Kentrell Barkley (right) with 37 points and 23 rebounds helped Saigon Heat get back on the winning track. Photo courtesy of VBA

CẦN THƠ — The Cần Thơ Catfish had their first home game at Cần Thơ Gymnasium after nearly four years of playing away. However, they could not make a win for the fans on the special day. Their opponent was the defending champions Saigon Heat who also wanted to win after losing to the Buffaloes in the last seconds of their previous match.

With the renowned enthusiastic cheers from Catfish fans, Cần Thơ was the better team in the first quarter. 

Lê Ngọc Tú and VBA 2022 Rookie of the Year Lê Khắc Đăng Khoa scored the first points for Catfish. Within two minutes Khoa scored eight points to help the team take the lead 13-8.

On the side of Saigon Heat, Kentrell Barkley once again carried the team back on track. 

Barkley's breakthroughs and lay-ups are still a problem that no team at VBA can solve.

Taking advantage of the Catfish captain DeAngelo Hamilton being substituted at the end of the first quarter, Kentrell Barkley continued to score points to help Saigon Heat lead 22-24.

Entering the second quarter, Kentrell Barkley still did not find a worthy opponent on the offensive front. Barkley alone broke through the Catfish defence to score a point on a day when Heat's local players hadn't shown their best form yet.

In the last minutes before the break, Kentrell Barkley's shots became less and less accurate. Not missing this opportunity, Michael Soy and Nguyễn Quang Huy of the Catfish scored seven points in a row to bring the match to 40-41.

After the break, the two teams continued to chase the score. When the third quarter was more than half over, Võ Kim Bản's 3-pointers suddenly helped the visitors take the lead to 52-59.

From the momentum of his teammates, Barkley once again shone to create a big difference from the beginning of the game with 15 points. This score advantage was maintained by Saigon Heat until the end of the third quarter and for most of the final quarter.

When the match was less than three minutes out, Heat coach Matt Van Pelt asked his players to start playing slowly to preserve the victory.

With the efforts of Huỳnh Thanh Tâm, Lê Ngọc Tú and Brachon Griffin, the Catfish were once able to narrow the gap to single digits. However, time did not favour the home team and Saigon Heat successfully converted the lead advantage into a 72-79 victory.

Kentrell Barkley, the star of Saigon Heat, won the Player of the Game after a spectacular performance with 37 points and 23 rebounds.

This was an important bit of momentum for Saigon Heat ahead of their upcoming match against challengers Nha Trang Dolphins on July 19 at Heat's home court. VNS