No one can't stop John Fields. The Warriors beat the Dragons 91-82. — Photo courtesy of VBA

HÀ NỘI — Thang Long Warriors gained a victory against Danang Dragons to secure their place in the playoffs. 

The match were held on Saturday night (July 22) at Tây Hồ Gymnasium, Hà Nội 

This were the third match up between these two teams. In the previous two games, the Warriors won.

This loss is the ninth in a row for the Dragons. They are also the only team that hasn't had a win since the beginning of the season.

Duo John Fields and Sameen Swing consistently overwhelmed the Dragons' defence. However, Jairus Holder stepped up at the end of the first half to shorten the gap to 23-22.

Enter the second quarter and the Warriors' shooters scored three-pointers to increase the gap for the home team. 

Holder's excellence kept the Dragons from being on the receiving end of a much bigger defeat. 

The score was 42-36 for the home team before the break. 

After the break, Dragons coach Todd Purves asked his players to deploy zone defence and fast break tactics to keep the gap under ten points. The score were 67-62 after the third quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, the Dragons' defence actively tripled the team with John Fields, but this created space for the Warriors' shooters to hit three- pointers. 

However, the gap was still below 10 points after the first five minutes of Q4.

Jermaine Marrow of Dragons shined at the right time with five points to equalise 79-79 for the guests.

But immediately Justin Young and the "deadly duo" Swint and Fields re-established the gap and sealed the victory for the home team. The score was 91-82 for Thang Long Warriors.

John Fields had another double-double stats with 28 points and 22 rebounds to won the Player of the game award.

Recently, Thang Long Warriors announced the Title Sponsor of the team, which is Petrolimex Insurance Corporation (PJICO). Besides, Audi Vietnam continues to accompany as a Platinum Sponsor.

Nguyễn Thị Hương Giang, general director of PJICO, shared that basketball is a promising sport in Việt Nam, with a diverse customer base.

"We decided to become the sponsoring partner of the Vietnamese professional basketball tournament VBA and the title sponsor of the Thang Long Warriors for the VBA 2023 season," the general director emphasised. — VNS