Basketball

HÀ NỘI — Saigon Heat continued their winning streak after beating Hanoi Buffaloes 84-77 on their home turf Canadian International School Arena yesterday.

The Buffaloes played with their best players, while the Heat were without Anthony Võ, because of an injury he sustained to his face.

The Buffaloes surged ahead with a series of six points by Jordan Collins. Their perfect duo Tiến Công-Tiến Dương and Nguyễn Phú Hoàng threw successfully to help them score 12-6.

On the home side, Darius Lewis and duo Ngọc Tú and Huỳnh Hải put in an outstanding performance to equalise at 14-14.

In the final minutes of the first quarter, Tú gave everybody a cause for cheer with a series of seven points. Nguyễn Huỳnh Hải and Hồng Gia Lân then added three-point throws to make it 22–19 for the Heat.

The second quarter also saw the Buffaloes taking a lead in the early minutes with impressive performances from Thái Hưng, Tiến Công, Collins and Vincent Nguyễn, particularly, who was the tactic leader of the team.

The Heat had Darius and Lân, who were successful with their accurate throws.

However, it was a win for the Buffaloes at 41-40.

The Heat continued their peak performance in the third quarter, while the Buffaloes made mistakes, leading to their 57-64 loss.

Hải and Lê Ngọc Tú performed in the last quarter. They were the key players to score points for the hosts, who finally won 84-77. Tú was the most valuable player of the match.

The win helped Heat maintain their top position with four wins. The Buffaloes remained at the fourth position after two wins and three losses.

The two sides will meet again on Thursday at the Bách Khoa Stadium.

In another match of the day, HCM City Wings ended Thang Long Warriors’s winning streak, beating them 67-56 in Hà Nội.

However, the Warriors still stand at No 2 spot and will play Cantho Catfish on October 1, while the Wings are at the fifth position and will next face the Heat on Saturday. — VNS