ACB move out of bottom after trouncing Long An 3-1

Lucas Cantoro’s hat-trick helped Hanoi ACB thrash Dong Tam Long An 3-1 at Hang Day stadium yesterday.

With their home triumph, ACB moved out of the bottom for the first time after ten rounds of the V-League 2011.

Bottom-placed ACB who were two points behind Dong Tam Long An started the game with great determination to win while the visitors were eager to secure a victory to improve their ranking.

In the first attack just after the start, Lucas opened the scoring for ACB with his header from Thanh Luong’s cross from the right.

Lucas should have doubled the score in the 18th minute but his header hit the crossbar. Then it was Long An’s turn to attack. David Danny made his first strike in the 20th minute but it was saved by ACB goalkeeper Minh Phong. Two minutes later, Thanh Binh’s long-range shot was saved by Minh Phong before Antonio Carlos fired over the crossbar.

After the break, Long An intensified their attacks but could not breach the host solid defence.

In a quick counter-attack, Lucas Cantoro headed in from Jonathan Quartey’s cross in the 53rd minute. In the 56th minute, Thanh Luong missed a real chance to widen the gap. But one minute later it was Lucas who scored his third goal thanks to Long An’s defender Quoc Huan’s mistake. Quoc Huan passed the ball directly to Lucas Cantoro who coolly converted the chance into goal, completing his hat-trick.

In the 72nd minute Danny scored the consolation goal from close range for the visitors to narrow the gap to 3-1.

ACB played better than Long An in the match and deserved a victory.

From the sixth round, Hanoi ACB played well at home stadium, beating Dong Thap 2-0 in the sixth round, drawing 3-3 with powerhouse Binh Duong in the seventh round and thrashing Long An 3-1 in the tenth round yesterday.

With a 3-1 loss to ACB, Dong Tam Long An dropped to the bottom of the table.

Vietnam’s national cycling team prepares for 26th SEA Games

Vietnam’s national cycling team is holding a training course from March 21 to April 16 in Da Lat city to prepare for the 26th SEA Games that will be held in Indonesia in 2011.

The training course is part of the lectures given by Kyrgyzstan expert Nicolas and aims to help male athletes compete well at the HCM City Television Cycling Cup to be held from April 21-30. 

Vietnam’s cycling team will attend three international competitions in the region this year.

Tien Minh bow out of Australian Open Grand Prix

Vietnamese badminton star Nguyen Tien Minh, the world’s number 7, had to terminate his cruise at the 2011 Yonex Australian Open Grand Prix Gold after a 2-1 loss in the quarterfinal.

He went down 19-21, 21-7 and 18-21 against Sho Sasaki, the sixth seed from Japan.

In another match the same day, the world number 9 Tommy Sugiarto from Indonesia advanced into the semifinals after beating the top seed Boonsak Ponsana from Thailand 21-19, 19-21 and 21-9.

The event is organized from April 5-10 with 376 players partaking in five categories for men and women.

National Women’s Football Championship 2011 opens

The National Women’s Football Championship 2011 was held in the northern province of Ha Nam on April 9.

In the opening game, host Phong Phu Ha Nam defeated Ho Chi Minh City with a score of 2-0.

The tournament drew the participation of six teams including Phong Phu Ha Nam, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel, Vietnam Coal and Mineral, HCM City, and Hanoi Trang An 1 and 2.

The first leg of the tournament will take place from April 9 to 27 and the second from July 2 to 20.

The team with the most points after both rounds will take home VND150 million in prize money, double last year’s award.

The two runners-up will pocket VND100 million and VND50 million.

Organisers will also award bonuses to the best player, top scorer, best goalie and the team with the best sportsmanship.

National Wushu Championship 2011 closes

The National Wushu Championship 2011 ended at the sports event hall in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak on April 10.

After four day of competition, the Ha Noi team retained its championship title with 7 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze medal, followed by Thai Nguyen (2 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronzes) and Tuyen Quang (2 golds and 2 bronzes).

Host Dak Lak won 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.

The best athletes from the competition will be selected to prepare for the Asian Junior Wushu Championships in Shanghai, China in August, the World Wushu Championships in Turkey and the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia, both in November.

Vietnamese Grandmaster takes third at Telin event

Vietnamese Grandmaster Dao Thien Hai has secured third place at the Telin International Chess Tournament in Jakarta.

Hai, who won the title at the National First Class Chess Championships last month, has gained seven points in nine Swiss rounds after drawing with Grandmaster Torre Eugenio of the Philippines in the last round.

Grandmaster Cerdas Barus of Indonesia has grabbed the title with 7.5 points after beating his counterpart, International Master Irwanto Sadikin in the ninth round.

Grandmaster Gagunashvili Merab of Georgia has taken second place with seven points, defeating International Master Purnama Tirta Chandra of Indonesia.

On the women's side, Grandmaster Karlovich Anastazia of the Ukraine has won first place. Second place has gone to young talent FIDE Master Medina Warda Aulia of Indonesia.

The US$25,000 tournament has attracted around 100 chess players from around the world.

Sponsorship for beach volleyball

A sponsorship deal worth US$45,000 has been signed for the national beach volleyball team's training and competition costs, including salary, bonuses and nutrition.

The one-year agreement was reached between the PetroVietnam Low Pressure Gas Distribution Joint Stock Company and the Vietnam Volleyball Federation April 8.

Company general director Nguyen Van Son said his company will help take the Vietnamese beach volleyball team to a new level.

The team will take part in six international tournaments this year including qualifying rounds for both the London Olympics in 2012 and the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia this November.