Cager in FIBA tournament dies

MANILA, Philippines - Tragedy struck the Malaysian national basketball team last Monday, just days before the opening of the 27th FIBA-Asia basketball championships, after one of its players suddenly died.

Jacky Ng Kiat Kee, a six-foot-five center, collapsed and died after suffering what is believed to be a heart attack during an invitation tournament in China, just three days prior to the start of the Manila cage spectacle.

Malaysian Basketball Association secretary-general Chey Tat Woon confirmed the death of the 25-year-old center in a Yahoo News report posted by the Kuala Lumpur-based publication New Straits Times.

According to Chey, Ng was seated on the team’s bench during the match in Jianling when he suddenly collapsed at around 4:30 p.m. and was declared dead less than three hours later while being treated at a local hospital.

“A MABA official and the late Jacky Ng’s parents are in China to make the necessary arrangements to fly the body back to Malaysia. The death of Jacky Ng is a great loss to the team and the country,” Chey was quoted as saying by Bernama, the news agency of the Malaysian government.

The sudden death of Ng, who carried the colors of the Sarawak Firehorse in the Malaysian National Basketball League, is expected to weigh heavily on the Malaysians – ranked 69th in the world – who are already up for a tough battle after they were drawn into Group C, dubbed the “Group of Death.”

Malaysia opens its campaign against continental titan Iran on Thursday, then battle reigning titlist China on Friday and perennial powerhouse South Korea on Saturday.