SINGAPORE – The Singapore Slingers could make history this Sunday by clinching their first ever ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) title.

Standing in their way however, are the Westports Malaysia Dragons. The two teams are tied at 1-1 in the best-of-five ABL Finals so far, but with Games 3 and 4 set to be played at the OCBC Arena on Friday and Sunday respectively, it is the Slingers who hold the slight advantage.

TODAY lists five factors that could shape the outcome of the next two potentially title-deciding games.

IS WU QINGDE THE HIDDEN ACE IN SLINGERS’ PACK?

Slingers point guard Wong Wei Long – who was recently voted the Most Valuable Player (local category) for the second season running after averaging 12.1 points per game – has deservedly taken the plaudits, and the spotlight, for his role in helping the Slingers reach the ABL finals.

While Wong might take the spotlight, he is not the only player to have shone this season. In particular, forward Wu Qingde has quietly impressed with his tenacious defensive work and tireless hustling off the ball, and has now established himself as an integral part of the Slingers.

Going up against the offensive power of the Dragons, the Slingers will need to count on 23-year-old Wu to be at the top of his game in order to silence the likes of sharp shooter Matthew Wright and star centre Reginald Johnson.

“I’ll probably will be tasked to guard Wright, their best shooter in the team, in the next game,” Wu revealed. “So my main focus will be to try and mark him out of the game and minimise his chances to score from the three-point range.

“I think I’ve played decently this season, but I can’t be satisfied until we achieve our main goal of winning the title. So even if my season has been pretty good till now, if we lose the finals, the quality of my individual performances will be irrelevant.”

EXPECT DRAGONS CENTRE REGINALD JOHNSON TO STAND TALL

Standing at 2.08m and weighing an imposing 132kg, the physical force of nature that is Johnson is one of the most feared attackers in the ABL this season.

The 26-year-old’s statistics speak for themselves – averaging 19 points and 13.5 rebounds per game this season, it was no surprise when he took home the league’s MVP award in the foreign import category.

And Johnson has already left his mark on the Slingers. He scored 20 points in game one of the finals, before following that up with a team-high 18 points in game two last Sunday. Stopping Johnson will be paramount for the Slingers if they are to get anything out of the next two games.

“For sure Johnson is a fantastic player and we will have to keep an eye out on him,” said Slingers head coach Neo Beng Siang. “He has already shown good quality in the games he played against us so there is no doubt he will pose a huge threat again. So my players must remain focused at all times and stick to the game plan, or he (Johnson) could punish us.”

DRAGONS’ ATTACK A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

With four foreign imports in Johnson, Wright, point guard Jason Brickman and centre Calvin Godfrey, the Malaysian outfit have no shortage of offensive options to call upon, and they boast the ABL’s best offence with an average of 93.2 points per game.

Their fast-paced, physical style of play is not only easy on the eye, but effective as well. Having already scored a combined 167 points against the Slingers in the first two games of the final, the Singapore side will need to make some changes defensively if they are to stem the Dragons’ seemingly unstoppable offence.

“If we follow the coach’s plans and minimise the Dragons’ scoring opportunities, it’ll be fine for us,” said Slingers captain Desmond Oh. “As long everyone plays their part defensively, we are confident that our offence will have no problem getting the points to win the game.

“We’re also expecting a very physical battle out there so the players, especially our younger ones, will have to step up the game. Although we may have a smaller-sized team than the Dragons, we will make up for it by running harder on the court.”

CAN THE DRAGONS BREAK DOWN THE SLINGERS’ SOLID DEFENCE?

Going into each game with a defence-first mindset is the mantra that Neo has imbued in his team, and it has paid handsome dividends. Much of the Slingers’ success this season stems from their defensive ability to stifle their opponents and prevent them from getting into good scoring positions.

With an average of just 71 points conceded per game this season – the league’s best defensive record – it will be interesting to see if the Slingers have learnt their lessons from the previous two games and be able to keep things tight at the back once again.

“We’ve looked at the footage of the previous games and have come up with a few defensive strategies to limit the Dragons’ dangerous offence,” said Neo. “So right now, I’m more concerned about shoring the defensive side of things again.

“We’ve also realised that although the Dragons have got four good imports, we cannot neglect their local players as well, because they were the ones who hurt us in game two. But we are confident that we can stop them if we work hard and concentrate throughout.”

HOME SUPPORT MIGHT SWING SERIES TO SLINGERS’ WAY

Last year’s Southeast-Asian (SEA) Games was the last time a full house turned up at the OCBC Arena to catch a basketball game. But today’s game will see just that, with all the tickets – which number about 3,000 – to game three of the ABL Finals already sold out.

In comparison, the Slingers were only able to draw an average of about 1,200 spectators for their home games during the regular season. But will the Slingers be able to make their home ground advantage count?

Neo certainly hopes so.

“After we managed to get a win in our away match in Kuala Lumpur, we knew that the two games on home court would definitely be huge for us,” he said. “In front of a full house crowd, for the first time ever, hopefully the players will draw confidence from this and get pumped up for the game.”

Wu agreed with Neo’s sentiments, and added: “Playing in front of our own fans in a full-house court will definitely give us the incentive to work harder and play better. It’s not often that we get to see such good turnouts for basketball matches. This would be the first time since SEA Games that we’ll see a full house, so it’s a great confidence booster for us.”