Cần Thơ Catfish celebrate their first VBA Finals advanced after 5 years. Photo courtesy of VBA

HCM CITY – The Cần Thơ Catfish has defeated the Hà Nội Buffaloes in a tense match by a score of 81-74 to win the best-of-three series 2-0. 

Steals, blocks, technical fouls, fouling out, sweat and even blood all happened in the second game of the semi-final series between the Catfish and the Buffaloes, on Wednesday.

Both teams used the same starting five from game one of the semi-final series, which the Catfish won.

In the first five minutes of the first quarter, both teams could not score more than five points due to the high pressure of each defense.

The turning point of the game came after center Yevgen Sakhniuk made a successful three-pointer. The inspiration of the Ukrainian foreign player spread to the other shooters of the home team.

With three more three-pointers, the home team led 24-14.

In the second quarter, the Buffaloes increased the tempo to level the score.

In the eighth minute, after many counterattacks and steals led by Devin Peterson, the guests finally caught up with the home team at 34-34.

In the remaining time, the Catfish maintained a slight advantage. However, thanks to a three-point shot by Nguyễn Huy Hoàng, the Buffaloes once again tied the game at 42-42.

After the break, both teams played neck and neck. In the eighth minute, after a series of effective defense and counterattacks, the Catfish took the lead by nine points thanks to five points from young player Nguyễn Hoàng Quân. 

In the last two minutes, Trương Hoàng Trung had a great performance at both ends of the court to help the Catfish take a 10-point lead at 61-51.

In the deciding quarter, Peterson once again helped the Buffaloes stay close. In the fourth minute, the efforts of this player pushed the Buffaloes to narrow the lead to three points at 68-65.

However, after that moment, the guests faced a disadvantage after Hassan Thomas left the court due to his fifth personal foul, after missing many layups and open shots. 

Without their core player, in the eighth minute, the guests fell behind by 10 points 77-67. In the short time remaining, the Catfish proactively slowed down the tempo, burning time in each attack.

Held back by the opponent and without their number one star, coach Erik Rashad had to helplessly watch his players suffer a 81-74 defeat.

Yevgen Sakhniuk was the Player of the Game with 22 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists.

"We had a difficult season with an unfavourable start and Yevgen Sakhniuk was injured many times. However, building solidarity and teamwork through each game has brought results like today. Entering the final and facing the Saigon Heat, the champion of the last four seasons, really makes me feel great," said Coach Lê Trần Minh Nghĩa, who is the first local coach to advance to the Finals.

With this result, for the first time since the VBA Finals in 2019, the Catfish will face Heat in the finals. VNS