Malaysia’s national women’s basketball team concluded their return to the Asian Games after a 24-year absence without a win, following three group-stage defeats at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games on Tuesday. Team captain Yap Fook Yee, who has led the squad since 2019, expressed disappointment but remained focused on future opportunities.
The team, ranked 83rd globally and the lowest in Group C, lost their matches against South Korea (40-106), Taiwan (59-98), and Mongolia (81-89). These results resulted in an early exit from the tournament and marked Malaysia’s lowest finish in women’s basketball at the Asian Games, falling short of their previous best—sixth place in 2002 in Busan.
Yap acknowledged the challenges the squad faced during the preparations for the Games, attributing some of the difficulties to limited time for team cohesion and adjustment to a new coaching style. The team appointed Moriyama Tomohiro as head coach just three months prior, in June, prompting an ongoing period of adaptation to his system.
“We didn’t have much time to prepare. We also just got a new coach in June, so we’re still trying to adapt to the new system. I think we just need more time together,” Yap said, reflecting on the team's struggles.
Despite the setbacks, Malaysia’s women’s basketball team plans to use the experience gained at the Asian Games as a stepping stone toward upcoming regional competitions. Their immediate goals include the Asia Cup scheduled for March next year and the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to be hosted domestically in September.
With a history of 13 SEA Games titles, the team last secured gold in 2017 and is determined to reclaim its former standing in regional basketball. Yap emphasized the importance of mindset in overcoming recent difficulties and boosting confidence moving forward.
“It’s about our mindset. We need to keep believing in ourselves to stay confident. Hopefully, we can bring that into our next competition,” she said, signaling a commitment to rebuild and improve in the months ahead.