Basketball

Saigon Heat's Kentrell Barkley (left) takes triple-double to be the best player of the VBA opening match between the Heat and Hanoi Buffaloes on June 10. Photos of VBA

HÀ NỘI — Saigon Heat showed the power of champions crushing Hanoi Buffaloes 85-71 in the opening match of the Việt Nam Basketball Association (VBA) professional championship on Saturday in Hà Nội.

It was a rematch of the last season's final and the fifth meet of the two sides, but the winner was still the Heat, the first pro basketball club in the country.

In the first quarter's early time, the Buffaloes took more points and temporally led the score at 7-6. But the champions quickly showed off their ability which helped them to win three seasons in a row.

Star Võ Kim Bản hit three perfect three-pointers that blew out the Cầu Giấy Gymnasium.

His American teammate Kentrell Barkley also stepped up to add eight points to push the Heat ahead at 23-7.

Lê Quang and Antony Sundberg also scored to help the defending champion to end the first quarter at 25-11.

The domination of the Heat continued in the next two quarters which saw 67-45 for the Heat before the Buffaloes rose up in the last one.

Nguyễn Huy Hoàng of the Buffaloes (centre) attacks during the match between Saigon Heat and Hanoi Buffaloes. The Heat won 85-71.

Nguyễn Tiến Dương was put on the field to strengthen the Hanoian representative team.

Together with the effort of captain Đinh Thanh Tâm and American Russell Smith, the Buffaloes gradually narrowed the gap to 76-63.

It forced coach Matt Van Pelt to call for time outs to adjust his defence.

The Heat, however, were still stronger than their rival, bagging the first win of the season at 85-71.

Their Barkley received the Player of the Game award with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the most successful debut in VBA history.

The second match of the tournament will be between Danang Dragons and Thanglong Warriors was held on June 11 night.

The eighth VBA season is back with a new format and changes that promise more exciting games for fans.

Seven teams will compete in three games each instead of two previously.

In the qualification round, teams will compete in two stages. The first stage is in centralised format with 21 matches from June 10-30.

The second stage's 42 matches from July 8 to September 3, will be a home-and-away competition.

The Play-off round, which is expected to have six matches, will be from September 7-15, and the Finals, scheduled for five games, will be from September 17-30.

“Since its first season, VBA not only inspired people of playing and practising basketball but also kept improving to adjust to changing situations and bringing basketball to the wider community," said Lê Hoàng Anh, vice president of the Việt Nam Basketball Federation.

"We hope that the tournament will not only meet the needs of healthy entertainment, connect the club with the audience, but also help the players train better and improve their performance so that Vietnamese basketball not only conquers the regional arena but also reaches towards higher goals at the continental level in the future." — VNS