HÀ NỘI — Saigon Heat defeated Westports Malaysia Dragons 115-103 at their ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) match in the CIS Arena in HCM City on March 18.

The Heat also made a record as the team scoring the most three-point shots in ABL with 214 accurate throws.

Despite earning a place in the event’s play-off, the Heat were determined to win the game to create a driving force for the next round. The visitor Dragons, on the other hand, did not have much motivation to fight as they had already been eliminated from the play-offs.

The Vietnamese side dominated the first quarter with a score of 26-22.

In the next quarter, Maxie Esho and David Arnold scored three points each to help the hosts widen the gap to 55-44.

The visitors, however, fought back strongly in the third quarter. They had levelled the score and nearly won, but in the last few seconds, Esho helped the hosts take a lead of 79-76.

The last quarter saw 10 continuous points by the players of Heat, coached by Kyle Julius. But soon, Arnold and Moses Morgan had to leave due to individual errors. This helped Dragons to chase the score.

However, the other players of Heat came together against their rivals. They scored 16 points in the last two minutes to dash the visitors’ hopes of a win.

Esho finished with a game-high of 34 points to pace the Heat. He also chipped in 15 rebounds and four steals in a showcase of his athleticism and offensive versatility all over the ground.

Flanking Esho were his talented teammates Akeem Scott and Mikey Williams. The two were stellar in their performance, with Scott finishing with 26 points, six rebounds and five steals. Williams tallied 24 points on 6/10 shooting from the three-point area, along with five rebounds and eight assists.

The Dragons will play their final game of the season at MABA Stadium on March 21, as they take on Mono Vampire Basketball Club. The Heat will battle Singapore Slingers in their regular season finale on March 24. — VNS