MANILA (SEABA Championship 2017) - Indonesia ascended to solo first place with their fourth straight win even as Malaysia and Thailand also gained big wins on Day 4 at the SEABA Championship 2017 in Manila.

Thailand kicked off the action with a royal drubbing of Myanmar, 102-35. The Thais led practically from wire to wire, riding the tournament-high 40 points of swingman Wutipong Dasom. Dasom connected on 19 of his 25 FG attempts, utilizing his height advantage to the hilt against the much smaller Myanmar quintet. He also added 11 rebounds in a dazzling performance. Backstopping him were Nakorn Jaisanuk and Naratip Boonserm, who tossed in 15 and 13 points respectively. Only one Myanmar player broke the double-digit barrier - Aung Wana, who scored 10 points off the bench.

Another blowout took place when Indonesia overwhelmed Vietnam, 95-52. The first period in this match was relatively close with the undermanned Indons holding on to a 9-point lead, but they broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring their foes, 22-10, to go into halftime up by 21. Indonesia never looked back and officially booked their fourth win of the tournament for solo first place, ahead of the Philippines, who are at second with a 3-0 slate.

Andakara Prastawa led the victors with 19 points on the strength of 5 triples, while Sandy Kurniawan heated up anew, hitting 6 three-pointers en route to 18 points off the bench. Mario Wuysang continues his strong play with 10 assists, 7 points and 4 steals. On the other end, Trieu Han Minh and Le Ngoc Tu each scored 12 points in Vietnam's losing cause.

By far the most scintillating encounter of the day, however, was between arch-rivals Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia led for most of the game, but coach Frank Arsego's wards refused to throw the towel, mounting a big rally in the second half that overhauled the deficit and enabled Singapore to come really close to taking the the lead. Missed free throws by Malaysia in the final minute left the door open for Singapore to pull the rug from under them, but Singapore also were plagued by execution as they were unable to complete the comeback. When the final buzzer sounded, Malaysia prevailed, 45-41.

Ting Chun Hong was the man of the hour for the winners, scoring a team-high 18 points along with grabbing 7 rebounds. He got ample support from veteran center Chan Kek Thai, who recorded 5 shot-blocks and 7 boards, while Liaw Chee Huei added 7 points and 6 rebounds.

Wong Weilong struggled mightily for Singapore, making just 2 of his 8 field goals to score a total of 5 points. Slotman Delvin Goh was the lone bright spot for coach Arsego, tallying an impressive 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Day 5 will see Indonesia finally take a much needed break while Singapore try to finally get a win at Myanmar's expense. Malaysia will hope to win back-to-back when they play Vietnam, and Thailand face an uphill climb against hosts Philippines.

RESULTS:
Thailand beat Myanmar, 102-35
Malaysia beat Singapore, 45-41
Indonesia beat Vietnam, 95-52

FIBA