By Xuân Đăng

HCM CITY — In the second match-up of the Nha Trang Dolphins and the Hồ Chí Minh City Wings, the Dolphins got revenge for losing the first match as they won with in a blow-out 97-74.

The Dolphins used the same starting lineup as their most recent victory. On the away team's side, coach Lee Tao Dana put in Nguyễn Hoàng Tuấn and young talent Tim De Kok, who has played well recently.

In the first quarter, the City Wings proactively deployed a high-speed playing style. However, the coastal city team found a way to respond to the City Wings' counterattacks thanks to the good defense of imported players.

Both teams played neck and neck, but thanks to the brilliance of four three-pointers from Huỳnh Vĩnh Quang, the home team took the lead 32-23.

Entering the second quarter, the pace of the match slowed down a bit.

Shon Briggs was still the destination of all the City Wings' passes. In that quarter, the big man scored half of the points (11/22) for the guests.

On the other side, Joe Mvuezolo also showed his good form and helped the Dolphins maintain a 50-45 lead.

After the break, the Dolphins played a box-and-one defense, that play blocked out all the City Wings' attacks.

In addition, thanks to the depth of the squad, the Dolphins still scored, while the opponent's shooters like Hoàng Tuấn and Hiền Tài were silent. The home team created a large gap of 72-56.

In the decisive period, although they had the upper hand, the Dolphins still put pressure on the City Wings.

High concentration helped the defending runner-up maintain a gap of about 20 points.

In the last two minutes, realizing that it was difficult to turn the situation around, coach Lee Tao Dana accepted the result and withdrew all his main players.

In the end, the Dolphins finished with a sweet result of 97-74.

Joe Mvuezolo was the Player of the Game with a double-double of 25 points and 14 rebounds.

“This victory is the result of the whole team's hard work. However, today's match showed that we still need to improve our defense. Everyone will take advantage of the upcoming days off to improve,” Joe Mvuezolo shared.

In this match, the Dolphins completely controlled the paint, dominating rebounds (59 compared to 41).

In addition, the defending runner-up also had support from the three-point line with eight three-pointers, most of which came from the shooting duo, Huỳnh Vĩnh Quang and Sơn Minh Tâm.

With this result, the Dolphins took second place, while the City Wings temporarily dropped to sixth place.

To buy VBA tickets, click here. VNS