HÀ NỘI – All eyes will be on the opening match of this year’s Việt Nam Basketball Association (VBA) League between defending champions Thang Long Warriors and runners-up Cantho Catfish today.

The game will be held at 5pm in Hà Nội’s University of Education Gymnasium.

The visitors have performed well in the VBA preseason matches with two wins, scoring 104 points in every match.

The Catfish lineup features prominent players like Nguyễn Phú Hoàng, Lê Hiếu Thành, Tâm Đinh, Sang Đinh and DeAngelo Hamilton. They will be key players to help the Catfish to win the title this year.

With a spectacular attack, diverse scoring options and a strong line-up, the Catfish are one of the favourites for the title.

Meanwhile, the hosts Warriors are also ready to defend their title.

They have retained their stars including Jaywuan Hill, Justin Young and Tô Quang Trung.

In the last two preseason matches, Hill averaged 29 points, Trung contributed 15 points, while Young had 9.5 points.

American player, Hill, won the last year’s event’s Most Valuable Player award. The 28-year-old scored one third of the Warriors’ total points to help his team top the event’s regular season. In the finals, with average points of 29, Hill led the Warriors to overcome the Catfish after five dramatic matches.

The Warriors have also signed contract with Ngô Tuấn Trung to strengthen their defence.

In another match, Saigon Heat will meet HCM City Wings at CIS Arena in HCM City at 7pm.

In the last match, the Wings lost to the Heat 70-94. However, in that match, they didn’t have their best players. Today, they are ready to beat the Heat with the return of Corey Cilia and Lê Công Tuấn Anh.

The Heat’s focus in the league this year is to develop young players.

“VBA 2018 will be the chance for Saigon Heat young players. We will fight for a playoffs spot. But our key goal is to develop our young players,” said CEO of the Heat, Connor Nguyen.

This year’s VBA features six teams, including Thang Long Warriors, Hanoi Buffaloes, Danang Dragons, HCM City Wings, Saigon Heat, and Cantho Catfish.

It will last until September 16. – VNS