APG 2025: Malaysia Left To Chase 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball Bronze After Semis Loss

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's hopes of winning the men's 3x3 wheelchair basketball gold medal were dashed when they lost 11-13 to the Philippines in the semi-finals of the ASEAN Para Games (APG) Thailand 2025 at Terminal 21 Korat here today.

Malaysia, however, are still in the running for the bronze medal, thereby repeating their feat at the 2023 edition in Cambodia.

What made their defeat by the Philippines today a bitter pill to swallow is that they let slip the chance of victory with mistakes at crucial moments, enabling the Filipinos to set up a gold medal showdown against hosts Thailand.

"Actually, we could have beaten the Philippines. At one time, we were leading, but at crucial moments, our players failed to control the game. But I won't blame the players.

"We lost possession of the ball many times, allowing our opponents to regain control and have the upper hand,” said Malaysian coach Lim Ming Lip.

Commenting on the team's overall performance, he said the team played much better in the last four than in the group stage, particularly in terms of getting off to a cracking start.

"Having said that, we actually have three players who are having a fever and were on medication this morning. So, they needed a longer time to get up and running,” he said.

Earlier, in Group A matches, Malaysia suffered two defeats - 8-14 to Thailand and 7-11 to the Philippines - before bouncing back to beat Indonesia 10-6.

Malaysia are slated to meet Indonesia in the bronze medal playoff on Wednesday (Jan 21).

Ming Lip stressed that the bronze medal would still be a significant achievement, given the long-term investment they have put into the 3x3 format through participation in various tournaments ahead of the biennial Games.

-- BERNAMA