Basketball New Zealand

Chris Daniel has helped the Singapore Slingers to an unbeaten start this season

Nelson Giants guard Chris Daniel wasted no time making an immediate impact in Singapore.

Daniel scored 23 points and added five rebounds, two steals and an assist as the Singapore Slingers dominated Phillipine finalists Air 21 124-86 in the first game of the Singapore Challenge Series last week.

The 23-year-old came off the bench to shoot 8-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 three-point attempts and 4-of-5 from the foul line in 24 minutes.

“Coach played everyone, so we all got good game time. I was happy with the game, good to get that win though, most important,” Daniel said.

Daniel had nine points (3/7 FG, 1/3 3pt, 2/2 FT), three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 22 minutes as the Slingers, who also won the Brunei Cup in late August, proved too strong again for Air 21 on Sunday, pulling away to win 98-85.

Daniel originally signed with Singapore to play in the Australian National Basketball League but financial difficulty forced the Slingers out in July and Daniel opted to stay.

Instead, Singapore will play a series of exhibition games, looking to increase interest in basketball in the hope of setting up a South-East Asia league for the 2009-10 season. The team heads to Taiwan this week, before returning to Singapore for games against Phillipine team PureFoods, the Sydney Spirit and Beijing Aoshen in the next three weeks.

Staying overseas, Tall Blacks centre Craig Bradshaw’s Group Begar Leon started the Spanish LEB Gold season with a 92-60 rout of Aguas Gandia Basquet of Valencia, with the Kiwi big man providing six points (3/7 FG, 0/2 FT) and nine rebounds in 20 minutes.

In the wake over the Christchurch Sirens departure from the Australian Women’s National Basketball League, two Tall Ferns have picked up contracts.

Forward Lisa Wallbutton inked with Belgian champions Dexia, who will also contest the women’s EuroCup this season, last week, while Natalie Purcell was picked up by new WNBL club, Logan Thunder, as an import.

Purcell joins Tall Ferns team-mates Aneka Kerr and Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe at Townsville and Angela Marino with defending champions Adelaide, and former Tall Fern Lisa Pardon at Bulleen, as New Zealanders competing in the WNBL.

In the ANBL, Tall Blacks centre Nick Horvath carried his pre-season form into the regular season, helping the South Dragons to back-to-back wins over the Perth Wildcats to complete round one last week.

Horvath posted 15 points (4/8 FG, 1/1 3pt, 6/8 FT), seven rebounds and a block in 24 minutes, while international team-mate Mika Vukona had four points (2/5 FG, 0/1 3pt), eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in 26 minutes in the Dragons 97-81 home win over Perth on Wednesday.

The Dragons, under coaching legend Brian Goorjian, improved to 2-1 on Sunday, hanging on against the Wildcats in Perth, winning 91-87, with Horvath going for eight points (1/4 FG, 6/6 FT), five rebounds, four assists, a block and steal in 27 minutes and Vukona four points (2/3 FG), four rebounds, an assist and steal.

Tall Blacks guard Paora Winitana also got off to a winning start with his new club, scoring four points (2/5 FG, 0/1 3pt), three rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes in the Adelaide 36ers 109-82 rout of the Townsville Crocodiles in their home opener on Friday.

It was not the same story for Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron and former national team forward Casey Frank with the Gold Coast Blaze.

Frank had 17 points (5/9 FG, 1/1 3pt, 4/6 FT), nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal in 33 minutes and Cameron four points (1/1 FG, 0/1 3pt, 2/2 FT), a rebound and assist in 13 minutes as the Blaze fell 85-75 at home to the unbeaten Cairns Taipans on Friday.

Cameron recorded 10 points (4/6 FG, 2/3 3pt), two rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes and Frank on a poor shooting night added eight points (4/13 FG, 0/1 3pt), 11 rebounds, an assist, block and steal in 35 minutes as Gold Coast sunk to 0-2 with a 92-76 road loss to the defending champion Melbourne Tigers on Saturday.

Following a season-opening loss to the New Zealand Breakers, Tall Blacks point guard Lindsay Tait and the Wollongong Hawks rebounded with a 111-99 win over the Sydney Spirit on Saturday. Tait had five points (1/3 FG, 0/1 3pt, 3/4 FT), five assists and a rebound in 22 minutes while Luke Martin had two points, two rebounds and two assists for Sydney.