Vietnam's men's basketball team are ready for the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore.
Vietnamesebasketball had lagged behind many countries in the region such as thePhilippines, Thailand and Indonesia, so a team wasn't sent to the 27thSEA Games in Myanmar because of expense and no hope of a medal. Now itis rising with the support from the Saigon Heat.
Out of the 16member team, 10 are from Saigon Heat, who are the first professionalbasketball team in Vietnam and play in the ASEAN Basketball League.
The team is trained by the first ever foreign coach, Anthony Garbelotto of the UK, who also coaches Saigon Heat.
Underthe guidance of Garbelotto, who has worked in Europe and America formore than 15 years, Vietnam have trained professionally and aim to reachthe semi-finals.
Garbelotto said the team will try to beatMyanmar and Cambodia, and then beat Thailand or Singapore to earn aticket to play in the semi-finals.
"The whole team will makeevery effort. It is the first step to bring Vietnamese basketball tointernational tournaments in the near future and improve its rankings inthe International Basketball Federation," Garbelotto added.
"Vietnameseplayers have talent. Three of them compete in professional events inthe Philippines. Their weak points are that they are small and have onlyexperienced domestic tournaments, so it creates several bad habits thatneed to change," said Garbelotto.
Head of the basketball team will be Connor Nguyen, a Vietnamese American, chairman of the Heat.
"Iknow my responsibility of being head of the basketball group. It isvery different from following the Heat to playing in internationalevents. My duty with Vietnam will be bigger and heavier, but to developbasketball, I am ready," said Nguyen.
"Half of the team areyoungsters. This Games will help them gain the skills and experience forfollowing events," said Dao Duc Kien, head of the basketball section ofthe National Sports Administration.
Vietnam are in Group Balongside Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. Group A consists ofthe Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste.-VNA
Vietnamesebasketball had lagged behind many countries in the region such as thePhilippines, Thailand and Indonesia, so a team wasn't sent to the 27thSEA Games in Myanmar because of expense and no hope of a medal. Now itis rising with the support from the Saigon Heat.
Out of the 16member team, 10 are from Saigon Heat, who are the first professionalbasketball team in Vietnam and play in the ASEAN Basketball League.
The team is trained by the first ever foreign coach, Anthony Garbelotto of the UK, who also coaches Saigon Heat.
Underthe guidance of Garbelotto, who has worked in Europe and America formore than 15 years, Vietnam have trained professionally and aim to reachthe semi-finals.
Garbelotto said the team will try to beatMyanmar and Cambodia, and then beat Thailand or Singapore to earn aticket to play in the semi-finals.
"The whole team will makeevery effort. It is the first step to bring Vietnamese basketball tointernational tournaments in the near future and improve its rankings inthe International Basketball Federation," Garbelotto added.
"Vietnameseplayers have talent. Three of them compete in professional events inthe Philippines. Their weak points are that they are small and have onlyexperienced domestic tournaments, so it creates several bad habits thatneed to change," said Garbelotto.
Head of the basketball team will be Connor Nguyen, a Vietnamese American, chairman of the Heat.
"Iknow my responsibility of being head of the basketball group. It isvery different from following the Heat to playing in internationalevents. My duty with Vietnam will be bigger and heavier, but to developbasketball, I am ready," said Nguyen.
"Half of the team areyoungsters. This Games will help them gain the skills and experience forfollowing events," said Dao Duc Kien, head of the basketball section ofthe National Sports Administration.
Vietnam are in Group Balongside Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. Group A consists ofthe Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste.-VNA
