ULAANBATAAR (Mongolia) - Malaysia saved their best for last, taking down the once-promising Vietnam, 73-56, to book the last flight en route to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Pre-Qualifiers' second round, Monday at the UG Arena.

At one point in danger after a 0-2 start to the tilt, the Harimau broke away wide in the second quarter on the way to finishing the competition with back-to-back victories while giving their Southeast Asian neighbors the boot.

The Malaysians have completed the 12-nation cast bound for the final phase of the Pre-Qualifiers, which takes place in February next year.

Wong Yi Hou top-billed for the victors with 24 points, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Ting Chun Hong flirted with a double-double with 15 points and 8 boards as well with 5 dimes, while Kuek Tian Yuan supplied 10 markers.

Wong himself sparked the pull-away, opening the second period with back-to-back three-pointers before Kuek followed through a with a shot inside for eight unanswered points to build a 23-9 advantage with 6:37 to go.

Malaysia would never allow the opposition to come close to single digits since. They would lead by as much as 26, 56-30, at the end of the third.

Coach Jeff Viernes' wards shot 40-percent from the floor but it was really their effort on the rebounding department that struck the most, hauling down a total of 61 rebounds while only allowing the opposition to collect 40.

Justin Young and Khoa Dang Tran, meanwhile, had 11 points apiece for Vietnam, who ended the Pre-Qualifiers with three consecutive losses after opening their campaign with a 84-41 rout of Tahiti.

Du Minh Anh and Sang Thanh Dinh made 10 points each for the losing side, who actually showed some signs of life late in the game but just could not string together runs as Malaysia provided apt responses to their attempts.

FIBA