Trương Hoàng Trung's three pointer ends Đà Nẵng Dragons hope for the playoffs spot. Photo courtesy of VBA

HCM CITY – The Cần Thơ Catfish advanced to the playoffs after a victory against the Đà Nẵng Dragons in the final matchup in the regular season.

With this loss, the Dragons had to say goodbye to their playoffs dreams, while the Nha Trang Dolphins secured their place in the top four and took the last ticket to the playoffs.

The home team Catfish entered the game without their captain, Tâm Đinh, due to injury, and coach Lê Trần Minh Nghĩa replaced Tâm with young player Lê Hoàng Quân.

It was Quân who scored the first points for the Catfish. The home team stretched the Dragons' defence to create many open shot opportunities. The Catfish lead by a score of 11-2.

In response, coach Todd Purves called a time-out, then the Dragons players significantly improved their defence and offence to narrow the lead to 23-19 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Catfish maintained their dominance, and the home team once again created a lead of 11 points.

However, in the sixth minute, Yevgen Sakhniuk and Đặng Thái Hưng both committed their third personal fouls in an effort to stop the fast-break plays of the Dragons.

The Dragons took this opportunity to narrow the lead to 41-35 before the break.

For most of the third quarter, Catfish shooters such as Dakota Zinser had many chances at the three-point line and open layups while the Dragons made many mistakes with turnovers as the home team increased its lead to 64-49.

While dominating the game, Sakhniuk fouled out due to his fifth personal foul. Without this important player in the defensive front, the home team's lead dwindled to 10 points, 64-54.

In the deciding quarter, the guests took advantage of the number one defender of the Catfish leaving the court, and Bryan Nguyễn led his team to rise up and equalise the score.

However, each time the Dragons scored, the home team responded thanks to the brilliance of bench players such as Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, Đặng Thái Hưng or Lê Khắc Đăng Khoa.

With just seconds left and the gap still nine points at 81-72, Trương Hoàng Trung ended the game with a three-pointer. Receiving a fatal blow, coach Todd Purves and his team had to accept defeat with a result of 84-76.

Dakota Zinser, the Catfish's top scorer, was named Player of the Game with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

“Advancing to the next round gives me a great feeling. To achieve this result, we have worked very hard since the beginning of the season. I am really proud of my teammates, especially our homegrown players. Every time we are in a difficult situation, we know how to step up and show a strong mentality,” Dakota Zinser shared.

In this match, the Cần Thơ Catfish outperformed their opponents in terms of shooting efficiency (54 per cent compared to 43 per cent) and contributions from the reserve players (16 points compared to seven points).

With this result, the Catfish and Dolphins officially earned the two remaining semi-final spots. VNS