Saigon Heat successfully avenged Hong Kong Eastern: Victory of bravery

In the entire ABL Invitational 2023 campaign up to now, Saigon Heat has only lost to 2 teams. One is the host of stage 2 - Singapore Slingers. The second was Hong Kong Eastern, the team at that time was still unbeaten with a destructive form.

Entering the game with confidence and excitement, Saigon Heat in the first encounter was slightly better than Eastern, sometimes leading by 14 points. But a moment of lack of concentration and panic towards the end of the game caused coach Matt Van Pelt to "take the gold and let it fall".

This time the scenario has changed. The rematch in the third stage of the ABL season 11, Saigon Heat also led Hong Kong Eastern with a big difference (this match is 15 points) and the Vietnamese representative calmly ended the match with an 84-71 victory.

Not only having the joy of winning, Saigon Heat also rose to No. 1 on the ABL Invitational 2023 rankings. The Vietnamese representative has 8 victories after 10 matches and is in a position that is almost certain to attend the Playoffs, although still one leg to go.

This is a match where the Heat not only overcame their opponents but also won themselves, overcoming their weaknesses compared to the previous matches to head to the sprint phase of the Regular Season.

Walking around the comment area of ​​basketball social networking sites, “rebound” is always something that is mentioned a lot by fans.

Witnessing Saigon Heat's 11th season of ABL start with a series of unbeaten matches, the fans could not help but worry because "Mr 30" was always weaker than the opponent in the rebound dispute.

After many victories, the Heat were back on the ground in a loss to Eastern themselves in the second stage, where they were 20 rebounds behind their opponents, including quite a few offensive rebounds.

In the rematch at stage 3, things did not get better, at least in the first half of the match. The Heat lost to Eastern 15 rebounds after the first two innings and temporarily led the opponent by 4 points. Understanding this better than anyone is the coaching staff "Mr. 30".

“We cannot dispute a fair match with the opponent because their physique is very good. Eastern has a few different names over 6-feet-10 (2m08) and we don't, so this has to be a collective effort," coach Matt Van Pelt shared.

By the 3rd and 4th rounds, Saigon Heat was no longer losing in rebounds when it was 5 rebounds better than Hong Kong Eastern.

Tall players with challenging tasks played extremely passionately like Phu Vinh, Hassan Thomas, Jeremy Combs or Jairus Holder. Possessing a smaller physique, players like Khoa Tran, Evan Gilyard, Du Minh An and Vo Kim Ban tried to choose positions and box-out to support their teammates.

From the bench, constant reminders appeared for teammates in the field to adjust when necessary. This is the result of a very high collective effort from the whole team.

"Everybody, on and off the field, is trying to do the best they can to rebound because that's what we've focused on this game. Everyone mentions the rebound as a weakness and the team will constantly improve to change it," Khoa Tran shared.

“This will be something that we try to improve further in the next matches because as we have shared before, Saigon Heat may not be in good shape like other teams. Not only are we united and fighting, but we also have to be smart,” added head coach Matt Van Pelt.

Not only improving the dispute, Saigon Heat also delivered an excellent defensive performance against Hong Kong Eastern.

The plan is quite clear when "Mr 30" wants to minimize the range of star O'Darien Bassett, squeeze the ball out of this player's hand and force the remaining satellites to finish.

This goal was somewhat successful when Eastern only really caught up with Saigon Heat when Bassett was hot in the first half and the first half of the fourth half. The rest of the time was completely proactive from the Vietnamese representative.

There was a bit of concern for Saigon Heat fans when Bassett showed his level with 3 consecutive 3-pointers in the last half, but then Khoa Tran entered the field, restraining the opponent's star to the maximum.

It was from this defensive pedal that Heat's attack played sublime with a series of points from Evan Gilyard, Jeremy Combs and Jairus Holder. Instead of panicking and dropping the victory like in the previous match, "Mr 30" this time calmly and confidently finished the opponent.

“An important aspect that the team did well in this match was defense. Everyone who entered the field tried their best to contain the opponent, trying to stick to their goal.

Collectively, the whole team adhered to the defensive tactics set out in advance. They know what the opponent is going to do, how they tend to operate on the field. It has a high defensive effect.

This is a huge collective victory, a result achieved thanks to the solidarity, tenacity and blood of all members of the team," coach Matt Van Pelt said.

At the end of the second match of stage 3, Saigon Heat extended the unbeaten streak to 4 matches. In the immediate future, they will be the most appreciated opponent in the tournament today, also the team with a very long unbeaten streak - NS Matrix.

After losing both opening matches of the season, the club from Malaysia has won 8 matches in a row, lasting from stage 1 to now. More importantly, NS Matrix performed excellently despite the absence of 1 foreign soldier. That hole has been filled with a quality defender.

Hopefully, after the push from the victory over Hong Kong Eastern, coach Matt Van Pelt's teachers and students will be more confident before facing the top ABL team at this time.