By Kelvin Lim
The 2023/24 Major Basketball League Season Circuit 1 in Penang is done with five of the six teams seeing action.
With every game seeing a double digit winning margin, it’s clear to see the teams on the receiving end of the losses have much work to do in closing the gaps with the favourites.
Here’s our weekly Power Rankings!
(All rankings are the personal opinion of the writer)
#1 JOHOR SOUTHERN TIGERS (2-0)
vs Penang Sunrise Youngsters 98-63 W
vs UCSI Rising Star 89-65 W
Last year’s runners up were quick in signalling their intent for the championship this season, absolutely demolishing their opponents in Penang.
The successful integration of the imports and chemistry of the team with a bulk of the roster returning from last year was clear to see with their slick ball movement and disciplined high octane defence leading them to their dominant victories.
The team leads the league in scoring (93.5 PPG), rebounding (43.5 PPG) and assists (a whopping 27.5 APG)
With their local stars like Heng Yee Tong, Lee Joon Kang, John Wong and Lim Chee Wei rising to the occasion, the Southern Tigers import duo of Arinze Chidom and Moses Morgan are averaging the lowest minutes per game, only needing to play an average of 28.5 minutes while the rest of the league’s import duos are well above the 30 minutes mark per game.
Circuit 1 Star Performer:
With his versatile offensive skill set and strong defensive presence, the stretch forward Arinze Chidom is already looking like an MVP candidate, leading the league in scoring (30.5 PPG) and blocks (3 BPG) while also averaging 13 RPG.
#2 NS MATRIX DEERS (2-0)
vs KL Aseel 95-79 W
vs Penang Sunrise Youngsters 91-76 W
The defending champions were made to work hard for their perfect record in their quest for back to back titles.
Moving on three key pillars in Kuek Tian Yuan, Mak Lok Seng and Teo Kok Hou to Penang Sunrise Youngsters and playing their first club competition under new Head Coach Felton Sealey definitely gave NS Matrix a different look and the defending champions truly looked like a team in transition at times.
Against the one import short KL Aseel who also missed key veteran big man Kwan Yoong Jing, the team was only able to pull away in the third quarter.
NS Matrix were also pushed hard by the host circuit team and only pulled away late in the fourth, taking advantage of the host’s foul troubles and lack of rotation.
Have no worry though NS Matrix Deers fans, if we were to go by trends in recent years,a slow start is a norm for the Mount Rushmore of Malaysian basketball and we can expect them to build on their performance in Penang to find that killer instinct chemistry quickly in the coming circuits.
The team’s trademark pesky defence was evident as they lead the league in steals, average 13 per game.
Strangely, the team’s free throw form has been off the mark, converting at a joint lowest rate of 60%, making only 30 of their 50 attempts.
Circuit 1 Star Performer:
The team captain from Rawang, Wong Yi Hou has been clutch on both ends of the floor, averaging 23.5 PPG (2nd in the league) and 4.5 SPG (league leader).
#3 KL ASEEL (1-1)
vs UCSI Rising Star 85-75 W
vs NS Matrix 79-95 L
Technically KL Aseel are ranked below Penang Sunrise Youngsters having played a game less but their perseverance in overcoming difficult circumstances earn them the No.3 slot in our books.
Everyone knows the importance of having import players in carrying your team through in a pro league and KL Aseel had some tough luck with Anton Gill leaving their first game against UCSI Rising Star after only five minutes of play, collapsing on his own without any contact (we wish him a healthy recovery!)
The team struggled without a natural point guard and trailed in the fourth quarter before Anthony Moe found his rhythm, having his way against the tired Steven Toyloy, to lead the team to a comeback win.
Playing without Gill, the team put in a gutsy effort against the NS Matrix Deers, keeping the game close until the third quarter before the champions pulled away, proving too much to handle.
The effects of a lack of a natural point guard was clear to see with KL Aseel averaging the highest turnover rate at 23.5 per game with young guard Sin Chun Kit and natural shooting guard Wee Yong Gan struggling in this department.
Their bright spark has been their outstanding form from beyond the arc with the accurate three point bombs of Tem Zhen Jie, Wee Yong Gan and Tan Goh Jiar Yang seeing them lead the league with 44.2% three point shooting.
The team will be praying that Anton Gill makes a miraculous recovery to provide some much needed stability in the backcourt ahead of Circuit 2.
Circuit 1 Star Performer:
Effectively playing as a solo import, the monster numbers of big man Anthony Moe (22.5 PPG and 17.5 RPG) are expected, therefore we believe Wee Yong Gan deserves to be named KL Aseel best performer of the week. Stepping up to the point guard role in the absence of Gill, Yong Gan still delivered an impressive scoring output of 15 PPG while also delivering 7.5 APG and 3.5 SPG.
#4 PENANG SUNRISE YOUNGSTERS (1-2)
vs Johor Southern Tigers 63-98 L
vs UCSI Rising Star 81-64 W
vs NS Matrix 76-91 L
Missing four players including homegrown Penang star, Jayson Lee Shu Wen due to commitments with parent club MBC, the Penang Sunrise Youngsters had an inconsistent start to their campaign as it was clear that the chemistry between imports, Penang locals and the veteran National Team trio of Kuek Tian Yuan, Mak Lok Seng and Teo Kok Hou still needs work.
The home circuit team suffered a blow within 18 seconds of the first game as 2023 Agong Cup MVP, big man Goh Yan Qing suffered an injury that ruled him out of the circuit.
After their opening game mauling by Johor, the Youngsters bounced back in style in their second game, with Cameron Satterwhite and Jordan Tolbert coming in clutch in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of Steven Toyloy’s spell on the bench to push the lead to double digits and speeding off with the win.
The team gave a valiant fight against the defending champions NS Matrix in their third game, still only down by single digits in the fourth but ultimately fell short, struggling with their foul troubles and the red hot form of Wong Yi Hou.
Averaging the lowest rebound count at 35.7 RPG, the Youngsters will hope that Goh Yan Qing can recover in time for the next circuit to give them an extra boost in the paint.
Circuit 1 Star Performer:
Jordan Tolbert carried the weight of both offence and defence in the paint on his own in the absence of Yan Qing, averaging 21.7 PPG and 15.3 RPG with an efficient 50% shooting percentage.
#5 UCSI RISING STAR (0-3)
vs KL Aseel 75-85 L
vs Penang Sunrise Youngsters 64-81 L
vs Johor Southern Tigers 65-89 L
Also missing four players (Lai Kok Weng, Lim Wan Seong, Chong Zhen Yang and Chin Jin Yen) due to commitments with their parent club, MBC, it was a circuit to forget for the newcomers as they lost all three games by double digits.
Despite some brief bright sparks of play from their talented young players Lee Jia Jun, Chan Yew Thung and Xiao Jian’ Chua Wai Kin, the common theme of their games was keeping it close but running out of steam in the fourth quarter with the exception of the loss against Johor Southern Tigers which was lopsided as early as the second quarter.
It was clear to see the 36 year old 136 kg American import Steve Toyloy was struggling to keep up against his opposing younger and more agile bigs. In their last two games, Toyloy played less than 30 minutes.
Averaging only 12.7 APG, the lowest of the league so far, it’s clear to see that UCSI Rising Star has teamwork and trust issues to work on. For a team that also boasts several deadly three point shooters, they will be disappointed with their percentage of 20.2%, the poorest team of Circuit 1.
Circuit 1 Star Performer:
The 22 year old forward from Democratic Republic Of Congo, Tychique Bosango has been a one man Swiss army knife for his team, averaging 20.7 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 6 APG and 3 SPG.