Dragons go out with heads held high

Westports Malaysia Dragons lost Game 2 of the Asean Basketball League (ABL) finals in a nail-biting game against Hi-Tech Bangkok City by six points, 73 to 67 points, in Bangkok, yesterday.
The Dragons led throughout the first three quarters of Game 2 but Hi-Tech eventually sealed the historic win after Patrick Cabahug fired his final two-point shot at the death.
Hi-Tech Bangkok is the first team to have won the championship twice with the first championship title in 2011.
"It was very unfortunate that today we missed a lot of lay-ups, easy shots and free throws. That breaks the game. After all, it is basketball. I am still proud of what we have accomplished this season as a team and as a family," Dragons' head coach Ariel Vanguardia commented after the loss.
"I enjoyed coaching this team more than anything and our time will come. Congratulations to Hi-Tech and we will see them again. I thank the owners, management and our dear fans and supporters for being with us in this one incredible journey. Malaysia Boleh!" Vanguardia added.
Top scorer of the day for the Dragons, Loh Shee Fai shared his thoughts with the press after the game that it was a tough loss for the team and it could have been different if the players were more composed.
"We are a very young team. This is our first time in the finals after all these years... We fought hard, we tried, but all in all, a little bit of luck may have carried us forward. We didn't have that. I believe the Dragons will definitely come back stronger and well prepared next season," Loh said.
Moala Tautua'a conceded that Hi-Tech came up more prepared than the Dragons in the finals. He said that the players and their fans were all 'up in arms' right from the start of Game 2.
"We started strong but you could tell from the players all the way up to the fans like they wanted it more than us at some points. It showed in the stats and I'm sure they earned it," Tautua'a said.