Kentrell Barkley score in last second to help the Saigon Heat clinch playoff. Photo courtesy of VBA

HCM CITY — The Saigon Heat defeated the Ho Chi Minh City Wings in the last seconds by a score of 80-78 to officially qualify for the post-season of VBA 2023.

The match was held on Tuesday night (August 16) at Hồ Xuân Hương Gymnasium.

The two entered the game very cautiously seeking crucial victory for themselves. 

With a win, the Heat would advance to the playoffs while the City Wings will continue to keep their hopes alive of competing for a place in the playoff round.

Both played neck and neck, because they did not want to lose, especially in the rivalry match.

The City Wings took a lead of 19-18 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Hoàng Tú and Kentrell Barkley scored 13 consecutive points within three minutes to help the Heat take the lead.

With confidence, the other Heat players started to put on explosive performances. They quickly increased the lead to 43-25 before the break. 

Not accepting a loss easily, the City Wings players always put their heart out until the last second, as Vincent Nguyen did last night. 

The captain of the City Wings led the young players to attack and gradually tightened the score.

The Heat still led with by a score 60-47 after the third quarter. However, Hassan Thomas of the Heat committed his fourth personal foul. This was a turning point for the City Wings to come back in the last quarter. 

In the first five minutes of the last quarter, Lê Trần Đăng Huỳnh and Yevgen Sakhniuk scored five and six points, respectively, helping the City Wings players' morale increase and closing the lead to 65-61.

Coach Matt Van Pelt of the Heat called time out to slow the flow of the host's players. 

Immediately, Nguyễn Huỳnh Phú Vinh's three-pointer and Barkley's layup helped the Heat increase the lead to 70-61.

Fighting against another defeat at home for the City Wings, Phạm Hiền Tài made two three-pointers to keep their hope alive. 

Besides Tài, Jeremy Smith and Yevgen Sakhniuk also scored important points for the home team.

When the match had 10 seconds left, the Heat took the lead with a score of 77-75. Hiền Tài had an opportunity to equalize the score, but unfortunately he was unsuccessful.

The City Wings were forced to make a foul in exchange for time, with Hassan Thomas successfully hitting just one out of two free throws to give the Heat a 78-75 lead.

Coach Erik Olson of the City Wings called timeout to set up a three-point shot with four seconds left in the game.

Jeremy Smith made an unbelievable three-pointer in the corner to equalize the score 78-78.

Everyone thought about overtime, but Kentrell Barkley and Phú Vinh of the Heat said no. With only two seconds left, Barkley received the ball from a long pass from Phú Vinh.

He made a pump fake and swished a two-pointer for the Heat at the very last second. The Heat sealed the victory in a tough match. 

Kentrell Barkley won Player of the Game with 36 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. He was the only player who played all 40 minutes on the Saigon Heat side in the game. VNS