History has been made by Filbasket and Philippine basketball on October 23, 2022.
With the tip-off of the first game of the Filbasket 2022 International Championship between Elang Pacific Caesar and Pegasus Sports in MABA stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Filbasket becomes the first ever Filipino professional basketball league to host a tournament outside of Philippine waters with 10 teams coming from all over southeast Asia.
The main game of the league’s international debut was between Harimau Malaysia, the Malaysian national team, and the Pilipinas Aguilas. It was a toe-to-toe game from start to finish with both teams exchanging blows until the end where the Harimaus, led by Coach Jeff Viernes, edged the Aguilas at 84-77. Viernes, who is a former professional basketball player in the Philippines, made his debut as the national team coach and gets his first official win on the international stage.
Wong Yi Hou and Ting Chun Hong continued their stellar play since the Filbasket 2022 Summer Championship, held earlier this year in Manila, with 20 and 18 points, respectively, for the Harimaus. As for the Aguilas, it was a vintage showcase by former Gilas Pilipinas member Mac Baracael, who led all scorers with 23 points in under 26 minutes, showing his whole repertoire through post-ups and shooting beyond the three-point line.
On the other games of the historic day, Reuben Dasom, a fixture of the Thailand national team, carried his team Pegasus Sports with 28 points in a win over Elang Pacific Caesar of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL).
Two-time IBL Champion and one-time Asean Basketball League (ABL) champion A.A Ngurah Wisnu led Bumi Borneo to an 82-69 win over the BGC Builders.
On the third game, the hometown favorite KL Aseel pulled away in the third quarter and never looked back against its Malaysian counterpart MBC basketball club in an easy 81-60 win.
For the 8-day tournament, the champion team will be receiving Php 300,000 on top of the usual championship trophy.
The Filbasket 2022 International Championship is presented by Sportsclick and is officially sanctioned by FIBA.
First Game
ELANG PACIFIC CAESAR 81: Alston 25, Putra 17, Wibowo 12, Pratama 6, Dhoifullah 5, Darmawan 5, Hardianto 3, Ariezky 3, Ghozaly 3, Kae 2, Wibisono 0, Jamalong 0
PEGASUS SPORTS 88: Dasom 28, Tran 18, Yap 13, Leong 11, Morel 7, Chong 5, Tang 3, Teoh 3, Kong 0, Nguyen 0, Sia 0, Kuan 0
Second Game
BUMI BORNEO 82: Budidharma 24, Wongso 14, Ramadhan 12, Shariputra 9, Daffa 6, Prawira 6, Chrissler 4, Kumara 4, Pandapotan 3, Setiawan 0, Orlando 0, Yanto 0
BGC BUILDERS 69: Teodoro 22, Doligon 12, Monte 10, Matias 10, Doroteo Jr. 8, Diaz 2, Gonzales 2, Saret 2, Cervantes 1, Adelante 0, Machate 0, Samonte 0
Third Game
KUALA LUMPUR ASEEL 81: Gan 13, Wee 13, Tan, W. 11, Mahadevan 8, Tan C. 7, Liew 6, Wong 5, Soong 5, Dee 5, Ragu 4, Chan 2, Thea 2
MBC BASKETBALL CLUB 60: Hamilton 14, Lai 11, Phang 10, Low 9, Kua 5, Lee 5, Tan 4, Cheah 2, Macoumba 0, Yeong 0, Chua 0, Chan 0
Fourth Game
HARIMAU MALAYSIA 84: Wong 20, Ting 18, Kuek 11, Mak 7, Ong 6, Lim 5, Ooi 5, Qian 4, Chua 4, Hiew 3, Lee 1, Heng 0
PILIPINAS AGUILAS 77: Baracael 23, Eze 12, Bederi 11, Alanguilan 9, Cortes 7, Racho 5, Reyes 4, Mangahas 3, Lao 3, Syhongpan 0, Aviso 0, Khatibi 0
