KUALA LUMPUR: The Westports Malaysia Dragons (11-9) own the tiebreaker against the Indonesia Warriors (11-9) and will need to beat Singapore Slingers (8-11) today to remain third seeded in the playoffs.
The San Miguel Beermen clinched the No 1 seed and Philippine Patriots will be second seeds. Singapore Slingers, Saigon Heat, Bangkok Cobras, and Thailand Slammers have all been eliminated from playoff contention.
"It has been a very competitive year," said Dragons' head coach Ariel Vanguardia. "Even down to the last game, we are still fighting for playoff position. This is what the ABL is all about. Our team has been through ups and downs. We would love to end the season and go into playoffs on a high note."
The Dragons will come into their final game winning four straight games while averaging an astounding 98.3 points per match. The Slingers have won four of their last seven matches including an 11-point victory against the Dragons on April 1.
In that game, the Dragons played with imports Cheyenne Moore and Devon Sullivan. With Nic Belasco sitting on the bench most of the second half and the Dragons playing without a true big man, Kyle Jeffers powered the Slingers to a win at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Jeffers scored 17 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. In the first matchup between the Dragons and Slingers, the Dragons won by 15 points after a 64-point output from Tiras Wade and Brian Williams.
"When we were beaten by the Slingers, we didn't have our original imports," said Dragons' captain Guganeswaran Batumalai.
"Now is a different situation. With Brian and Tiras, we are more confident. I hope our team doesn't relax just because we have clinched a playoff position. We need to continue our winning streak."