Indonesia, Thailand collect wins to complete FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers cast
NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers) – Thailand and Indonesia faced stiff competition but it was not enough to stand in their way of claiming the last two tickets to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. The two nations along with Guam collected wins in the 5th day of play at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers.
Singapore vs Indonesia (57-67)
Fighting to stay in contention and without their star Delvin Goh, Singapore stood tall up to the very end against Indonesia in a do-or-die contest. However, the effort was not enough and Indonesia prevailed with a 67-57 win.
Singapore had just clawed their way back to a 6-point deficit with less than 2 minutes to go before Andakara Prastawa Dhyaksa nailed an impossible shot-clock beating three.
Three-point shooting and Prastawa bails @timnasbasket out of a tight situation once again with this buzzer beater.
— 🏀FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) November 30, 2018
Indonesia takes a 61-52 lead with just a little over a minute left.#FIBAAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/Tk3FCbwcQT
Three-point shooting was not just the final dagger for Indonesia in the game, it was what kept them up ahead as well. Coach Fictor Roring's squad shot only 29.5% from inside the three-point arc but knocked down 8 threes on 18 attempts (44.4%) to keep their score afloat. Singapore couldn’t keep up with the long range shooting, nailing only 2-17 on their end.
Prastawa also lead the team in scoring with 14 points and got help from Arki Wisnu (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) as well as Jamarr Johnson (12 points, 10 rebounds).
Leon Kwek took the charge for Singapore without Goh, scoring 9 of his 18 points in the first quarter. 18-year-old Lavin Raj also had an inspiring run in the middle of the game before fouling out with 10 points and 5 boards.
Without Delvin Goh, 18YO Lavin Raj is stepping up as the man in the middle for Singapore with 7 points and 5 rebounds.
— 🏀FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) November 30, 2018
He's helped spark them back to down only 39-38 with less than 4 minutes to go in Q3.#FIBAAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/aUvtR7BcUv
Indonesia’s win gets them a 2-2 record to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers with a head-to-head advantage over Singapore.
Malaysia vs Thailand (75-79)
Malaysia conjured another late game rally and kept Thailand fans on the edge of their seats before absorbing their first loss of the competition, 75-79.
Moses Morgan had his best game so far in a Thailand national team jersey, going for 25 points and 12 rebounds in the win. While Morgan was sniping from long range with 4 three-pointers, Chanatip Jakrawan worked in the point for 14 points on 7/9 shooting. Jakrawan also added some defensive touch with 1 steal and 2 blocks.
Thailand survives another late game surge to deal @MabaMalaysia first loss in the tournament, 79-75.@moses_morgan3 has his best game of the competition with 25 points and 12 rebounds.#FIBAAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/ieKAGscCKz
— 🏀FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) November 30, 2018
Malaysia had a slow start once again, trailing 29-40 at halftime. They shot only 9-35 from the field at halftime, compared to Thailand’s 14-27 field goal shooting. Kuek Tian Yuan had led the way for Malaysia with 16 points at the end of the third quarter, but the team was down 63-46 heading into the final period.
It was again Malaysia’s pressing defense and Wong Yi Hou (22 points on 9-16 shooting) who sparked a 4th quarter run and outscored Thailand 29-16 in the last 10 minutes. Thailand countered with two three-pointers each from Moses Morgan and Chitchai Ananti in crucial moments to withstand the rally.
Chitchai Ananti's timely three puts Thailand's lead back up to double-digits!
— 🏀FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) November 30, 2018
74-63 with less than 3 minutes to go.#FIBAAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/3CvTj0C5YJ
The victory is Thailand’s third, assuring them a spot to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. Malaysia drops to a 3-1 record, but already secured their Qualifiers ticket after yesterday’s game.
Macau vs Guam (64-97)
There were no surprises or late game surges from Macau as Guam cruised to their 5th straight victory at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers, 97-64.
Guam opened up their first 20-point lead on back-to-back threes from Earnest Ross in the second quarter and never looked back. Size was a clear favor for Guam who controlled the boards with 72 rebounds against Macau’s 41. Even more impressively, they corralled 32 offensive rebounds compared to Macau’s 31 defensive boards.
The three Wesley brothers provided most of the damage, combining for 33 rebounds and 29 points among the trio.
Macau got everyone on the scoring board and played hard to the very last minute against the strong Guam squad. Lo Hip Meng led the team with 13 points.
Guam remains undefeated with a 5-0 record while Macau stays winless at 0-5.
