Rashed Alzaabi leads United Arab Emirates to a 89-87 win over Malaysia: FIBA Asia Championship
Rashed Alzaabi led United Arab Emirates as they managed to squeak past Malaysia 89-87 after a nail biting encounter on Friday in the classification-round of the FIBA Asia Championship.
Alzaabi racked up a game-high 21 points along with six rebounds and four assists. He remained on the floor for 28 minutes during which he went six of 12 from the free throw line. His team-mate Ali Alhattawi supported him well,
as he poured in 20 points, grabbed six rebounds and provided one assist for UAE.
From Malaysia, Shee Fai Loh remained the best scorer. He tallied 15 points and grabbed two rebounds. Besides him, Bik Ing Lau scored 12 points, clutched two rebounds and dished out three assists for the Malaysians. However, Loh
and Lau’s effort went in vein as they failed to save Malaysia from defeat.
Malaysia tipped off aggressively and gained the lead early with a 7-0 blitz. UAE responded swiftly and made a 9-2 charge that knotted the score at 9-9, with 6:18 minutes to go in the first quarter. UAE kept their assault going
and extended their lead to 22-17 late in the frame, but Malaysians made two quick possessions to make it a one point game at 24-23.
The game was closely fought in the second quarter and with less than two minutes to go in the first half; the scores were tied at 37. However Eng Heng Soo made one of his two free throws and seized the half for Malaysia at 38-37.
The Malaysians started the third quarter forcefully and quickly extended the lead before UAE charged back in the game and snatched the lead at 47-46. However, Malaysia bounced back with a 10-3 run to make it 58-50. In the ensuing
passage, the pendulum swung once again towards UAE, who marched back in the game with a ferocious 14-1 surge to end of the quarter at 64-59.
UAE maintained their dominance in the most part of the final quarter and stretched their lead to 82-73 with 3:27 left. At that stage, it seemed that UAE would easily clinch the win, but Malaysia reeled off a 14-6 run to make a
comeback. However, they committed one too many foul and lost by two points.
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