HCM CITY — Saigon Heat defeated Cantho Catfish 74-84 in the second game of the final of the Việt Nam Basketball Association (VBA) League 2019 at Cần Thơ Gymnasium.

Saigon Heat defeated Cần Thơ Catfish to put them in the driving seat in the final matches of the VBA. — Photo vba.vn

In the first match in the series of five, Cantho Catfish beat Saigon Heat 78-75 in the last minutes.

The team from HCM City started the game well, with an accurate shot by T.Nix to keep the lead of eight points the first timeout by the Catfish.

The timeout was a good move by Catfish as after the restart, two perfect three point shots by Tâm Đinh and five points from Hamilton, including one three pointer put them in the lead.

In the last twenty seconds of the first quarter, Hamilton made a slam dunk before T. Nix hit a three pointer to bring the scores level at 21-21.

After the third personal foul was made by Nix in the second quarter, the coach benched him for most of the period.

But his reappearance at the end of the session paid dividends, nailing two free throws to help Heat close the gap.

The third quarter started with four points from Tim Waale, which helped Saigon Heat take the lead 42-45.

Richard Nguyễn and his teammates were in good form, helping Heat end the quarter with an 11 points lead  (58-69).

Sang Đinh hit five points in the five minutes to help Cần Thơ close the gap to 74-75.

However, Heat stood still with the possession playing style and the poor connection of the host’s player.

The match ended with the final score 74-84. Heat won the second game and has a big advantage as the next two games will be played in their home court.

The final’s third game will be held at t the CIS Area in HCM City on Friday. — VNS