Guam punch ticket to Asia Cup Qualifiers; Mongolia, Malaysia start Second Round triumphantly

ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Tai Wesley and Jericho Cruz came through in the clutch as Guam survived the erstwhile-unbeaten Thailand, 75-69, to book a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, Friday at the UG Arena in Ulaanbaatar.

Wesley broke the 69-all deadlock with 53.5 seconds remaining, and Cruz struck the dagger through a floater with only eight ticks left to play before sinking both of his charity stripe shots as they remained spotless in the Pre-Qualifiers (3-0).

 
Wesley finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Cruz scored 13 for Guam who became the fifth team to reach the Asia Cup Qualifiers after Palestine, Iraq, Qatar, and UAE from Group E, which played in Doha earlier this week.

Jonathan Galloway led the way with 22 points and 19 rebounds as forward Earnest Ross chimed in 16 markers and 4 steals.

The loss wasted the efforts of Freddie Lish, who led Thailand with 29 points and 7 rebounds. Furthermore, it spoiled the FIBA return of Tyler Lamb, who backed up his long-time teammate with 18 points and 6 boards.

Also coming out triumphant were the home team, who warded off the hard-fighting Singapore, 75-69, in the last match of the gameday.

Tommy Bilguun led the Blue Wolves with 16 points. Sanchir Tungalag made 13 points and 6 rebounds, while Enkhbaatar Onolbaatar added 11 and 7 boards in the triumph that brought them closer of reaching the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Mongolia actually led by as many as 19 points, 34-15, during the second quarter but the visitors tried to fight back late and got to within just five,  69-74, following Tsai Choi Kwan's triple off a Ricky Yang dime with 36 seconds remaining.

 
However, they could not get any closer, and Munkhtuvshin Davaadorj would shut the door close on them by sinking both of his free throws with 4.8 seconds left.

Tsai led Hong Kong with 19 points. Leung Shiu wah had 17 points, as Marco Leung added 14 in the defeat.

The curtain-raiser of Group F action saw Wong Yi Hou shine as Malaysia fought back and kept Singapore in search of a win, 75-69.

The veteran internationalist finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds as he led the Harimau's roaring 19-6 rally abridging the third and fourth quarters to turn a 10-point deficit to a 58-55 lead, which they would never relinquish.

Ting Chun Hong and Kuek Tian Yuen would help out in closing the match to collect their third straight win in a streak that dates back to the First Round.

Ting finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Ooi Xian Fu made 13 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists, while De Wee Yang added 10.

Shi Yu Ng, on the other hand, had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Singapore, who led by as many as 11 points, 40-29, early in the third.

FIBA