Viet Nam’s Saigon Heat came from behind to beat second seed Singapore Slingers 75-73 at the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) at the OCBC Arena on Sunday.

Saigon Heat players

“I know we’re over-celebrating,” the Heat’s Lenny Daniel said on the tournament’s official website.

“But when you fight this hard, when you’re physically tired and emotionally tired from a hard loss on Friday [to Alab Pilipinas], it just feels so good to come back and win.”

Daniel led the way with 22 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and an assist. 

But it was Jordan Henriquez who made a huge difference in the game, as he stood his ground against Slingers giant Justin Howard in the paint, holding him to 22 points on 10 of 29 shooting from the field.

It is the second time the Heat have met the Slingers at this year’s tournament. Earlier, the Heat lost to the Slingers 65-90.

The Heat climb to six wins and nine losses in the standings, further increasing the distance with Kaohsiung Truth in the race for the fourth seed. The Slingers fall to 11 wins and six losses, still in second place.

“Since I’ve been here, there’s been a lot of firsts for this team,” a triumphant Daniel said proudly.

“Hopefully we can keep that going.”

The Heat will meet defending champions Westports Malaysia Dragons on March 11 at the CIS Arena in HCM City. 

VNS