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ABL 2019-20: Preview Analysis of Macau Black Bears against KL Dragons

After a two weeks break, we next travel to Macau to face the Macau Black Bears at the Venetian Macao on the 29th of January 2020 at 7.30 PM.

The Black Bears made their ABL debut in the 2017/2018 season, then known as Chongson Kungfu. The team finished top of the regular season but fell short in the semi finals. 

Last season, the team rebranded to their current name and qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the quarter finals to the Singapore Slingers.

The Black Bears come into our clash with a 6-7 record. Despite currently having a losing record, the Black Bears have proven to be fierce competitors with four of their defeats finishing with a losing margin of less than five points.

The Black Bears currently lead the league in offense, averaging 95.2 points per game. The team’s offense has been led by the exceptional duo of Kenny Manigault and the 2017/2018 ABL Heritage Import MVP Mikh McKinney.

Manigault has been putting up MVP like numbers with 25.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 6.0 APG and 2.6 SPG. McKinney has also been showing his class with 24.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 7.4 APG. Manigault and McKinney are currently first and third respectively in the league’s scoring rankings. 

Their third import, Brandon Edwards who was averaging double double figures recently suffered an injury and was replaced by Canadian, Jasonn Hannibal. The 31 year old 2.11 meter center has playing experience in Canada, Iran, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Mexico and most recently with our fellow ABL team, Hong Kong Eastern.

Hannibal made his debut for the Black Bears this past Sunday, helping his new team defeat his former team, Hong Kong Eastern 97-80. Hannibal logged in 10 points and 13 rebounds, including nine offensive rebounds. 

Backed up by their talented locals, Jenning Leung, Warren Liang and Liu Zihao, the Black Bears will be prove to be tough to beat on their home floor.

Another notable member of their roster is 28 year old Macanese American, Nelson Chan. Chan is best known for his YouTube channel, “Hoop and Life” which has 340,000 subscribers. 

We have lost all four of our past games against the Black Bears. 

Before the game, Head Coach Jamie Pearlman said, “They are a very talented high scoring team. McKinney and Manigault are both terrific scorers in transition and when given space to operate off on ball screens. The Black Bears also have a number of locals who can really shoot the ball. Offensively we need to be disciplined in our shot selection and take care of the ball.”

Fans can catch the game on ASEAN Basketball League’s social media pages as well as Astro Arena. 

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