As the yellow lights glowed brightly at the jam-packed OCBC Arena in Singapore for Game 3 of the ASEAN Basketball League Finals, the Westports Malaysia Dragons did not look daunted nor did they seem intimidated. The Dragons didn’t even look like a team who lost Game 1 and surrendered home court advantage. Instead, they simply showed why they became the number one team of the regular season. The Dragons attacked, attacked, and attacked.
After their 90-72 Game 3 win on Friday night against the Singapore Slingers, the Dragons now inch closer to its first ever ABL championship. They now lead the series 2-1 and look to finish the Slingers on Sunday.
World Import MVP Reggie Johnson was relentless in the paint, finishing with 34 points on 13-for-18 shooting as he also pulled down 13 rebounds, five from the offensive glass. Point guard Jason Brickman found Johnson sprinting down the court on multiple occasions for easy buckets while the Singapore defense was caught napping.
Johnson’s frontcourt teammate Calvin Godfrey was able to battle through foul trouble and tally 21 points and 8 rebounds in just 25 minutes of play. ASEAN Heritage MVP Matthew Wright contributed with 16 points.
The Singapore Slingers meanwhile had their own struggles with fouls. Xavier Alexander picked up three fouls by halftime and eventually fouled out of the game with just under six minutes left in the final period. The Dragons held a six-point lead at that point, 69-63, but after Alexander exited the game, the Slingers simply had no answer for Johnson and company.
The Dragons ended the game on a 21-9 scoring binge in those last six minutes. The lead even ballooned to as high as 21 points.
For the game, the Slingers were only able to shoot 30 percent from the field as the Dragons played in-your-face defense for 40 minutes. They also held import Justin Howard to a dismal 2-for-15 shooting night for 5 points. Howard was virtually a non-factor on the scoreboard. Singapore’s Wu Qingde did scored 19 points but was limited to just 4 points and no three-pointers in the second half. Wu ended the game 3-for-10 from deep.
The Dragons may have lost the series opener last week at the MABA Stadium in Malaysia, but they showed incredible poise and resolve in Singapore to take back their home court advantage.
Before the game ended, the lights inside the arena grew dim and the game was halted for a few minutes. At that point, it didn’t matter however. The Dragons were enjoying a huge lead and the game was practically over.
This Sunday in Game 4, the Dragons will look to put the lights out on the Slingers to win the ABL title.