Singapore Slingers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Singapore Slingers

Established	2006/07
Team Colours	Red, White, Gold
Home Venue	Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Major Sponsor	CLSA
Championships	1983, 1984, 1988 (as Canberra Cannons)
Team History	Canberra Cannons (1979-2002/03) Hunter Pirates (2003/04-2005/06) Singapore Slingers (2006/07-Present)
Chief Executive	Bob Turner
Coach	Gordon 'Gordie' McLeod
Captain	Ben Knight
Website	www.singaporeslingers.com

The Singapore Slingers are the first Asian-based club in the Australian National Basketball League and joined at the start of the 2006/07 season. The head coach is former West Sydney Razorbacks coach Gordie McLeod and they play at the Singapore Indoor Stadium (SIS).

The club was the brainchild of NBL stalwart Bob Turner, the Slingers' CEO. The NBL believes the club can open the league to wider audiences and greater revenue. However, the club has averaged crowds of only 3500 at its home games so far this season.

The franchise was known as the Canberra Cannons from 1979 to 2003 winning 3 championships in 1983, 1984 and 1988. The Cannons begun to struggle and relocated to Newcastle for three seasons and were known as the Hunter Pirates for the 03-04, 04-05 and 05-06 seasons. The team again relocated to Singapore before the start of the 2006-07 season and are currently known as the Singapore Slingers but also play occasional home games in Newcastle.

[edit] Current Roster

Singapore Slingers Current Roster
Head Coach: Gordon McLeod			Edit
G	17	Jason Castro	(Philippines;Philippine Christian University)
G	?	Chris Daniel	(NZ)
G	4	John Fitzgerald	(QLD; Lindsey Wilson College)
C	30	Sam Harris	(ACT; Old Dominion University)
F/C	21	Blagoj Janev	(NSW; University of New Hampshire)
F	33	Ben Knight	(NSW)
F	15	Pathman Matialakan #	(Singapore)
G	7	Shane McDonald	(VIC)
G	8	Darren Ng	(SA)
F	?	Darius Rice	(Mississippi; University of Miami)
* = Import, # = Development Player			Singapore Slingers