07:08, 19/08/2022

VBA 2022: Nha Trang Dolphins progress to play-offs

Nha Trang Dolphins have progressed from the preliminary round to the play-offs for the top four of Vietnam's professional basketball tournament VBA 2022. 
 

Nha Trang Dolphins have progressed from the preliminary round to the play-offs for the top four of Vietnam’s professional basketball tournament VBA 2022. 
 
In 2020, Nha Trang Dolphins was officially recognized as one of the seven professional basketball teams of Vietnam’s professional basketball league system. In their first season of VBA, Nha Trang Dolphins couldn’t pass the preliminary round. In 2021, the tournament was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The tournament has resumed in 2022 with home-away format. Nha Trang Dolphins made their debut in front of home spectators at the basketball court of Nha Trang University after two years of establishment. With good investment in the players and careful preparation, the team have made it through the preliminary round to the play-offs for the best four teams of the 2022 season. 
 
 
Match between Nha Trang Dolphins and Can Tho Catfishs
Match between Nha Trang Dolphins and Can Tho Catfishs
 
Currently, Nha Trang Dolphins are at second place with seven wins and five losses. The defending champions Saigon Heats are leading the table. This is an impressive result of coach Todd Puvers and the players of Nha Trang Dolphins. They even place above the experienced Ho Chi Minh City Wings. The 2020 runner-up Thang Long Warriors were eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2022 tournament. 
 
In their last preliminary match taking place last weekend, Nha Trang Dolphins played against Can Tho Catfishs, who won VBA 2018 and finished second at the 2017 and 2019 tournaments. The players of Nha Trang Dolphins displayed excellent performances and won the match with the score of 84-72. Flenard Whitfield returned after injury and contributed to the win of Nha Trang Dolphins over Can Tho Catfishs. Flenard Whitfield was named as the best player of the match. 
 
The top four (Saigon Heats, Hanoi Buffaloes, Nha Trang Dolphins, Ho Chi Minh City Wings) will play three play-off matches each to decide the two finalists. The firs-placed team play the four-placed team; the second-placed team meet the third-place one. In the finals, the two finalists need to win three out of five matches to claim the championship. Saigon Heats, established in 2016, have had the best achievement in VBA with two championships (in 2019, 2020); Thang Long Warrious, Da Nang Dragons, and Can Tho Catfishs have won the tournament once respectively.
 
An Nhien
Translated by H.N