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After a tough but expected loss against China (-30), we had a break. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to find a scrimmage opportunity (the only team I found without a scrimmage declined my offer). Then we faced Japan as our U21 NT did. We were lucky to choose the right defensive tactic in order to seriously slow them down. With our prodigious (16) inside defense, we were all set to get the best of their low post offense. In the end, we dominated the boards (+13), they shoot under 30% thanks to our blocking skills (10 blks).

In other games, Australia managed to beat UAE by the lucky margin of 6 but they were up by 1 at the beginning of the 4th QT. Those 2 results will allow Australia to finish 2nd, we will be 3rd and Japan 4th. This is really better for us as we will be with Australia, Taiwan, Iran, Lebanon and Singapore in the next round. In the other group, there will be China, HK, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia.

What a win against Iran! The end of the game was fantastic! We were in front during most the game but Iran did a great 4th quarter to lead by 6 with 1:14 remaining (110-104) but then Malaysia master piece happened: 10 to 1 to lead by 3: 111-114 with 10 seconds to play. Iran took a timeout and scored a 3-point shoot with 2 seconds on the game clock. Without taking a timeout, Malaysia played very quickly to find Aanandaprakash Srivastava on his way to the basket to miss the game winner on the buzzer... but a foul was called. He scored both FTs and the game ended with the first win for Malaysia NT in this second stage group.

In other games, Lebanon beat Australia by 19!!! At the same time, Taiwan won against Singapore. Iran and Australia may already have a hard time catching up to get the 2nd qualifying spot (as Taiwan will get one). Our next game against Australia, they don't have a choice but to win if they want to keep hope of seeing the semi-finals. We will also need to win it.

Edit: Lebanon is really an impressive team on the making, they only have a player over 31 which means that they will compete with the same roster (minus one PG) in 2 seasons.

Last edited by Nico4nicolas at 8/13/2024 9:34:54 AM

Grats and GG

Losing by 12 against Australia was a tough loss as it means we almost lost the opportunity to make it to the next round. Our next game will be against Taiwan who is out of our reach. Players with the best game shape will play but I don't expect anything from that game. After that, we will play against Singapore, a game we may be able to win. In any case, that won't be an easy one. Finally, we will play our last game against Lebanon. Playing at home, they seem to be better than us and I sincerely believe they are on their way to get their first medal ever!

Last edited by Nico4nicolas at 8/19/2024 3:35:03 PM

As expected, we loss against Taiwan. With Lebanon winning against Iran and Singapore winning against Australia, Taiwan and Lebanon are almost qualified for the semifinals.

We will play against Singapore as they just won Australia, they are not to underestimate. I believe they are sight favorite but we will try to get that win. Singapore still have a chance to qualify if they win against us as they will play their last game against Iran.

Last game will be against Lebanon, we have very little chance to win that one but you never know, it will be their last group game before the semifinals... we will see.

Congratulations for the great job you've done for the past years. This season is history in the making for Lebanon, I saw it sine the first games this season. That being said, we (Malaysia) won't make it any easy for you... but we will also try to beat Singapore which would be very good news for you.

Despite giving it all against Lebanon, we couldn't get the win so Lebanon will get their first medal ever. A well deserved award for a team which will stay high in the NT ranking during the next seasons.
Other results were surprising as Australia managed to get a final win against Taiwan as they were almost certain to keep their place. More surprising, Singapore got blown away by Iran. One might wonder if this was done on purpose but the fact remain: we finished last. We played a series of close games (+2 against Iran, -12 against Australia, -6 against Singapore and -7 against Lebanon). In the end, the final result isn't a good one.

Next season will be transition as 6 of the current players are 33 or 34yo. I will try to start next season without the 'old' players (33 and above) but I will most probably need to call back a few of them as our youngsters aren't ready yet (and there aren't many of them).