Hong Kong escape Malaysia, catch last trip to Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers

ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Hong Kong proved to be the steadier team down the stretch as they withstood the gritty Malaysia, 71-66, to catch the last bus to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, Sunday at the UG Arena in Ulaanbaatar.

Siu Wing Chan and Yiu Pong Yip split their respective trips to the foul line in the game's final seconds to shut the door close on their foes, who got to within just a field goal, 68-66, with 2:26 left after being down by as much as 11 points.

With this, Hong Kong has completed the 24-team field for the Asia Cup Qualifiers, whose first window will open in November this year.

Game heroes: Tsai Choi Kwan finished with 15 points to lead the East Asian side, who's making its way back to the continental qualifiers.

Leung Shiu Wah supplied 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists plus a game-high 4 steals, while Yip chipped in 12 markers in the victory.

Turning point: A team that started hot with a 15-4 blitz, Hong Kong were already ahead by seven, 68-61, after Oliver Xu's trey with 4:16 remaining in the game.

But the Harimau didn't allow them to break away. With Ooi Xian Fu taking the wheel, they chopped the gap to just two points entering the final two minutes.

All of a sudden, however, the team of Coach Jeff Viernes couldn't find the mark. Yip would make it a 69-66 lead for his side with 1:31 to go, and he was also there to prevent the opposition from running the floor when he secured Xu's missed trey.

The Malaysians slowly lost their grip on the match, and could only watch helplessly as Chan and Yip dealt the final blows to seal the win for Hong Kong.

Stats don't lie: Malaysia committed 18 turnovers in the loss and Hong Kong made them pay dearly for it by converting those to 22 points.

And the latter was far better in exemplifying team play as they dished out 18 assists -- 10 dimes clear of the Harimau -- that led to 10 players scoring at least 2.

FIBA