Basketball

Jeremy Smith shines (right) in the HCM City Wings 77-72 win against the Nha Trang Dolphins in the VBA's third match on June 12. Photo of VBA

HÀ NỘI — The HCM City Wings struggled to beat the Nha Trang Dolphins 77-72 in their first match of the Vietnam Pro Basketball League (VBA) on June 12 at Cầu Giấy Gymnasium in Hà Nội.

Both teams did not succeed last season when they failed to earn a slot in the semi-finals. This year, they made some changes in their line-ups to improve their ranking, even heading to the top if possible.

The Dolphins welcomed Madarious Gibbs, their best shooter, meanwhile the Wings signed back their top scorer in 2021, Jeremy Smith.

The Wings created a lot of challenges for the Dolphins' scorers, who found almost no way to break through the 2.11m-tall Amir Williams, who guarded the basket. The Wings managed to lead after the first two quarters at 43-30.

In the third quarter, the Dolphins played totally different. American Robert Sampson made the whole gymnasium excited with his three three-pointers in a row. Along with him, heritage player Dominique Tham scored many points for the team, who for the first time went ahead to lead 55-53.

However, the Wings scored three points in a row and regained their lead at 56-55.

In the last quarter, both teams fought hard to collect points, leading to the score jumping to 74-72 when there were 28 seconds left. Smith succeeded with one free throw and one two-point shot from a counter-attack to wrap up the 77-72 win for the Wings.

Smith in his comeback was voted player of the game with 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Gibbs of the Dolphins however did not have an impressive showing with only 12 points due to his early foul trouble. VNS