VietNamNet Bridge – Joining Saigon Heat club for less than a month, an American former professional basketball player was fined for indiscipline.
Coming to Vietnam on December 11, 2011, Julius Hodge was expected to enhance strength for Saigon Heat basketball club, which was founded in October in HCM City, at the upcoming Southeast Asian Basketball Championships. Yet, Hodge has showed symptoms of “star” and lacked of disciplines in training.

During the drilling trip in Thailand in mid-December, after waiting for the former member of Denver Nuggets club for a long time, Hodge’s teammates could not wait for longer so they left Hodge at the hotel to go to the sports ground. Hodge had to go to the sports ground by taxi.

Recently, Hodge was suspended from training for three days for his incorrect behaviors. The team’s coach said that if the American player repeats his mistakes, he would suffer from dock wages.

Meanwhile, two Vietnamese players, Trinh Duc Nhan and Tran Vu Linh, could not fit themselves with the professional environment of Saigon Heat. They were permitted to leave the team.

Saigon Heat is urgently preparing for the ASEAN Basketball League. The team had to race with time to find a sports house which meets ASEAN Basketball League’s standards. Finally, it chose the Tan Binh District Sports House as its host ground in ten games in Vietnam.

The first game will be held on January 14.

S. Tung