NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers) – The winning teams keep their records clean heading into the final day of the first round of play. Thailand and Guam easily mastered their opponents, Fiji and Singapore, respectively, while Malaysia had to fend off a feisty Macau team.

Malaysia vs Macau (83-71)

It looked like Malaysia was going to be able to cruise to a victory over Macau, but the representative from EABA would not go down easily. The final score ended at 83-71 in favor of Malaysia but Macau can hold their head high for their comeback rally effort.

Malaysia had led by as much as 22 points early in the first half (40-18) which was followed by a 10-0 run from Macau to end the first half. Fouls continued to pile up for Malaysia’s key players as Macau relentlessly attacked the basket. By the 3:30 mark of the 4th quarter, a free throw by Lam Wai Hou had cut the lead down to only 4 which was the closest Macau had been since the first minute of the game.

With the team on the verge of being on the wrong end of an inspiring ralley, Wong Yi Hou stepped up and took the game into his own hands. The 22-year-old wing rattled off 10 of the team’s final 13 points as well as key defensive plays to make sure his team got their second straight win of the tournament.

After Macau closed in to with 4 points, Wong Yi Hou erupted for the 10 of the team's final 13 points to assure @MabaMalaysia their second straight win, 83-71.#FIBAAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/FsaiZdvwjR

— 🏀FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) November 27, 2018

All players were able to score for Malaysia and was led by Ting Chun Hong who had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Macau got a strong performance from Sou Wa Chak who had 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists as well as a timely three which closed the game to 72-69 with 3 minutes to go.

In Group A action, Malaysia will be getting a day of rest while Macau faces Indonesia for 2^nd place.

Thailand vs Fiji (77-52)

Thailand claimed an easy 77-52 against Fiji in their first matchup ever in FIBA competition for their second straight win.

The host nation were ahead for all but 22 seconds of the game as head coach Douglas Marty enjoyed the opportunity to rest his star players for the upcoming game against Guam. Eleven players were able to put points on the board for Thailand, with 26 of those team points coming in fastbreak situations.

Teerawat Chantachon recovered from a quiet opening game and scored 14 points on a perfect 7/7 shooting with 4 rebounds.

Fiji had to rely on Joshua Fox’s production once again, and he had an even bigger follow up game with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 steals. And once again it was not enough as Fiji drops to two straight losses.

Singapore vs Guam (57-107)

If Guam’s win over Fiji in day one was not convincing enough, their follow up of beating Singapore 107-57 certainly should be.

Five players scored in double-digits for Guam as they blasted through for a second consecutive 40+ point victory against their foes. They finally unleashed Tai Wesley who made a stat line of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, on 7/7 shooting look easy.

Sweet shooting Earnest Ross rained in another flurry of threes, finishing with 5 triples and 19 points. He now leads the entire tournament in points (38) and three-point shots made (9). Darren Hechanova recorded the most assists in a game so far in the competition with 9 in total and now also leads the tournament in assists (13).

@earnest33_ross has three triples in the first quarter along for 11 points, getting him tied for most three-pointers made so far in the competition.

Guam leads 33-11 at the end of the first quarter.#FIBAAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/ns84AWP6YV

— 🏀FIBA Asia Cup (@FIBAAsiaCup) November 27, 2018

Singapore’s Wong Zhong Han got the opportunity to start in today’s game after an impressive debut and had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 three-pointers to his name. 

The two undefeated teams of Group B, Thailand and Guam will face each other at 3:00 PM (GMT +7) while Fiji plays Singapore to avoid elimination at 12:30 PM (GMT +7) tomorrow.

FIBA