Cần Thơ Catfish take back the second place after the win against Nha Trang Dolphins. Photo courtesy of VBA

HCM CITY - The Cần Thơ Catfish convincingly won against the defending runner-up Nha Trang Dolphins with a score of 72-58.

The game was held on Wednesday (August 14) at Hồ Xuân Hương Gymnasium, District 3, HCM City. 

The defending runner-up needed a win to regain their form, as well as consolidate their position in the top four for the playoffs.

In the first two quarters, the Dolphins' poor performance left the guests far behind.

Most of their points came from Dominique Tham, while the home team had a great start at the three-point line and big man Yevgen Sakhniuk took all control in the paint. 

The Catfish ended the first half ahead by a score of 36-19.

After the break, the Dolphins found a way to bounce back. The guests defended fiercely, while collecting every opportunity, including free throws, to gain points and reduce the lead to only 38-30.

In the final minutes, Joe Mvuezolo's opportunistic steals helped the away team narrow the lead to only 48-45.

In the decisive quarter, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh of the Catfish suddenly shone at the three-point line.

The young player continuously scored, stole the ball and started counterattacks to help the home team re-establish a 10-point lead of 55-45. Facing the home team's high spirits, the Dolphins tried to fight back but the away team's mentality showed signs of slowing down as they continuously lost the ball or missed shots.

When there was about one minute left on the clock and the lead was still 15 points at 70-55, the two teams accepted the result and withdrew their key players.

In the end, the Cần Thơ Catfish won 72-58.

Yevgen Sakhniuk, a center who almost achieved a triple-double for a second time, was the owner of the Player of the Game title with 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.

"In the first two quarters, we did very well on defense to launching offensive runs. In the beginning of the third quarter, the Dolphins played more aggressively. However, after two time-outs, the whole team calmed down and focused on coming back and winning,” said Catfish coach Lê Trần Minh Nghĩa.

With this result, the Catfish have eight wins and four losses to return to second place in the VBA standings, while the Dolphins remained in fourth place with six wins and eight losses. VNS