KUALA LUMPUR: Not even the red-hot Cade Davis could help the KL Dragons as they fell to a gut-wrenching overtime defeat to the Singapore Slingers in today’s Asean Basketball League (ABL) match.
The American fired off a season best of nine three-pointers but the team just fell short in an 88-87 loss at the Maba Stadium here.
The Dragons were eager to notch another win against their Causeway rivals after snapping a 10-game losing streak following a 79-68 away win at the OCBC Arena on Friday.
And they picked up where they left off as they shot off the blocks to lead 21-18 in the first period.
But as the game grew increasingly physical, the Slingers’ confidence picked up as they turned the tables to lead 38-35 at halftime.
The Dragons, once again, came firing after the break to lead 62-58 only for the Slingers to up their physicality in the fourth period.
Slingers’ centre Delvin Goh converted two free throws to hand them a 76-73 lead with 45 seconds left on the clock.
Davis, however, replied with a booming three-pointer to tie the game but the Dragons were unable to take the win in regulation time.
In overtime, both Davis and Amir Bell eventually fouled out while Will Artino made a costly slip right at the end to allow Slingers’ big man Anthony McClain to steal in and tip in the winning basket.
Xavier Alexander led the Slingers with 27 points while Marcus Elliot put up 20 to go along with Delvin’s 15 and McClain’s 14 markers.
For the Dragons, Davis recorded a season-high score of 37 points while Bell had 18 but the team will be annoyed with how the Slingers got under their nerves with their aggressive approach.
Both teams are now tied at 7-7 for the season, with Dragons occupying sixth spot behind the Slingers.
There is, however, little time for the Dragons to wallow in defeat as they face the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas at home on Wednesday.