EFFECTIVE DEFENCE: Sarawak’s Ma Chee Kheun (centre) blocked from scoring by Tan Chee Khuan of Penang during their Men’s Division I match of the 55th Maba Agromate Agong Cup National Basketball Championship yesterday. Sarawak won 89-85. — Photo by Chai Chang Yu
State cagers look to avenge defeat against Melaka
KUCHING: Sarawak face a tough test in the semi-finals of the Men’s Division I of the 55th Maba Agromate Agong Cup National Basketball Championship when they take on Melaka tomorrow.
They will be looking to avenge their 51-83 defeat to Melaka in the preliminary round match at the Tawau Community Hall in Sabah, on Tuesday.
Sarawak booked their last four spot in the competition after chalking up two wins and two defeats in the six-team tournament.
They scored their third victory when they edged Penang 89-85 in their final league match to finish in third place in the table standings with six points.
In the match, Sarawak played a consistent game, leading 23-15 and 43-25 in the first and second quarters respectively.
However, Penang managed to close the gap to 63-59 in the third quarter with man-to-man marking and launching fast attacks.
In the final quarter, they succeeded in limiting the damage done by Sarawak, restricting the score-line at 69-61, 76-74 and 87-80 before Sarawak wrapped up the win with a four-point margin.
Ma Chee Kheun was the top scorer for Sarawak with his 27 points and 10 rebounds while other main contributors of points were Voon Yiew Ting (18), Yip Teck Bou (11) and Chai Chze Hian (10).
As for Penang, the top scorers were Tan Chee Keong who had 35 points and Lee Chien Chung who got 17 points.
In the other semi-final, table-toppers PDRM, who won all their four matches to collect eight points, will play against fourth place Penang for a place in the final.
The women’s semi-finals will see Johor facing Pahang and Kuala Lumpur taking on Melaka.