The return of Yevgen Sakhniuk ( white shirt) after hand injuries helped the Catfish dominate at both ends of the court. The guest scored a big win over the Hà Nội Buffaloes in game 1 of their best-of-three semi-final series.

HÀ NỘI — The Cần Thơ Catfish has scored a big win over the Hà Nội Buffaloes in game 1 of their best-of-three semi-final series.

Before the match, coach Lê Trần Minh Nghĩa of the Catfish made an unexpected decision when he put young player Lê Hoàng Quân in the starting five with Tâm Đinh, Đặng Thái Hưng, Dakota Zinser and Yevgen Sakhniuk, who just came back after hand injuries.

The Buffaloes used the same starting five including American-Vietnamese star Hassan Thomas, a duo of foreign players and veterans Đinh Tiến Công and Nguyễn Tiến Dương.

The return of Sakhniuk helped the Catfish at both ends of the court. On the defensive front, the Ukrainian player was the core of the zone defense system. On the offensive side, Sakhniuk helped the guests to increase pressure in the paint area.

Entering the game with comprehensive offense and defense helped the guests create a ten-point lead of 25-15.

In the first minutes of the second quarter, the diverse attacking style and good finishing from the three-point line helped the Catfish increase their lead.

In response, coach Erik Rashad brought shooters Nguyễn Huy Hoàng and Jimmy Nguyễn onto the court. However, the presence of this duo did not bring the usual effectiveness.

The Buffaloes were left far behind with a gap of 25 points of 51-26 before the break.

After the break, the Buffaloes increased the tempo. Hassan Thomas and Ruot Monyyong tried their best to keep the Buffaloes' hope alive.

However, the defense still left too much space for shooters like Zinser, Tâm Đinh or Hoàng Trung, while Sakhniuk continued to dominate the paint, and the Catfish still led with a blowout score of 60-42.

In the decisive quarter, the Catfish slowed down the tempo. Every time the Buffaloes scored points, the Catfish shut them down with an easy layup or a three pointer.

When the clock ticked down to one minute, realizing that the 20-point gap of 75-55 was insurmountable, coach Erik Rashad withdrew his key players. In the end, the Catfish won easily at 75-59.

Zinser, the top scorer of the Catfish, was the Player of the Game with 18 points, three assists and three steals. "This was a difficult match with many fierce collisions. However, this away win is a great stepping stone. We will try to recover as quickly as possible and prepare carefully for the upcoming home match," Zinser shared. VNS