NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier) - Malaysia rebounded well from a heartbreaking loss in Day One by beating Cambodia 104-43 to start the action off in Day Two.

Cambodia managed to hang in close throughout the first five minutes of the first quarter, but Malaysia substituted in big man Chin Zhi Shin (19 points, 8 rebounds, 7-10 FG) to spark a rally that closed the first quarter with 12-0 run. 

The second quarter was Cambodia’s best with Dominic Dar scoring 9 of his 19 points. However, by the time the second half tipped off, Cambodia was too gassed out from Malaysia’s rotation and pressure.

 It was a good opportunity for Malaysia to regroup after their loss to Indonesia and Coach Brian Lester used it to get his team comfortable moving the ball in the half-court set rather than just blasting out on the breaks. The team distributed their shots well and six players were able to score in double-digits, including 19 from Yew Yii Yan and 19 from Wong Yi Hou.

Malaysia were unforgiving on defense against Cambodia, forcing 29 turnovers and notching 20 steals. 

After their crushing victories in Day One, Thailand and Singapore collided in Day Two and it resulted in a classic overtime duel. Thailand ended up with the victory, 83-77, but Singapore showed once again that they cannot be underestimated.

The homecrowd had gone silent as Thailand saw themselves down 65-60 late in the fourth quarter. The score then stood still for nearly a full two minutes before supersub Sorot Sunthornsiri broke the deadlock with two straight fastbreak baskets. The crowd had to hold their breath for nearly the entire remaining minutes of regulation as both teams traded clutch baskets and free throws, ending with a layup which barely missed by Wong Wei Long (11 Points). 

Sheng Yu Lim started the overtime period by getting Singapore up ahead with two points, but Thailand locked it down on defense to ignite a 7-0 run that would give them the lead for good. Singapore made one more attempt to tie the game up, but Patiphan Klahan doused their hopes with an acrobatic And-1 layup with only 10 seconds to go.

 Coach Hsu’s squad came into the game well-prepared to counter Thailand’s physical advantages of both size and speed. They set themselves in a 2-3 zone for most of the game, focusing on closing out on the perimeter and forcing Thailand to shoot only 27.6% from downtown. They attacked off the dribble to draw in defenders and passed off to cutters, giving their players more space to get their shots off against the bigger Thailand defense.

 Kelvin Lim had a fiery shooting game for Singapore, going for 15 points on 6-12 shooting to go with 8 rebounds.

 Even then, Thailand’s defense was just too destructive. The hosts swatted away a total of 13 shots, a majority of which were in the latter stages of the game. Chanathip Jakrawan, in particular, was dominant with 7 blocks all by himself saving Thailand time and again. While Coach Marty can stay pleased with his team’s interior defense, he’s going to have to spend the night figuring out how to handle the team’s control of tempo. Thailand turned the ball over 20 times the entire game, giving Singapore easy opportunities over and over again.

 Tyler Lamb rose to the occasion and saved Thailand not only with his clutch three-point shot late in the gam but his cold-blooded free throw shooting, missing only 1 of 11 attempts. He finished the game with a tournament-high 27 points off 7-13 shooting from the field.

 Indonesia completed the day’s set of games with a romping of Brunei Darussalam, 118-54.

 After a hard-fought victory against Malaysia in the opening day, Indonesia took the opportunity facing up against Brunei to sharpen up their defensive schemes and get everyone involved. Coach Fictor Roring rested Arki Wisnu for the day but was able to field everyone else on to the court in evenly spread out minutes. All of the players were able to get on the scoreboard, led by Andakara Prastawa who had 21 points all on his 7 three-pointers. Five other players put in double-digit scoring as Indonesia coasted to their second straight victory.

 After shaking off their first game jitters, Brunei had a better start to the game. They still struggled with Indonesia’s full court trap, but found some moments where they were able to calmly break the pressure with sound passing. Team Captain Benjamin Sim was able to find his range in this game, shooting 4-7 from beyond the three-point line to lead his team with 19 points.

 Singapore will face Brunei to start off Day Three of the tournament at 1:00 PM.

After surviving an overtime game, Thailand will have to face a feisty Malaysia squad at 15:30 PM.

Indonesia gets another late schedule as they will play Cambodia at 18:15 PM.

 RESULTS

Malaysia beat Cambodia, 104-43
Thailand beat Singapore in overtime, 83-77
Indonesia beat Brunei Darussalam, 118-54

FIBA