AUS - Crocs ‘down’ Slingers

AUSTRALIA (NBL) - A stunning second quarter burst has moved the Townsville Crocodiles into the second round of the NBL playoffs, with a 106-93 victory over the relentless Singapore Slingers.

After leading by five at the first break, the Crocs rode the outstanding play of Larry Abney, outscoring Singapore 29-16 to head to half time leading, 60-42. While the 203cm Abney usually does his damage close to the basket, he found range on his jump shot and punished the Slingers defence with athletic drives when they closed out too hard.

Abney scored 18 for the first half, and finished with the impressive tally of 30 points and 12 rebounds, converting 57% of his shots. ‘The Birdman’, as he is known, had plenty of support from fellow import EJ Rowland. The former St Mary’s point guard played with great poise, repeatedly ignoring the Slingers offers to shoot from the perimeter, instead penetrating and finding open teammates.

Rowland finished with the first playoff triple double in three years, recording 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Perhaps just as important were his 5 steals, as the Crocs full court pressure repeatedly disrupted the Slingers.

Despite the defeat, the Slingers can return to Singapore with their heads held high. After trailing by as much as 20 in the second term, the Slingers simply refused to end their season meekly, outscoring the home team 31-22 in the third.

The hero of that stanza was former Crocodile Brad Davidson. The 182cm ‘pocket rocket’ nailed five consecutive three pointers, including two where he could have almost been whistled for cross-court! The former Australian squad member also ran the team with aplomb, finishing the game with 6 assists.

Ben Knight also gave great service to the debut franchise, who lost no friends with a display that pushed the Crocs all the way until the last minute. Knight finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds, making a strong claim for a national team position for the FIBA Oceania qualifying series. Mike Helms was also dangerous, repeatedly keeping his side close on his way to 20 points.

In fact, with Townsville stars Abney, John Rillie and Brad Newley struggling in the fourth quarter, the Slingers closed to within six points, and missed many open opportunities to close the gap further. In the end, Singapore simply ran out of time.

While the Slingers could not hit crucial open shots, their execution and composure on offence was as good as any team in the NBL, and the other seven teams in the playoffs will breathe a sigh of relief that they will not have to face this resurgent outfit.

Fittingly, Slingers coach Gordie McLeod, who twice led the West Sydney Razorbacks to the NBL grand final, labeled this season as his “greatest achievement” as a coach. After starting the season 3-10, Singapore climbed back to make the playoffs, despite having to travel more than 120,000 kilometres this season.

But despite their excellent finish to the season without import Marquin Chandler, who injured his knee two weeks ago, the reality for the Slingers is they now go their separate ways. It will be an enormous challenge for Slingers management to keep this team, from three different continents, together. Basketball fans in Singapore will hope they do, as this line up has the potential to be one of the best in the NBL.

To the winners go the spoils, however, and the Crocodiles head to Sydney to face the inconsistent Kings on Friday. While only their import duo stood out tonight, Rillie, Newley and Daniel Egan still found ways to contribute.

Egan’s cameo off the bench, nailing 14 points, including 7 in the final minutes, would be particularly pleasing for coach Trevor Gleeson. Egan will be the ideal match up for Kings star forward Mark Worthington. ‘Wortho’ carried Sydney’s offence last week, and the Kings will find it hard to overcome Townsville if he is subdued.

The man to watch, however, is Crocs captain Rillie. ‘JR’ has no time for Kings and Australian coach Brian Goorjian, who did not select him for the national team for the FIBA World Championships. Rillie has averaged 23 points per game against Sydney this season, and could have something special stored for Goorjian come playoff time.

When it was suggested the Crocs did not have much time to prepare for Sydney, Rillie said he is looking forward to letting it ‘hang loose’ on Friday.

“We are the sort of team, when we don’t have time to think, we might go alright!”

Point man EJ Rowland also has something to prove, after being cut by the Kings earlier in the season. He has found his place in the Townsville program, and will be looking to lead the Crocs to the semi finals. With Kings captain Jason Smith playing with a broken hand, and his import duo struggling for consistency, this game is sure to go down to the wire.

Townsville Crocodiles 106 (Abney 30, Rillie 26, Newley 19)
Singapore Slingers 93 (Knight 21, Helms 20, Brad Davidson 17)
@ Townsville Entertainment Centre.

Paul Kennedy
FIBA Official Correspondent in Australia