Dec 2, 2018
NONTHABURI (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers) – Guam was able to complete their undefeated run through the tournament while Indonesia and Singapore claimed tight wins to close out the competition, breaking the hearts of Thailand and Macau, respectively along the way.The games wrap up the Eastern Region Pre-Qualifiers with Guam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia advancing to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers.Guam had already clinched the top spot of the tournament, but that didn’t stop them from going full steam ahead against Malaysia, claiming a 101-78 win.
Earnest Ross broke his personal scoring record with 33 points on 6-12 shooting from downtown to lead the team and finish as the tournament’s leading scorer. Not to be outdone by his teammate, Daren Hechanova recorded the first and only triple-double of the tournament with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Malaysia found themselves down 15-0 to start the game and the lead only grew up to as much as 34 points before the final quarter.Coach Bryan Lester tried to cook up some magic for Malaysia once again and rallied his troops to cut the lead down to 10 points at 88-78 with 5:31 to go in the game. Guam didn’t allow them to come any close and broke away with a 13-0 run to close the game.