KUALA LUMPUR (SEABA Championship 2017) - Two years ago, Ivan Yeo broke onto the FIBA Asia stage with a bang, averaging a near double-double for Malaysia in the FIBA Asia Championship 2015. The Southeast Asian side were not able to move past the first round of that competition, losing by an average of 47 points, but Yeo was one of the few bright spots for coach Paul Advincula.

The 1.96m power forward remains an integral part of Malaysia's national team, forming a potentially dangerous frontline combination with 2.01m Kuek Tian Yuan. Yeo is expected by Malaysian basketball fans to return to national duty this year after missing some time last year due to injury, and the 24-year-old is eager to put the national colors on anew.

"I feel blessed and humbled every time I get to put on the Malaysian jersey," he said. "As a young basketball player, I never really thought I would be representing my country."

Yeo knows that in the coming SEABA Championship 2017 that will be held in Manila, the odds will not be in his country's favor, especially with the perceived talent gap if Malaysia is ranged against Thailand, Indonesia and regional powerhouse Philippines, but he chooses to see the glass half full.

"We know it will be tough as most countries already have naturalized players," he confessed. "But we will still give it our all."

Yeo most recently saw action for the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the ASEAN Basketball League under coach Chris Thomas, who is also the national team's head tactician. Yeo put up 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a back-up. This is the kind of exposure he relishes in as he knows quite well how the game of basketball has had mixed fortunes back home.

"Over the years, basketball has been struggling in Malaysia due to lack of leagues and sponsors, but everyday is a learning process for us," he lamented. "Many changes have been made lately for the development of basketball here, and hopefully, it will grow again in the coming years."

That's an ironic state of affairs considering how Malaysia have actually been the most successful ASEAN basketball country outside of the Philippines. Malaysia are the only non-Filipino team to ever win a Southeast Asian Games gold medal in men's hoops, and they actually have the same number of SEABA top 3 finishes as the Philippines - 8. The Malaysians have not missed the SEABA Championship podium in the last five stagings, and Yeo is excited to see if they can keep that streak alive, especially given how the national federation has managed the program well in recent years.

"A good thing that changed these past few years is that there are more and more local up and coming teams, giving players better benefits as well," he explained. "National team management has also improved in terms of developing basketball and players."

A case in point is how Malaysia have regularly sent some of their top talents to play in the Philippines the past couple of years, exposing them to a higher level of competition. The ABL, of course, has given them a big boost, and with Yeo being among the scoring and rebounding leaders of the SEABA Championship 2015, things may just look up for the Malaysian quintet this year.

The soft-spoken Yeo is quick to deflect attention or praise, choosing instead to defer to Kuek, who is the national team's captain, but the budding young star is also embracing more responsibility this year, especially with many veteran players already in retirement.

"Right now Kuek Tian Yuan is our captain, and I think his leadership can help us lead this country," he said. "But we too have to take the responsibility as most older players are already retired."

Maintaining Malaysia's lofty record in SEABA hoops will be difficult, but if someone will be at the forefront of such a campaign, it will certainly be Ivan Yeo.

FIBA