HÀ NỘI — Saigon Heat failed to make it to the top three at the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), after losing their second straight match on Sunday in HCM City.

The hosts were defeated 83-97 by Mono Vampire of Thailand. It was their second failure to the same rivals after a 104-116 match on December 21 at Stadium 29 in Bangkok.

The visitors, Mono Vampire created great pressure on the home side with their bigger and taller players such as Samuel Deguara. After half time of the first quarter they took the lead with a big gap of 15-5, in which Deguara scored 11 points.

Coach Kyle Julius called for a time out, which led to a better situation for the Vietnamese representatives, as they controlled pretty well the 2.29m-tall Deguara.

World Import Maxie Esho used his scoring skills to grab 11 points for the hosts.

However, the first half ended 25-23 for the Vampire.

While the Heat struggled with their shooting in the second quarter, Mono Vampire attacked consecutively, with Paul Zamar and Michael Singletary taking responsibility when Deguara was controlled. The Vampire took the quarter at 45-32.

Singletary continued his perfect form in the next period with 11 points. In a pair with Heritage Import Paul Zamar, they helped the Thai club extend the gap to 24 points in just a few moments.

Horace Nguyễn and Stefan Nguyễn were brought on court from the bench and they narrowed it to 54-73 for the Heat at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter saw some local players of the Heat being given chances to shine. They scored 29 points, compared to the visitors’ 24 points.

But it was not enough to save the Heat from a loss, as the Vampire ended with 97-83. Mono Vampire, with a record of 8-4, are at third place in the standings. They will look to pick up their third straight win as they host Formosa Dreamers on January 24.

The Heat settled for a 4-4 record and fell to the fifth position. They will have one week of rest before returning to action on January 28, when they host Tanduay Alab Pilipinas of the Philippines at their CIS Arena. — VNS