SEREMBAN (Malaysia) – Hosts Malaysia left nothing to chance or doubt early on and cruised along thenceforth, racing to a 77-63 win over SEABA nemesis Indonesia to close the proceedings in Group C action of the FIBA Asia Cup 2029 Pre-Qualifiers First Round at the Karisma Arena on Monday.
Hong Kong, China had tipped off the day’s proceedings by beating Singapore 100-59, finishing their engagements with a clean slate.
Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Indonesia have thus qualified from this Group to the Second Round Group F, where they are joined by Thailand, Mongolia and Fiji, the trio from Group D.
Playing in front of the largest crowd of the competition, Malaysia were focused as well as ferocious in their approach right from the word go.
Talismanic forward Ting Chun Hong, whose fiery long-ranger helped Malaysia close the opening period in complete control, would go on to lead the home team’s scoring with 21 points.
Fellow veteran Ong Wei Yong, who too played an active role, added 13 points while Tychique Bosango’s double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds held fort.
Anthony Beane enhanced his career graph with a game-high 23 points.
Marco Leung’s 16 points was the highest for Hong Kong, China in a line-up that saw five players score in double digits and two miss it by one point.
Carl Belanger’s dozen led Singapore.
FIBA