Max Allen (2) was unstoppable in the paint area. The Dragons keep their hope alive for the playoff ticket. Photo courtesy of VBA

HÀ NỘI — The Đà Nẵng Dragons kept their hope for the playoffs alive with a win against the Hà Nội Buffaloes on Friday (August 16), at Tây Hồ Gymnasium, Hà Nội.

The "Capital Buffaloes" had won three consecutive home games at Tây Hồ, while the guests just defeated two teams in the top four, including the defending champion Saigon Heat.

However, for Friday's game, the Buffaloes lost the service of point guard Devin Peterson due to an unsportsmanlike foul, while the Dragons coaching staff was without coach Todd Purves due to his third technical foul.

In the first quarter, due to the absence of the point guard, the Buffaloes faced difficulty running plays.

After half of the quarter, the home team was down 14-5.

To take back control of the game, the "Capital Buffaloes" increased defensive pressure and did not hesitate to commit fouls to cool down an opponent's hot hand.

At the same time, Nguyễn Huy Hoàng came off the bench and quickly hit two three-pointers to help the Buffaloes catch up at 19-19.

In the first minutes of the second quarter, the home team surged thanks to reserve players like Tô Ngọc Khánh and Đinh Toàn Quốc.

On the other side, Max Allen was the main force attacking.

In the eighth minute, Hassan Thomas left the court because of his third personal foul from trying to stop Allen in the pant.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bryan Nguyễn and Allen became a nightmare for the home team as the duo continuously organized counterattack plays to help the Dragons take the lead at 43-38.

After the break, the nightmare continued for the Buffaloes, as Allen was still unstoppable in the paint area.

The Dragons ended the game with an easy victory of 88-60.

With this result, the positions of the two teams remained unchanged. Specifically, the Buffaloes (eight wins, five losses) are in third place, while the Dragons (five wins, eight losses) are in fifth place.

However, thanks to a three-game winning streak against the top three teams, the Dragons are now only one win away from the fourth place Nha Trang Dolphins. VNS