Official: Stage 4 ABL Invitational 2023 will take place in Vietnam

After 3 stages of play at home, Saigon Heat will be playing with the support of the home audience in the final qualifying stage of the ABL Invitational 2023.

As confirmed by the organizers of the tournament as well as on the homepage of Saigon Heat, stage 4 of this year's ABL will be held in Ho Chi Minh City. The venue chosen is Nguyen Du gymnasium instead of the Canadian International School (NTD CIS).

The information that stage 4 will be held in Vietnam is not new, but choosing Nguyen Du rather than the CIS stadium is a rather surprising decision for fans. The CIS Gymnasium has been the home ground of Saigon Heat for many years, spanning both VBA and ABL.

With Nguyen Du, the venue was used right at the last VBA Playoffs 2022 in the series "Mr 30" against Ho Chi Minh City Wings, this stadium has a larger capacity than CIS with more than 2,500 seats, and at the same time in a more favorable location (right in the heart of District 1).

The schedule for stage 4 of ABL Invitational 2023 will have a total of 12 matches, taking place over 6 consecutive days from February 12 to the end of February 17 (frequency 2 matches/day).

Saigon Heat will play 3 matches, respectively, against Macau Black Bears (February 12), Singapore Slingers (February 15) and Louvre Surabaya (February 17). Ticket prices have not been announced yet.

But before playing stage 4 at home, coach Matt Van Pelt's army will take a two-week break for the Lunar New Year. After that, the whole team will go to Malaysia to play stage 3 at MABA Stadium.

Closing the first two stages of the ABL Invitational 2023, Saigon Heat is currently ranked 3rd in the rankings with a total record of 6 wins, 2 losses in 8 matches.