Nha Trang Dolphins become the second team that beat Saigon Heat in the VBA 2023 regular season. Photo courtesy of VBA

NHA TRANG — The Dolphins scored an important victory against the Heat in a tense game to secure a playoff spot.

With the home advantage, the Dolphins entered the match with confidence against the defending champion.

Robert Sampson of the Dolphins scored the first points to help the host take a 18-5 lead in the first five minutes.

Coach Matt Van Pelt of the Heat called time out to set up plays.

After the time out, Kentrell Barkley nailed three pointer shots to narrow the lead to 23-19 after the first quarter.

The Dolphins' players had their best performance since the VBA 2023 started. They continued scoring points and led the game.

Barkley continued helping the guest to not be left too far behind.

He and his teammates narrowed the lead to a one-point game (46-45) before the break.

Both teams played well in the third quarter. The score was 66-65 before the last quarter.

The match continued to be tense in the last quarter. Madarious Gibbs had a chance to seal the victory for the home team at the free throw line in the last second.

However, he missed two shots, and the teams had to play overtime to decide the winner.

Sơn Minh Tâm was the hero of the home team as he made two three-pointers from the corner, and the Dolphins took the lead 95-90 in the last minute of the overtime.

Gibbs made four free throws in the last seconds to seal the victory for the guess with a score of 99-95.

Robert Sampson won the Best Player of the Game award with 29 points and 17 rebounds.

The Dolphins became the second team that beat the defending champion Saigon Heat this season. VNS