Alonzo Stafford with the double-double helped the defending champion Saigon Heat swept the Ho Chi Minh City Wings to enter the VBA finals. — Photo courtesy of VBA
HCM CITY — The Saigon Heat advanced to the finals of the Việt Nam Basketball Association (VBA) after defeating the Ho Chi Minh City Wings 103-93 in game two of a best two out of three series.
The match was held at Hồ Xuân Hương Sporting Event Hall in HCM City on Monday after the Heat won the first game in the series.
Compared to the previous game, the Wings played neck and neck with the Heat.
Thanks to the home court advantage, the Wings fought back strong. However, Khoa Trần's brilliance gave the Heat a 29-18 lead after the first half.
Mr. Wiggle (Khoa Trần) even made four out of five of three-point shots in the first half.
After the break, the Wings fought back strong to narrow the gap.
With good performances of two foreign players, Richard Thomas and Desean Parson, the home team narrowed the gap from 17 points to only 10 points before the last quarter.
But just when the Wings were getting hot, Thomas made a mistake.
He fouled out in the third quarter making it difficult for his team in the last quarter, and the gap increased from six points to 14 points in the last five minutes.
Heat kept this advantage until the end of the game with the score 103-93.
The Heat's Alonzo Stafford had a double-double with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
The American player received the title of NovaWorld Player Of The Game after an explosive performance at both ends of the court.
Besides Stafford, the Heat had four other players scoring over 10 points. Khoa Trần scored 24 points, Phú Vinh had 22 points, Madarious Gibbs contributed 16 points and Võ Kim Bản scored 10 points.
With this result, the Saigon Heat is the first team to reach the finals of VBA 2022. The opponent of the defending champion in the final series will be the Hanoi Buffaloes or the Nha Trang Dolphins.
Currently, the Buffaloes have an advantage after winning game one in the playoff series.
Game two between the Hanoi Buffaloes and the Nha Trang Dolphins will be held on August 23 night at Hoàng Mai Sport Complex in Hà Nội. — VNS
OVietnam