VN bounce back against S'pore in 5x5 basketball

With the great performance of Christian Juzang (left), Việt Nam took a victory against Singapore in the last minutes. — VNA/VNS Photo  

Xuân Đăng

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese men's 5x5 basketball team had a dramatic victory over Singapore in the last minutes with a score of 86-83 yesterday.

This was the second victory of the Vietnamese team on the first day of the competition, the hosts also had an overwhelming victory over Cambodia with a score of 87-55.

The home team had a bad start against Singapore, continuously letting the away team’s players score with ease.

The host's defensive players gave the Singapore players too much space to score, especially Leon Kwek, who scored 24 points before the break.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese shooters like Đinh Thanh Tâm and Võ Kim Bản were not in good form. In addition, captain Justin Young committed three personal fouls in the first half, affecting the team's defensive tactics.

Thanks to the good performance of Christian Juzang, the Vietnamese team not be left too far behind, after two quarters, Singapore took the lead with a score of 50-43.

Entering the third quarter, Singapore continued to control the game. The guests still led the score with accurate shots and created difficulties for the home team's shooters to make 3pts shots.

The third quarter ended with a score of 69-63 for Singapore.

But entering the fourth quarter of the match, the Vietnamese players made a great comeback thanks to the fantastic support of nearly 2,000 home fans at Thanh Trì Gymnasium in Hà Nội.

With the more accurate throws of Tâm Đinh or Dierker and especially Juzang's accurate shot at crunch time, Việt Nam won in the last minute, 86-83.

This was a crucial victory for the hosts, and they will face the defending champions, the Philippines, tomorrow.