The Saigon Heat escaped with a slim 74-72 victory over the Formosa Dreamers in the ASEAN Basketball League on Saturday.

Murphy Burnatowski of Saigon Heat (middle) during his side’s victory on Saturday. — Photo saigonheat.com

The game was held at Changhua Stadium in Chinese Taipei.

The hosts took the lead early, however, the Heat clawed back and ended the first quarter tied at 20-20, led by Trevon Hughes, Murphy Burnatowski and Justin Young.

In the next period, the Heat fought back with Hughes and DeAngelo Hamilton opening up a 39-31 halftime lead.

The third quarter saw the Heat inch further ahead 61-52, but the Dreamers tied the game deep in the fourth quarter.

With the score 72-72 with less than five seconds to go, Burnatowski capitalized on an error from the Taiwanese side to score the game-winning bucket from close range.

With this win, the Heat stand fourth out of 10 teams with 10 wins and eight losses. San Miguel Alab Pilipinas lead with 13 wins and two losses, while Formosa Dreamers are second with 10 wins and five losses.

The Heat will next face CLS Knights of Indonesia at the CIS Arena in HCM City on February 24. — VNS