HÀ NỘI — Saigon Heat lost to Singapore Slingers 76-94 in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) match on February 25 in Singapore.

At the start of the game, Stefan Nguyễn brought joy to Heat fans with a three-point shot. But Slingers immediately fought back strongly. Xavier Alexander and Christien Charles, with the advantage of a fit body, helped Slingers take a 28-21 lead.

In the second quarter, Heat made every effort to level the score, but they found it difficult to attack in the low post and lost to Slingers 37-50.

Coach Kyle Julius of Heat adjusted his strategy in the next period, which proved to be effective. Maxie Esho, Akeem Scott and Michael Williams scored important points to help Heat narrow the gap to 58-67.

In the last quarter, Heat put up a brave game but could not beat the host and lost 76-94.

In this match, Scott led the way for Heat with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Esho scored 20 points. Nonetheless, Heat missed the game of Moses Morgan, who could not play due to a leg injury.

Meanwhile, Slingers’ Charles scored 24 points and had a career-high 29 rebounds. He also added seven assists and was a force on the defensive end with six blocks.

With this loss, Heat now rank six out of nine teams, with seven wins and eight losses. Slingers, who have been finalists in the last two ABL seasons, rank fifth, with nine wins and seven losses.

Heat will next face CLS Knights Indonesia on March 3 at CIS Arena in HCM City. — VNS