SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - Malaysia and Hong Kong, China registered differing wins to open Group B action of the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup 2025-Division B competitions, Saturday night at the Karisma Arena.
The host nation leaned on a fiery third-quarter barrage to hand the debuting Tonga a harsh welcome, 70-47, while the East Asian side pulled off an emotional 74-71 come-from-behind win over Indonesia earlier.
Yap Yi Yee and Trixie Teo Yi Hao finished with 13 points apiece, while Jong Qian Hui added 11 points as the troika bannered the young Harimau's breakaway en route to strong showing in front of their compatriots.
They powered the home team's overwhelming 16-0 attack to turn a narrow lead to a wide 50-30 advantage with less than two minutes left in the aforementioned period, putting them in control the rest of the way.
But that wasn't enough reason for Coach Pang Hui Pin's charges to rest on their laurels, with Erma Ervina scoring back-to-back hits and Jong nailing a trifecta to push their lead to 66-43 with 1:46 left in the game.
It was a solid showing from the crew itself as all but two scored at least 2 points in the victory - something that their counterparts could only hope for as Huni Falau was Tonga's lone bright spot with 16 points.
Team Tonga were actually able to build a 27-22 lead during the second frame but the Malaysians, mainly behind Yi Hao, turned their situation around and took a 27-28 edge entering the halftime intermission.
Things would only turn for the worse for Coach Joe Vega and the squad as they got bamboozled in the whole third canto, 7-22, never to regain the same form they showed during the game's first two chapters.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong, China pulled off a comeback of epic proportions to beat Indonesia, 74-71 .
Valerie Lau and Athena Fung spearheaded the retaliation as the tandem refused to wave the white flag after finding themselves trailing by as many as 20 points, 56-36, late in the third quarter.
Lau finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Fung came through with 18 points plus 3 assists and 5 steals as they took turns in the final frame to complete the reversal toward a triumphant start to their campaign.
Fung helped out in putting together their hot start in the said period to chop a 58-41 deficit to just a single digit, before Lau took matters into her own hands down the stretch to power the strong closeout.
With the young Timnas owning a narrow 64-61 lead, Lau went on to score 11 of her team's last 13 points, outscoring the opposition by her lonesome in the game's five minutes in an amazing display of assertiveness.
Also coming through with significant contributions were the trio of Wong Tsz Ling, Hannah Wang, and Lee Tsz Yiu as a total of 10 players scored at least 2 points for the side of Coach Chan Hiu Ying.
Inez Welly led Indonesia with 14 points in the loss. She was actually responsible in giving her side the 69-67 lead following a make from beyond the arc with 2:14 to spare, but Lau simply could no longer be denied.
Saturday's results have made it a crucial meeting between Malaysia and Hong Kong, China on Sunday, September 14, as they find themselves squaring up for the solo lead in Group B. Game time is set at 16:30 local time.
FIBA