HCM City Wings (white shirts) could not stop Kentrell Barkley in the HCM City basketball derby between Saigon Heat and HCM City Wings. Photo courtesy of VBA

HÀ NỘI — It was no surprise that in the HCM City basketball derby between Saigon Heat and HCM City Wings on June 18 at Hà Nội's Cầu Giấy Gymnasium it was the defending champions who were favourites before tip-off. 

Saigon Heat also had the advantage of being able to play a full-strength side, while the Wings started the game without some of their core players.

The big miss was the absence of Jeremy Smith, their top scorer in recent matches, who missed the game through injury.

But despite these setbacks, it was the Wings who managed to lead by 21-12 in the first quarter.

Saigon turned up the heat and got back into the match, leading by 24-23 at the beginning of Q2, mainly due to the dominance of Kentrell Barkley.

As the clock ticked it was Saigon pilling on all the pressure, creating a 20-point lead by the time the last quarter began. 

There was more bad news for the Wings, when their only import player, Amir Williams, hobbled off the court injured and could not return for the final spell. 

With the match well under control in the last minutes, coach Matt Van Pelt took out his core players and gave rookies like Võ Duy Linh a chance to shine.

Saigon Heat ended the match with an 82-67 victory. With this win, Saigon Heat continue their unbeaten run and topping the VBA 2023 after three matches.

Kentrell Barkley of Saigon Heat won the MVP of the match for the third time in a row with a “triple-double”, 24 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. — VNS