Let Eastern score 18-0 in the second half, Saigon Heat lost Game 1 ABL Finals 2023
Entering the game excitedly before a Hong Kong Eastern got more rest due to playing only 2 Playoffs semi-finals, Saigon Heat soon had a 9-point advantage right in the first half.
But difficulties appeared not long after that when 3 pillars of "Mr. 30" such as Jeremy Combs, Hassan Thomas or Evan Gilyard had personal problems. Everything turned bad very quickly when Saigon Heat made many mistakes. in the second half of the 3rd period and the beginning of the 4th period.
Taking full advantage of the opportunities brought by the Vietnamese representative, Hong Kong Eastern opened a series of 18-0 points lasting from the second half of the 3rd half to the beginning of the 4th half. The match from tug-of-war was completely on the away team.
The core of this uptrend is the 38-year-old "old man" O'Darien Bassett on the Eastern side. He directly scored or created more than half of the above run, showing his experience against the somewhat impatient defense of the Saigon Heat.
Despite trying to score points in the second half of the 4th half, it was too late when the gap that Eastern created at the longest time reached 24 points. The first final - ABL Finals 2023 Game 1 ended with the score 89-73, the victory belonged to Hong Kong Eastern.
Evan Gilyard led the Saigon Heat team with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. However, he got 5 turnovers and only hit 5-15 FG. The trio of Jeremy Combs, Hassan Thomas and Jairus Holder are right behind with 14, 11 and 14 points, respectively.
On the Eastern side, O'Darien Bassett and Dominic Gilbert lead with 22 and 24 points. Bassett alone hit 9-13 FG with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, reaching the team's highest efficiency stat.
In order for the opponent to temporarily take a 1-0 lead and like in the semi-final series, Saigon Heat will have to win Game 2 before raising hopes of touching the championship trophy.
There is not much time to think about failure, coach Matt Van Pelt's teachers and students will have to play tomorrow evening, at 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 12 at Nguyen Du Stadium.
