Saigon Heat beat Ho Chi Minh City Wings 75-71 in the first semi-final at the VBA 2022, with most of the points scored by the team’s Vietnamese players thanks to their intense training.

Saigon Heat, Vietnam's first professional basketball team, was established in 2012, four years before the Vietnam Basketball Association (VBA), a Vietnamese national professional basketball league, started its first season.

With a long-term vision and investment in basketball, the team eventually overcame its obstacles and reaped handsome rewards, including two consecutive championship titles at the VBA 2019 and VBA 2020.  

At the VBA 2022, Saigon Heat continues to triumph with the lineup of trained Vietnamese players.

Vo Kim Ban of Saigon Heat at the VBA 2022. Photo: VBA

These players took turns scoring a lot of points for Saigon Heat, helping the team achieve the top position at the end of the group stage.

In the semi-final match against Ho Chi Minh City Wings, the Saigon Heat players continued to shine.

Among them, Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh scored 12 points, Vo Kim Ban got 11 points, and Tim Waale had 10 points.

Phu Vinh and Tim Waale also played a key role in recovering the ball to prevent Ho Chi Minh City Wings’ dangerous counterattacks.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, so we had practiced a lot to prepare for it,” said Madarious Gibbs, the Saigon Heat player who was named MVP of the match.

Du Minh An of Saigon Heat at the VBA 2022. Photo: VBA

The battle was neck and neck when the gap between two teams was only one point when there were 60 seconds left in the match.

However, Saigon Heat exerted the final efforts to widen the gap and won the match with the total scoring of 75-71.

“Even though we won, there is still room for improvement ahead of the upcoming matches,” said Le Quang, a Saigon Heat player.

Winning the first semi-final helps Saigon Heat have a great advantage to aim for a ticket to the final.

Saigon Heat faced Ho Chi Minh City Wings again in the second semi-final match on August 22.

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