Although it was more or less confirmed after last week's game against South Korea U21, but tonight I am glad to announce to everyone: "WE MADE IT!"
After the shocking loss to New Zealand U21, our boys were handed a second consecutive loss against group favourites Hong Kong U21. It was a terrible blowout loss for our team, even with Ma Kuan Min carrying the team with a game high 34 points. That was probably the only positive out of the game, as despite trying to catch our opponent's defense off target, we fell to an embarrassing 60-87 loss.
Our boys bounced back the next game to go second in Pool A by beating South Korea U21 104-77. The Koreans owned the boards on both sides, reducing us to a measly 31 rebounds in the game while grabbing 20 boards on our side. However, our smooth defensive play forced a lot of turnovers on their side (19 turnovers in total, with their star PG Dong-Yul Kang losing the ball 7 times) to get possession back to our side. Ma Kuan Min once again burst into form and dropped team high 23 points with 71% shooting, alongside fellow teammate Dhisna Chaddha. Team captain Seet Woon Loong once again had a pretty quiet game, however his presence on the field was also important, as he dished out a game high of 4 assists.
With the Koreans facing group leaders Hong Kong U21 tonight, we went into tonight's game with one foot in the next round and without pressure. However our boys might have been too relaxed as our neighbours raced to an early lead in the first quarter. Malaysia U21 manager Nicholas seemed to have been watching our team closely, as he dispatch Willy Gatut, who was like Marcus Smart tonight. Despite hitting 3 of 12 shots from the field, he was strategically placed to defend our best shooters. Thus Ma Kuan Min was suddenly brought down to earth, shooting 3 of 16 from the field and losing the ball 3 times. Then Kwok Yi Wee took over the game. Finishing the game with a double double, game high in points (19), rebounds (15), and assists (5) while picking up a team high 3 blocks, Yi Wee's fine performance let our boys overcome the early deficit, and weathered the storm that could have come after Seet Woon Loong left the court injured.
With New Zealand U21 crashing to a second consecutive defeat, we make the next round together with our neighbours Malaysia U21, and probably Philippines U21, Japan U21, Taiwan U21 and Iran U21. Despite only having to face one Pool champion, our chances in the knockout stages are bleak, as Taiwan U21 and Iran U21 are as good as any pool champion.