NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier) - The standings are starting to take shape as two teams (Indonesia, Thailand) remain undefeated and another two teams (Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam) remain winless. Will those situations change in Day Three of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier?

 Singapore vs Brunei Darussalam

All Singapore can do after taking in a tough overtime loss to Thailand is keep their heads up and move on. Luckily for them, Brunei should not prove to be as tough of an opponent. Singapore’s done a good job of playing team basketball, getting nearly everyone involved and not relying too much on one single player and also leading the tournament in assists with 25.0 per game. Once again, they should be able to do the same. With a game against Malaysia looming in the following day, Coach Hsu might want to rest some of his key players here.

It’s looking less and less likely that Brunei will qualify for one of the four qualifying slots of this tournament, but there will still be hope if they can steal a win here. It’s not going to be easy as they don’t have the speed to keep up with Singapore’s passing, so Coach Lim Boon Tek will have to be patient with his team.

Key Matchup: Md Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin led Brunei with a double-double in SEABA Championship 2015 but didn’t start off so strong in this tournament. His second game was a bit better with 13 points and 4 rebounds, but the team’s main big man will have to produce much more against his match up. Delvin Goh has been consistently steady, but might look to get his confidence level up in this game by attacking the Brunei paint more than in the past two game.

Thailand vs Malaysia

Malaysia had a chance to see Singapore expose Thailand of their weaknesses and get a chance to pounce on the opportunity right away. Though they remain undefeated, Thailand committed 20 turnovers in their overtime win against Singapore. Malaysia are expected to apply even more pressure on Thailand’s ball handlers. So far in the tournament, Malaysia’s been aggressive at attacking guards on defense with 13.0 steals per game.

Thailand was also able to survive in overtime because Singapore were unable to convert their three-point shots (2-20), allowing a comeback to be possible. Malaysia’s done a much better job of hitting their threes (35.0%), so Thailand will have to do a better job closing out on the three-point line.

Coach Lester’s frontcourt has been solid on the boards (57.0 per game, 2^nd in tournament) with likes of Ivan Yeo, Chin Zhi Sin, Mak Lok Seng, and Kuek Tian Yuan crashing the boards, but they will be put to the test against the supersized frontcourt of Thailand. It will be especially difficult for them as offence as they will have to go through Chanathip Jakrawan, Patiphan Klahan, and Tyler Lamb who combined for 12 blocks in their recent game.

Key Matchup: Malaysia’s lead guard, Teo Kok Hou, has not been 100% in this tournament and their back up Heng Yee Tong didn’t play the remainder of the game against Cambodia after leaving for what looked like an ankle injury. This leaves Ong Wei Yong and Yew Yii Yan as Lester’s options to go up against Thailand. Coach Marty of Thailand himself doesn’t seem like he has a clear preference for the point guard position as well. Bandit Lakhan has started games, but Sorot Sunthonsiri has seemed like a better option to close things up. Toby Tai Sathitsampun has been a wildcard so far as well. It seems like the backcourt battle should determine who controls the tempo… and the outcome of the game.

Indonesia vs Cambodia

Indonesia cruised to a win over Brunei Darussalam and it shouldn’t be too much to expect that they will get another big win against Cambodia who are averaging the least points in the tournament (45.0 per game) and allowing the second most points (116.5 per game) so far.

Cambodia has been relying a lot on Dominic Dar and don’t expect for them to stop here. The 24-year-old is averaging 19.0 points on 23.0 attempts per game and has played all 80 minutes in his first two games. Coach Fictor Roring might take this opportunity to practice some defensive schemes he might be using against Tyler Lamb when Indonesia plays Thailand in the following day.

Indonesia has stayed undefeated for this long and it’s going to take

 Key Matchup: Andakara Prastawa has been on fire in the first two games of the tournament for Indonesia, torching defenses for 10-17 threes. It might be too much to ask for from Dar to guard Prastawa as well with the load he’s carrying on offense, but he might be their only hope.

FIBA