Asean Basketball League leaders Eastern expect ‘tough’ test against Singapore Slingers as double header looms
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Hong Kong Eastern are looking to cement their position at the top of the table when the Asean Basketball League (ABL) season resumes on Saturday.
The league leaders will play the Singapore Slingers and the Saigon Heat – both in the top half of the table – in back-to-back games at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur this weekend.
Eastern limited the Slingers to their lowest points total this season, in a 68-52 win in Singapore early last month.
Starting centre Chris McLaughlin – who missed that game because of illness – is expected to be fit, but head coach Zeljko Pavlicevic is taking nothing for granted.
“The biggest mistake will be if we start thinking we put a certain player in and it will be an easier game,” the 71-year-old said. “We won big in the first meeting but it is a different game every time.
“I expect a tough game because the Slingers are only a game behind us. We have the same intention to win and we are ready but the top five teams are close.”