PETALING JAYA: The Agong Cup National Basketball Championships got off to the worst possible start with Westports Malaysia Dragons forward Kuek Tian Yuen being barred from competing on Friday, a day before the competition got under way in Tawau, Sabah.
The 2.02m Tian Yuen represented Malacca in last year’s Agong Cup. He steered the team to the final before losing 69-70 to Police.
Tian Yuen, who originated from Johor and played in their 2011 Sukma gold medal triumph, was sought after by his home state for this year’s tournament.
Johor registered him, and so did Malacca.
As a result of the dispute between Johor and Malacca, Tian Yuen was disqualified from the tournament.
A distraught Tian Yuen took to Facebook to vent his frustration.
“You (Johor) want me to play for you but you did not even inform me, not a single call or text message. I only found out at the last minute that my name was in your team list,” said Tian Yuen.
“I’m disappointed that I am now unable to compete in the Agong Cup after sacrificing so much for basketball. This is really unfair.”
Malacca captain Chee Li Wei said Tian Yuen was extremely disappointed and felt demotivated to continue playing the sport.
Malacca, however, exacted revenge when they thrashed Johor 107-41 in yesterday’s match. Point guard B. Guganeswaran scored 17 points while forward Francis Loh added 16 points and eight rebounds. Johor responded through the efforts of Wong Chin Yong who scored 26 points.
Defending champions Police also made a winning start, beating Sarawak 67-52 with Gan Hong Hoong top scoring with 13 points.
In the women’s event, Pahang got off to a flying start by beating Sabah 77-52 while Johor overcame Malacca 67-56. Federal Territories also started well by beating Selangor 59-50.
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