Malaysian squads take flight, Filipino clubs fall in Filbasket opener

Reuben Dasom exploded in his Filbasket debut. Filbasket

By Dugout Philippines

KUALA LUMPUR—Host team Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian national team took wins to the delight of the fans at the MABA Stadium here in Day 1 of the Filbasket International Championship.

The Aseel pulled away in the third quarter and never looked back against Malaysian counterpart MBC basketball club in an easy 81-60 win.

On the other hand, the national team, carrying the name Harimau Malaysia, stunned the Pilipinas Aguilas, 84-77.

It was a toe-to-toe game from start to finish with both teams exchanging blows until the end.

Jeff Viernes, who is a former professional basketball player in the Philippines, made his debut as the national team coach and got his first official win on the international stage.

Wong Yi Hou and Ting Chun Hong continued their stellar play since the Filbasket 2022 Summer Championship, held earlier this year in Manila, with 20 and 18 points, respectively, for the Harimaus.

As for the Aguilas, it was a vintage showcase by former Gilas Pilipinas member Mac Baracael, who led all scorers with 23 points in under 26 minutes, showing his whole repertoire through post-ups and shooting beyond the three-point line.

In the other games of the historic day, Reuben Dasom, a fixture of the Thailand national team, carried his team Pegasus Sports with 28 points in an 88-81 win over Elang Pacific Caesar of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL).

Two-time IBL Champion and one-time Asean Basketball League (ABL) champion A.A Ngurah Wisnu, on the other hand, led Bumi Borneo to an 82-69 win over the BGC Builders.

First Game

PEGASUS SPORTS 88-Dasom 28, Tran 18, Yap 13, Leong 11, Morel 7, Chong 5, Tang 3, Teoh 3, Kong 0, Nguyen 0, Sia 0, Kuan 0

ELANG PACIFIC CAESAR 81-Alston 25, Putra 17, Wibowo 12, Pratama 6, Dhoifullah 5, Darmawan 5, Hardianto 3, Ariezky 3, Ghozaly 3, Kae 2, Wibisono 0, Jamalong 0

Quarterscores: 23-20, 46-41, 63-65, 88-81

Second Game

BUMI BORNEO 82: Budidharma 24, Wongso 14, Ramadhan 12, Shariputra 9, Daffa 6, Prawira 6, Chrissler 4, Kumara 4, Pandapotan 3, Setiawan 0, Orlando 0, Yanto 0

BGC BUILDERS 69: Teodoro 22, Doligon 12, Monte 10, Matias 10, Doroteo Jr. 8, Diaz 2, Gonzales 2, Saret 2, Cervantes 1, Adelante 0, Machate 0, Samonte 0

Quarterscores: 24-19, 40-41, 61-52, 82-69

Third Game

KUALA LUMPUR ASEEL 81-Gan 13, Wee 13, Tan, W. 11, Mahadevan 8, Tan C. 7, Liew 6, Wong 5, Soong 5, Dee 5, Ragu 4, Chan 2, Thea 2

MBC BASKETBALL CLUB 60-Hamilton 14, Lai 11, Phang 10, Low 9, Kua 5, Lee 5, Tan 4, Cheah 2, Macoumba 0, Yeong 0, Chua 0, Chan 0

Quarterscores: 25-20, 41-37, 65-50, 81-60

Fourth Game

HARIMAU MALAYSIA 84: Wong 20, Ting 18, Kuek 11, Mak 7, Ong 6, Lim 5, Ooi 5, Qian 4, Chua 4, Hiew 3, Lee 1, Heng 0

PILIPINAS AGUILAS 77: Baracael 23, Eze 12, Bederi 11, Alanguilan 9, Cortes 7, Racho 5, Reyes 4, Mangahas 3, Lao 3, Syhongpan 0, Aviso 0, Khatibi 0

Quarterscores: 24-22, 46-41, 63-61, 84-77

Follow the site on Twitter: @DugoutPH