VietNamNet Bridge – A Ha Noi-based men's basketball team has been invited to compete in the third China-ASEAN Men's Basketball Invitational Tournament in China on October 25-31.

The team began training at Ha Noi-based Medicine College's court last week for the tournament.

"I'm honoured and eager to compete at the event because it's the first time I will have played abroad," said Vu Dinh Tu, the team's small guard.

Tu, who began playing basketball at 13, plays for the amateur Chicken Dunk team in Ha Noi.

"The team have recruited young players in Ha Noi. We will do our best against the powerhouses of the tournament," Tu said.

Last year, HCM City-based Joton took part in the event.

According to the Viet Nam Basketball Federation, there are about 6,000 amateur players in the country and 100 professionals playing for eight men's and five women's teams.

The federation wants to increase the number of regular players to 10,000 by the end next year.

Basketball is also popular in universities and colleges throughout the country and the VBF plans to promote basketball in secondary schools across the country over the next year.

* Student basketball tourney opens

HCM City Student Basketball Tournament – MILO Cup 2011 opened on Saturday in HCM City with participants from primary and secondary schools in the city.

Seventy-eight teams are competing in the tournament, which is launched by the HCM City Basketball Union and HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and sponsored by Nestle Viet Nam.

The competition will end next Saturday.

* Liem wins first match at Spice Cup

Viet Nam's top chess player Le Quang Liem won his first match at the Spice Cup in the US on Sunday.

Grandmaster Liem, who has an Elo rating of 2,717, defeated American Yury Shulman, Elo 2608, after 41 moves.

The two-time Aeroflot champion will meet Georg Meier of Germany in his next match.

The six grand masters invited to the tournament were Liem, Lienier Dominguez of Cuba, Sebastien Feller of France, Meier, Shulman and Ray Robson from the US.

After the Spice Cup, Liem is going to join the Vietnamese team for the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in November. In December he will also take part in the SportAccord Mind Games in China.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News