SINGAPORE: Having routed the KL Dragons 92-74 in the Asean Basketball League at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last Monday, the Singapore Slingers came up against a hostile, 2,000-strong crowd at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday and were humbled in a 78-71 loss.

Led by the game's top scorer Michael Leblanc (19 points), the visitors started strongly in the first quarter but the see-saw battle saw the Dragons closing the first half 44-31 in the lead.

The Malaysians turned on the heat in the second half, and with guards Chris Kuete and Loh Shee Fai on the offensive, the Dragons romped to a seven-point victory at the final buzzer.

Despite the loss - their third defeat in five away games - the Singapore Slingers are keen to come away with a win from their two remaining ABL matches, which will propel them to second spot on the six-team table.

"They started very well against a hostile and energetic crowd here, but our substitutions fell behind later," Slingers general manager Michael Johnson told MediaCorp from Kuala Lumpur.

"It's good to get all these three games on the road and we definitely want to be able to win one to put us in second place. We will also use this as an opportunity to get ready for the playoffs."

The Philippine Patriots are currently in top spot in the ABL with 24 points, while Indonesia's Satria Muda BritAma and the Slingers are in second and third spot with 22 and 21 points respectively.

The KL Dragons (20 points) and Brunei Barracudas (19 points) will battle for the final playoff spot.

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