcleod expressed positive remarks as he was please with his boys performance.

“I will be happy to see the results as our whole squad performed very well today”

Having a small break in between games now will give the Slingers a chance to ‘tighten the screws’ now as they go into a three game away stretch that will prove to be a challenge. Learning to travel is a task for any new team in the League as the long hauls to different cities proves to be a key factor in a teams success. No team in the NBL’s history has every had such a demanding away schedule. With opposing teams making the seven and a half hour trip a twice in the regular season the Slingers eclipse all teams with more than ten trips overseas. In the next three games we play three of the top playoff contenders in the League and there is no reason why we can not rise to the challenge. Eleven games in and twenty-two to go till the playoffs, the boys are a third of the way there with plenty left in them. It looks like an interesting season as the Slingers look to grind this one out.

On a lighter note, Head Coach Gordie Mcleod celebrated his birthday yesterday, from player to coach Gordie has played with and developed some of the best players in the Leagues history. Happy Birthday mate and i’m sure everyone will agree that we look forward to seeing you make more history here in Singapore.

Our Team, Our Players, Our Pride.

Movember

Formally known as November, Movember is a month dedicated to raising awareness for men’s health. The Slingers are proud to announce that they will forego the baby smooth and don the lip ticklers. For the month of movember the Slingers will be growing their best mo’s in order to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Beyond Blue: A National Depression Initiative.

If you feel like supporting the Slingers please go to http://www.movember.com/sg/sponsor, enter our number which is 40468 and your credit card details.

Our Team, Our Players, Our Pride.

 Mo ON!

Slingers Fan