Day 4: Stage set as Malaysia, Hong Kong complete Div B Semis cast

AMMAN (Jordan) - Malaysia completed the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2023-Division B Semi-Finals picture by beating Singapore, 72-51, Thursday at the Prince Hamzah Sport Hall.

The crew took control of the game in the middle quarters, enough to cruise their way into the lopsided win to edge out their Southeast Asian neighbors in the virtual Play-Off for the last Semis ticket.

A total of 11 players scored at least 2 points in the win, with Xi Yin Yap bannering the offense with 16 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double performance.

Emily Ang Zi Shan provided ample support with 15 points and 7 rebounds in the win that enabled the Malaysians to lock the no. 2 seed in Group B with a 2-1 record.

Now, Malaysia will be gearing up for the Philippines, the best team of Group A with an unblemished 3-0 record, in the knockout crossover Semis on Saturday.

 

Meanwhile, Hong Kong hardly broke a sweat in keeping Maldives winless by way of a 109-19 beatdown in the first game of the day to secure their spot in the Semis.

Coming off a down-the-wire win over Jordan, the crew jumped to a 31-8 lead and never looked back on the way to securing the no. 2 seed of Group A with a 2-1 record.

Ka Lam Lo led Hong Kong with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Tsz Ching Kam provided 18 points and 5 rebounds, while Ka Wun Cheung made 14 markers and 11 boards.

Yan Ting Tai registered her own double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, with Nga Ching Chung adding 10 markers in the lopsided victory that saw the team win the boards mightily, 67-37, and display offensive wealth sharing at its finest with 30 assists.

 

Hong Kong will be taking on Group B's no. 1 team in Iran in the Semis.

The Iranians had already sealed the top spot after beating Malaysia and then Singapore, but refused to fall into complacency as they beat Guam, 65-42, to end the Group Phase unbeaten at 3-0.

Ghazal Zamani Dehyaghoubi finished with yet another double-double line with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Iran, who held their counterparts to only 7 points in the final period as they made sure to finish strongly after capturing control of the game in the second chapter.

Zahra Zazerani had 14 points while Helya Houdneh supplied 13 markers and 6 boards in the win that emphatically concluded the second division's Group Phase.

 

Daily highs
Efficiency: 36.0, Yi Xin Yap (MAS)
Points: 19, Ka Lam Lo (HKG)
Rebounds: 14, Wan Ki Mak (HKG)
Assists: 9, Zahra Zarei (IRI)
Steals: 5, Ka Lam Lo (HKG); Yan Ting Tai (HKG); Madelin Lock (SGP)
Blocks: 4, Ke Xin Lee (MAS)

Results
Group A
Hong Kong def. Maldives, 109-19

Group B
Malaysia def. Singapore, 72-51
Iran def. Guam, 65-42

FIBA