Dragon Rising

The Westports KL Dragons were crowned National Champions as they edged past Perak FarmCoChem 76-59 in the National Basketball League (NBL), behind some great shooting from Alex "Dead Eye" Hartman and great leadership by their captain, Guganeswaran Batumalai.

By Kelvin Goh Wong

Hartman, formerly the main corner stone of the Singapore Slingers, was signed earlier this season and his impact on the team has been tremendous. In the semi-finals game, Hartman dropped 40 points in an unstoppable 102-66 route of Sabah Kinsabina.

Hartman, who has already been crowned both the slam dunk and three point shootout champion, was looking to gain the greatest prize of all, the Championship.

The game however didn't start easy for the Dragons. They trailed FarmCoChem the entire first quarter only to tie the game at 17 apiece going into the second, courtesy of a pair of free-throws from Hartman.

The Dragons kicked it up a notch in the second quarter under the leadership of Guganeswaran, attacking the lanes and lighting it up from beyond the 3-point arc. The Dragons were just too much for FarmCoChem as they widened the lead to 41-29.

In the second half, FarmCoChem mounted a valiant attempt to regain the lead as they outplayed the Dragons and cut the deficit to a mere seven points, insuring they stayed in the game.

The Dragons then slammed the door on FarmCoChem as fireballs started raining on the FarmCoChem defense from every angle when the Dragons caught fire, highlighted by a circus shot by Donnie Stith, who made a shot from behind the backboard while falling out-of-bounds after being fouled for a three-point play.

The Dragons had three players with double-digit scoring, led by Guganeswaran's 23-points, with Hartman netting 22-points and 18-points from Donnie Stith. Hartman also took home the Most Valuable Player award as he had a comprehensive performance for the team with 22-points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 5 rebounds.

The win gives the Dragons the much needed momentum going into the second season of the Asean Basketball League (ABL).

The Dragons have signed five players so far as the selection process is underway for the ABL. Among the players that have signed with the team are Guganeswaran, the highly improved Kwaan Yoong Jing and perimeter sniper, John Ng.

The Dragons however have yet to make any foreign signings be it from the ASEAN region or the international pool of talent, though a few are already going through the vigorous selection process.

Among the international talent on display, American based James Hunt stood out the most, showing good overall physical ability and great knowledge of the game. Hunt also has the flair for putting on a show which is sure to entertain the fans.

However Hunt does not seem to have the ability to take over and dominate games, unlike Hartman and former Dragons star, Chris "The Machete" Kuete.

Dragon's head coach Goh Cheng Huat said that the Dragons are in no rush to sign foreign players as the local pool of talent is so wide.

"Unlike last year, where the team was set-up in a short period of time, we can afford to weigh our options when it comes to foreign talent. As they come in and go through the selection process, we will identify the best players that will put us in the best position to win." he said.

The new Dragons' assistant head coach Paul Daniel said that he likes the local talent pool that the Dragons have but he is hoping to see more from the foreign players.

"We need to see more from these foreign players as we are looking to sign players that are going to help us go further in the playoffs and even win the championship." he added.

Coach Daniel is known for his defensive prowess and was brought in to address some key defensive lapses that the Dragons' suffered in the last ABL.