Guam upend Mongolia before electric crowd, Thailand dominant anew in Pre-Qualifiers' closer

ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Earnest Ross Jr. hushed the electric crowd as he towed Guam past Mongolia, 82-81, in a thrilling conclusion to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Pre-Qualifiers' Second Round, Sunday night at the UG Arena in Ulaanbaatar.

Ross fired a cold-blooded pull-up triple right in the face of Sanchir Tungalag for the go-ahead bucket with 3.4 seconds left, and the visitors would go on to eke out the one-point win as the home team could not execute on the other end.

Ross finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and a whopping 6 steals for Guam, who finished the Second Round as the only unbeaten team (5-0).

Top-scoring for Coach EJ Calvo's team was Jonathan Galloway, who registered a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds with 2 blocls.

Tai Wesley finished with a full line of 20 points, 6 boards, 3 dimes, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, as Jericho Cruz added 14 markers and a pair of steals.

Put to naught by the stinging defeat was the well-deployed attack of Mongolia, spearheaded by Anand Ariunbold as he made 17 points.

Tungalag had 15 points, while Enkhbaatar Onolbaatar and Ulzii Orshikh Myagmarsuren added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Blue Wolves in an encounter that pitted two of the eight teams bound for the Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Thailand didn't show any sign of slowing down despite reaching the ACQ after mauling Singapore. 78-60, in the penultimate game of the day.

Tyler Lamb led the way once more with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Moses Morgan provided 14 markers, 4 boards, and 4 dimes.

The two combined for 23 points in the first half, where they nearly matched their foes' output as the long-time teammates powered the Thais to a commanding 42-35 advantage at the half that set the tone for the dominant conquest.

FIBA