The Vietnamese basketball team lost to Malaysia in a FIBA Asia Cup 2025 preliminary round.. Photo: toquoc.vn

HCM CITY — With defeat by Malaysia, the Vietnamese basketball team's journey in the FIBA ​​Asia Cup 2025 preliminary round has ended.

Việt Nam had to beat Malaysia to advance to the next round. But in its fourth game, the players of coach Matt Van Pelt lost 73-56 and exited the FIBA ​​Asia Cup 2025 preliminary round with a record of one win and three losses.

Việt Nam entered this match after two consecutive defeats against Thailand and Mongolia.

The players were also tired as this was their third game within three days.

The team was quickly overwhelmed by the opponent. Unlike Việt Nam, the Malaysian players were sharper and more effective.

Malaysia led 56-30 entering the last quarter before a late run by Viet Nam helped to narrow the gap, but could not change the result.

The star who carried the Vietnamese basketball team in previous matches, Nguyễn Huỳnh Phú Vinh, also had a bad performance. He only scored 2 points and shot 14 per cent from the field.

Justin Young and Khoa Trần were the two leading players in the scoring list for Viet Nam with 11 points, while Dư Minh An and Sang Đinh each had 10 points.

With the victory, Malaysia advances to the next round along with Thailand and Mongolia.

Viet Nam hopes this will be a valuable experience for the players on the continental level, and that this defeat will be a useful lesson to help the young players become more mature.

The last time Việt Nam participated in the FIBA Asia Cup was in 1965, which means it has been 60 years since Việt Nam has been able to participate in the tournament at this continental level. VNS