THE KL Dragons got the job done by beating arch-rivals Singapore Slingers 70-67 in Friday’s Asean Basketball League (ABL) match at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
The Dragons started stronger with Will Artino and Cade Davis handing the home team a 19-16 first-quarter lead.
The Slingers, however, dug in to slash the Dragons’ lead to just 37-36 at halftime and kept up their solid defensive work to go into the fourth quarter trailing just 55-54.
Unfortunately, for the Slingers, Jameel McKay fouled out in the fourth period.
The Dragons stayed ahead following a three-pointer from Chin Cheng Wah before Simeon Lepichev and Amir Bell put the game beyond the Slingers’ reach.
Artino finished with a strong double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds while Davis and Lepichev had 14 and 13 points each.
“It was another great game. We had to grind it out in the end as their zonal defence caused us a lot of problems,” said Dragons coach Jamie Pearlman.
“We were struggling to find someone to shoot the ball and it was a great effort by Cheng Wah to step up and make that massive shot for us.”
The Dragons, who are third on a 10-7 win-loss record, play San Miguel Alab Pilipinas in Manila on March 10. Kng Zheng Guan