XAVIER Alexander flirted with a triple double as the Singapore Slingers defeated Mono Vampire Basketball Club, 73-65, at the OCBC Arena in Singapore on Sunday to take the top spot in the Asean Basketball League.
Alexander had 22 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists as the Slingers built a 19-point lead in the third quarter en route to their ninth win in 11 games.
The Slingers were without their lead guard Wong Wei Long as he was serving the first of a two-game suspension after an altercation with Westports Malaysia Dragons’ Yi Hou Wong.
Justin Howard also had 17 points and nine boards, while Qingde Wu led the locals with 12 points, going 3-of-5 from 3-point territory.
The Mono Vampire Basketball Club meanwhile debuted their new head coach Soonthornpong Mawinthorn and new import Michael Fey, who replaced Paul Butorac.
The Slingers led 39-26 at halftime, shooting at 51 percent while also limiting Mono to just 32 percent.
It looked like it was going to be an easy win for Singapore but Mono fought back in the final period. The Vampires chipped away the lead and even got it down to just two points after a Ratdech Kruatiwa triple with less than three minutes remaining.
Michael Fey scored 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds for Mono, which suffered its 10th loss in 12 outings.