Before the rematch against Danang Dragons, Saigon Heat made a notable adjustment in the center forward position when registering Nyang Wek to replace Jalon Andrews. The home team also brought Tim Waale and Brandis Raley-Ross back to the starting lineup, while Danang Dragons used Mai Phuoc Thinh to replace Son Minh Tam.
Saigon Heat entered the game proactively and quickly created a gap in the first half. When Nyang Wek was brought on in the second half of the first half, the home team encountered some difficulties in long-range finishing situations, creating conditions for Danang Dragons to narrow the gap to 14-18.
Stepping into the second half, Saigon Heat's new foreign player began to leave his mark with his ability to compete for the rebound ball and effective close-range scoring. However, Danang Dragons still maintained their pursuit thanks to Dinh Toan Quoc's form. Two 3-point shots from the young player helped the Central region representative close the quarter with a gap of only 31-38.
After the break, the away team significantly improved their defense, limiting Jamal Mayali's explosion. In addition, the appearance of Nguyen Dai Hiep brought more energy to Danang Dragons, helping this team continue to maintain a tight match when they were only 51-58 behind after the 3rd half.
However, the bravery of the defending runner-up was shown in the decisive quarter. Brandis Raley-Ross continuously scored points, leading Saigon Heat to create a breakthrough series to widen the gap to 16 points. Danang Dragons' efforts in the remaining part were not enough to reverse the situation and accept defeat with a score of 65-77.
Brandis Raley-Ross was voted Player of the Match (POTG) after scoring 30 points, having 3 assists and successfully completing all 11 free throws.
After the match, the Saigon Heat star assessed: "Danang Dragons are very determined to find the first victory, but we have prepared carefully and completed the set goal. The whole team will continue to learn from experience before the next match. Nyang Wek has completed the task well and will integrate even better into the team's system".
In his debut match, Nyang Wek scored 6 points and had 12 rebounds, including 4 attacking rebounds, contributing to increasing the area strength under the basket for Saigon Heat.
After this victory, Saigon Heat continues to rank second on the VBA 2026 rankings with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses. Meanwhile, Danang Dragons have not had any wins after 9 matches and are at the bottom of the table.
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