Thang Long Warriors grabbed their fifth win of the tournament, beating Cantho Catfish 79-67 on their home turf at the Hanoi's University of Education Gymnasium.

Thang Long Warriors’ Jaywuan Hill (right) tries to pass De Angelo Hamilton of Cantho Catfish during their VBA match yesterday in Hanoi. The Warriors won 79-67. 

They maintained their second place in the Viet Nam Basketball Association (VBA) League with five wins and two losses.

The Catfish suffered their third defeat and were placed third.

Both the teams played in an attack style from the beginning, with three-point throws scored by both sides, leading to a draw result of 20-20 in the first quarter.

The Warriors were stronger and more dynamic in the second quarter. They created a slight lead over the visitors and maintained it until the end, finishing the quarter 38-35.

However, the Catfish fought back in the third and went ahead to lead 58-52.

However, a six-point gap was not a safe result for the Catfish. The Warriors quickly equalised, and finally, won the match at 79-67.

With 37 points, 10 rebounds and one assist, the Warriors’ Jaywuan Hill played a key role in his team’s victory and won the most valuable player of the game title.

In another match, Saigon Heat received their first loss of the season after losing 74-79 to HCM City Wings on Saturday.

The city derby at the Canadian International School Arena was disrupted because of a power failure. However, it did not reduce the heat in the game.

The aggressive and tense atmosphere of the match reached a peak when Bilai Richardson of the Heat and Darius Lewis of the Wings were sent off, after they tried to hit each other in the second quarter, which the Wings led 46-35.

The Heat enjoyed their leisure time during the power outage and came back strongly, narrowing the result to 56-60.

The Wings, however, did not let their rivals have a chance in the last quarter. Chong Paul, Luong Chí Manh, who was the MVP of the game, and Trieu Han Minh did a good job to guide their team to the final win of 79-74, ending their losing streak and also avenged their loss to the Heat last week.

Despite losing the match, the Heat kept their top position with five wins and one loss. The Wings scored their third victory and sit at No 5.

In Da Nang, Danang Dragons lost 58-67 to Hanoi Buffaloes. The defending champions made a record of six defeats in a row and remained at the bottom of the ranking.

Meanwhile, the Buffaloes won their third match and were ranked fourth, before returning to their home town, where they took part in a mooncake making programme for children in SOS Village yesterday.  

VNS