Yevgen Sakhniuk lit up his debut day, City Wings won in breathtaking extra time
Introducing a new foreign player, Yevgen Sakhniuk, Ho Chi Minh City Wings had a great match despite being a guest on the field of Cantho Catfish. They completely dominated the game right from the first half, then created the biggest difference in the match at the end of the second half (24 points).
The score of the match has not been shortened too much in the 3rd half, but Catfish with the explosion of many individuals at the same time rose strongly in the last round.
Led by DeAngelo Hamilton in defense, Cantho Catfish played explosively in attack with the excellence of Brachon Griffin, Michael Soy, Hamilton and internal soldier Huynh Thanh Tam.
The 24 point difference was completely eliminated when the two teams entered the end of the 4th half, Catfish ran an 11-2 run to equalize the score 71-71. Then Hamilton and Jeremy Smith took turns scoring and the game went into extra time.
After an explosive period with a total of 34-13 points, Cantho Catfish suddenly cooled down in extra time, with only a 5-point streak from DeAngelo Hamilton and a free kick from Bam Griffin.
On the other hand, on the other side of the front line, Ho Chi Minh City Wings got a response from Vincent Nguyen, Tran Van Trung and two phases to the "clutch" basket of Yevgen Sakhniuk.
The first overtime match of VBA 2023 ended with the score 86-81, the victory belonged to the away team City Wings.
Jeremy Smith was voted man of the match with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. The newly replaced foreign soldier Yevgen Sakhniuk had an impressive debut with a double-double of 22 points, 27 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
Despite four personal errors from the third half, the Ukrainian striker remained in the match until the last minute and scored four extremely important points in extra time. Captain Vincent Nguyen is the remaining outstanding name with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.
DeAngelo Hamilton is the highest scorer on the Cantho Catfish side with 26 points (10-16 FG), 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 blocks. Brachon Griffin is right behind with 23 points (7-17 FG) and 6 assists.
Michael Soy had 4 successful 3-pointers, scored 16 points and 1 steal. Le Khac Dang Khoa continued to show good form with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist.
In the next match, Cantho Catfish will end a series of 3 home matches by welcoming Nha Trang Dolphins on Sunday evening, July 23.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Wings will board a plane to the Capital to face Hanoi Buffaloes at Hoang Mai Power Plant. This game worth watching will tip-off at 19:30 on Friday, July 21.
