KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia) – There is no illusion for Malaysia on how strong the teams are in their Group for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. The Draw, which was held in Bengaluru earlier in June, resulted in Malaysia being placed in Group B along with China, Japan, Chinese Taipei.

“You can’t say ‘Group of Death’,” Malaysia head coach Brian Lester said. “but it’s a tough Group, no doubt about it.

“We’re with China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and they are all tough teams for us. They are a level above us, no doubt, but it is what it is so we’ll go with it.”

Group B is the only Group with three Top-10 teams in Asia according to the FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike. China is at 3^rd, Japan at 7^th, and Chinese Taipei are sitting at 10^th. Malaysia, on the other hand, are ranked at 25^th.

Despite the gap, Malaysia’s outstanding forward, Ting Chun Hong, is not discouraged.

“For me, I am excited,” Ting says with a chuckle after being asked of his reactions following the draw. “They are strong teams and we will get a lot of experience from them.”

(Ting Chun Hong, FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifers East Region)

Malaysia had to play through the Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers East Region to get to this stage. The competition will be at a different level at the Qualifiers, but like his star player, coach Lester is looking forward at the chance to gain valuable experience.

“We’ll get good experience playing against bigger and stronger players. We’ll still play our own game and do the best we can with that and hopefully they’ll help lift our level,” expressed the Australian tactician.

Malaysia are expected to bring along a young group of players that will be their core for the future. Preparation will be key to get the most they can out of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

“Since we’ve confirmed the teams we’ll be playing against, I’ve had a look at them,” said Lester.

“I think Japan looks like the tougher team, like their big guy Nick Fazekas and Rui [Hachimura]. They are disciplined. They are very disciplined.”

(Malaysia vs Japan, FIBA Asia Cup 2015)

“Of course, China’s going to be tall and deep. They have great local competition.”

“For Chinese Taipei, we’re going to be there for a couple of time and play their teams. They’re very aggressive and they work hard defensively. They’re quite good and I know one of their coaches, Charlie Parker.”

Unlike his coach, Ting was more brief in describing his upcoming opponents.

“Tall,” Ting said of China.

“Fast,” he said of Japan.

“Skilled,” was his reply to associate with Chinese Taipei.

(Malaysia vs China, FIBA Asia Cup 2013)

Going up against these physical disadvantages, Malaysia will have to find something else to offset the gap. It’s a style of play they have been implementing ever since the Pre-Qualification rounds and will continue to improve on in these further stages.

“We will try to play faster because we don’t have a lot of size in the team. We need to play fast and run,” said Ting.

FIBA