National coach Goh Cheng Huat and his boys claimed their second victory at the Maba International Basketball Invitation when they beat Taiwan’s Chung Chou University of Science and Technology 98-88 in a hard fought battle at the Maba International Basketball Invitation in Kuala Lumpur.
At the Maba Stadium, the national team lead 26-21in the first quarter. Initially, the team had an 11-point (25-14) lead to their advantage with two minutes left but the young Taiwanese side proved they were no pushovers when they reduced the deficit to five.
In a tightly marked game by Chung Chou University, the visitors levelled up the score 33-all with four and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter thanks to their three-point hotshot Du Yu-Cheng who had six attempts in the net out of nine.
But it wasn’t over. With two minutes down the clock, the Malaysians were given a scare as they were down by 10 points (35-45). Fortunately, the boys were able to keep their cool and fought hard to reduce the deficit to two at the halfway mark (43-45).
In the third quarter, national coach Goh Cheng Huat and his boys had a change of tactics to counter the varsity side’s defensive play and stepped up the pace to regain their lead to a nine-point cushion.
With three minutes remaining, the Malaysians extended the lead to 16 points (88-72). The Malaysian remained focused and played to their experience to fend off the menacing threat from the varsity side to end 98-88 in the final quarter.
Ting Chun Hong was the top scorer for Malaysia with 21 points. While Taiwan’s Du Yu-Cheng wrapped up 26 points.
“Our opponents were quick on their feet. They took every opportunity available and I think the visitors gave us a valuable experience for our preparations towards the SEA Games.
“Our plan was to use our height advantage over the Taiwanese side. There was no point of rushing and my boys handled the situation well by slowing down the game. They took their time and stuck to the game plan,” said coach Goh. – BY ALVIN OH
