MBL Round 1 (Regular Season): NS Matrix defeats leader KL Aseel

The Regular Season in MPL just started. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of KL Aseel in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night. Hosts were defeated by NS Matrix 95-79. NS Matrix dominated down low during the game scoring 44 of its points in the paint compared to KL Aseel's 22. NS Matrix forced 27 KL Aseel turnovers. 25 personal fouls committed by KL Aseel helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international guard Chun-Hong Ting (193-1996) who helped to win the game recording 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. American center Amir Williams (211-1992, college: Ohio St.) contributed with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Guyanese-American center Anthony Moe (207, college: Millersville) answered with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 18 rebounds for KL Aseel. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. NS Matrix is looking forward to face Rising Star in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. KL Aseel will play against Adroit in Singapore and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
An interesting game for KL Aseel which played road game in against Rising Star. KL Aseel managed to get a 10-point victory 85-75. Guyanese-American center Anthony Moe (207, college: Millersville) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 17 rebounds for the winners and Yong-Gan Wee chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals. At the losing side DR Congolese guard Tychique Bosango (189-2001) responded with a double-double by scoring 27 points and 15 rebounds. KL Aseel will play against Adroit in Singapore in the next round. Rising Star will play against NS Matrix to get more than just one victory in their record.
An interesting game for Johor Tigers which hosted in Johor Baharu Penang SY. Johor Tigers had an easy win 98-63. Arinze Chidom nailed a double-double by scoring 37 points (!!!) and 14 rebounds for the winning side. Jordan Tolbert came up with 20 points and 7 rebounds for Penang SY in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Johor Tigers will meet at home Rising Star in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Penang SY will play against KL Aseel and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Other games in round 1 were not that significant. Winless Rising Star was beaten by Penang SY on the road 81-64. Winless Rising Star lost to undefeated Johor Tigers on its own court 65-89. Penang SY lost to undefeated NS Matrix in a road game 76-91.



Rising Star - KL Aseel 75-85

An interesting game for KL Aseel which played road game in against Rising Star. KL Aseel managed to get a 10-point victory 85-75. KL Aseel had a 36-24 advantage in offensive rebounds. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. Guyanese-American center Anthony Moe (207, college: Millersville) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 17 rebounds for the winners and the former international point guard Yong-Gan Wee (178-1998) chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals. Five KL Aseel players scored in double figures. At the losing side DR Congolese guard Tychique Bosango (189-2001) responded with a double-double by scoring 27 points and 15 rebounds and point guard Wai-Kin Chua (175) scored 15 points and 7 rebounds. KL Aseel will play against Adroit in Singapore in the next round. Rising Star will play against NS Matrix to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
KL Aseel: A.Moe 23+17reb+1ast, T.Zhen-Jie 16+3reb+4ast, W.Yong-Gan 16+6reb+10ast, Y.Kwaan 10+7reb+1ast, T.Jiar-Yang 10+1reb+3ast, G.Lakksman 8+5reb+1ast
Rising Star: B.Tychique 27+15reb+3ast, C.Wai-Kin 15+7reb+2ast, C.Yew-Thung 10+5reb+2ast, S.Toyloy 8+12reb+3ast, L.Jia-Jun 8+2reb+2ast, T.Chi-Sheng 4+2reb+1ast

Johor Tigers - Penang SY 98-63

An interesting game for Johor Tigers which hosted in Johor Baharu Penang SY. Johor Tigers had an easy win 98-63. Johor Tigers outrebounded Penang SY 50-29 including a 36-18 advantage in defensive rebounds. Johor Tigers shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 51.7 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 12 passes made by Penang SY's players. American forward Arinze Chidom (206, college: UC Riverside) nailed a double-double by scoring 37 points (!!!) and 14 rebounds for the winning side and international point guard Yee-Tong Heng (180) accounted for 17 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. American forward Jordan Tolbert (200-1992, college: SMU) came up with 20 points and 7 rebounds and the other American import guard Cameron Satterwhite (193-1997, college: Montana) added 22 points respectively for Penang SY in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Johor Tigers will meet at home Rising Star in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Penang SY will play against KL Aseel and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Johor Tigers: A.Chidom 37+14reb+3ast, Y.Heng 17+8reb+9ast, M.Morgan 16+7reb+5ast, K.Wong 8+3reb+2ast, H.Hoong-Shen 6+1reb+1ast, J.Lee 4+3reb+2ast
Penang SY: C.Satterwhite 22+4reb+2ast, J.Tolbert 20+7reb+1ast, T.Kuek 7+3reb+1ast, K.Teo 6+4reb+6ast, H.Khor 5+4reb+2ast, F.Jun-Xian 3+1reb

KL Aseel - NS Matrix 79-95

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of KL Aseel in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night. Hosts were defeated by NS Matrix 95-79. NS Matrix dominated down low during the game scoring 44 of its points in the paint compared to KL Aseel's 22. NS Matrix forced 27 KL Aseel turnovers. 25 personal fouls committed by KL Aseel helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international guard Chun-Hong Ting (193-1996) who helped to win the game recording 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. American center Amir Williams (211-1992, college: Ohio St.) contributed with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Guyanese-American center Anthony Moe (207, college: Millersville) answered with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 18 rebounds and the former international guard Zhen-Jie Tem (177-1998) added 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for KL Aseel. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. NS Matrix is looking forward to face Rising Star in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. KL Aseel will play against Adroit in Singapore and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
NS Matrix: C.Ting 23+9reb+4ast, D.Abrom 19+4reb+3ast, A.Williams 16+11reb+1ast, Y.Wong 16+1ast, D.Wee-Yiang 6+7reb+4ast, Z.Chang 6+1reb+1ast
KL Aseel: A.Moe 22+18reb+2ast, T.Zhen-Jie 18+6reb+5ast, W.Yong-Gan 14+2reb+5ast, T.Jiar-Yang 11+2reb+1ast, J.Lee 6+4reb, L.Jia-Sheng 5+2reb+1ast

Penang SY - Rising Star 81-64

Penang SY used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from 81-64 on Saturday night. Penang SY forced 21 Rising Star turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American forward Jordan Tolbert (200-1992, college: SMU) nailed a double-double by scoring 16 points and 18 rebounds for the winning side and his fellow American import guard Cameron Satterwhite (193-1997, college: Montana) accounted for 26 points and 8 rebounds. DR Congolese guard Tychique Bosango (189-2001) came up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 16 rebounds and guard Jia-Jun Lee (180) added 9 points and 4 assists respectively for Rising Star in the defeat. Penang SY will meet at home KL Aseel in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Rising Star will play against NS Matrix and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Penang SY: C.Satterwhite 26+8reb+2ast, J.Tolbert 16+18reb+3ast, T.Kuek 16+7reb+2ast, K.Teo 9+11ast, M.Lok-Seng 6+4reb, F.Jun-Xian 6
Rising Star: B.Tychique 20+16reb+2ast, R.Yap 10+3reb, L.Jia-Jun 9+3reb+4ast, S.Toyloy 8+5reb+2ast, C.Wai-Kin 6+2reb, C.Yew-Thung 5+6reb+2ast

Rising Star - Johor Tigers 65-89

There was a minor upset when Rising Star was smashed at home by Johor Tigers 89-65 on Sunday. Johor Tigers forced 20 Rising Star turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 29 assists comparing to just 12 passes made by Rising Star's players. American forward Arinze Chidom (206, college: UC Riverside) nailed a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals for the winning side and American-Thailand Moses Morgan (198, college: CS Fullerton) accounted for 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Four Johor Tigers players scored in double figures. Guard Jia-Jun Lee (180) came up with 19 points and 9 rebounds and DR Congolese guard Tychique Bosango (189-2001) added 15 points and 10 rebounds respectively for Rising Star in the defeat. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Johor Tigers will meet KL Aseel in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Rising Star will play against NS Matrix and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Johor Tigers: A.Chidom 24+12reb+4ast, M.Morgan 18+5reb+5ast, J.Lee 13+3reb+6ast, K.Wong 11+2reb+3ast, Y.Heng 6+5reb+4ast, B.Jun-Yuan 5
Rising Star: L.Jia-Jun 19+9reb+2ast, B.Tychique 15+10reb+1ast, S.Toyloy 13+4reb+1ast, R.Yap 6+1reb+1ast, C.Yew-Thung 5+3reb+1ast, C.Wai-Kin 3+1reb+1ast

NS Matrix - Penang SY 91-76

There was a small surprise when NS Matrix won against at home Penang SY 91-76 on Sunday. NS Matrix looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. The former international forward Yi-Hou Wong (195-1996) nailed 31 points and 7 steals for the winning side and American center Amir Williams (211-1992, college: Ohio St.) accounted for 17 points and 14 rebounds. Four NS Matrix players scored in double figures. American forward Jordan Tolbert (200-1992, college: SMU) came up with a double-double by scoring 29 points and 21 rebounds and the other American import guard Cameron Satterwhite (193-1997, college: Montana) added 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for Penang SY in the defeat. NS Matrix will meet Rising Star in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Penang SY will play against KL Aseel and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
NS Matrix: Y.Wong 31+2reb+3ast, A.Williams 17+14reb+2ast, D.Abrom 16+7reb+9ast, C.Ting 13+6reb+8ast, Z.Chang 7+4reb, D.Wee-Yiang 4+2reb+2ast
Penang SY: J.Tolbert 29+21reb+1ast, C.Satterwhite 18+5reb+5ast, H.Khor 12+5reb+6ast, T.Kuek 9+1reb+1ast, K.Teo 6+4reb+3ast, M.Lok-Seng 2+4reb+1ast