Steven Thomas of Hanoi Buffaloes (left) tries to throw a ball during their match against Madgoat at the Thailand Basketball Super League (TBSL). (Photo: TBSL)Hanoi (VNA) - The HanoiBuffaloes sunk Madgoat to place third at the Thailand Basketball Super League inBangkok on March 26.
It was another successful match for theVietnamese team in their first international tournament.
The Buffaloes came from behind to defeatMadgoat 94-87 in the third-place play-off match’s second leg.
The Madgoat, who had strong local fan support,had a strong start, winning the first two quarters 27-22 and 52-45.
However, the Buffaloes showed off their greatperformances to level the results, before moving ahead 72-55.
The visitors maintained their lead in thefourth quarter, offering no chance for the Madgoat to fight back. They endedthe match at 94-87 and took home a bronze medal.
American Matthew Van Pelt of the Buffaloes,who scored 33 points, three steals rebounds and five assists yesterday, was theMost Valuable Player of the match.
Justin Young, in his last match for theBuffaloes, also pocketed nine points from three three-point throws, andimpressed local fans with his talent in defence.
He successfully stopped T. Statham fromscoring in the two final quarters. Statham scored 30 points and had 16 reboundsfor the Madgoat in the game.
Giant duo Steven Thomas and Marcus Douthitalso marked their presence, with 17 rebounds each.
Earlier on Saturday in the first legof the match, the Buffaloes also won 86-76. It was the first time they beat theGoats at this tournament.
After two legs, the Hanoi-based club won 2-0.
The final matches saw clashes between Mono Vampire and MonoThew, both of Thailand.
In their first leg match on March 25, Mono Thew, whodefeated the Buffaloes 3-2 in the semi-finals, won 139-134. They continuedwinning 107-90 in the second game on March 26. Their third leg will beon April 1.
In other basketball news, Vietnam’s Saigon Heat lost 71-86 tothe Singapore Slingers in the final match of the ASEAN Basketball League at theHo Xuan Huong Gymnasium on March 25.
The Slingers stand second in the rankings,while the Heat are in fourth. Both of them have qualified for the play-offround.
In the first match, Singapore Slingers willwelcome Alab Pilipinas on their home turf of OCBC Arena on April 2. SaigonHeat will visit leaders Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions at the Southorn Stadiumon April 5.-VNA
VNA
