Saigon Heat
Wikipedia - Saigon Heat
The Saigon Heat is a Vietnamese professional basketball team based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since the 2014 season, the Heat's home games are played at the CIS Arena on the campus of the Canadian International School in District 7. This is the first professional basketball team based in Vietnam.
The Heat also operates a developmental team that plays in the Vietnam Basketball Association, Vietnam's first professional basketball league.
History
The Saigon Heat are the first professional basketball team in Vietnam based in Ho Chi Minh City. They were officially announced as a member of the ASEAN Basketball League in October 2011. The team was formed by the Saigon Sports Academy, a multi-sports training academy launched in January 2009 and located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
In their inaugural season, the Heat finished sixth in the ABL with a regular season record of 8–13. The Heat did not qualify in for the 2012 ABL Playoffs. The Heat followed up their inaugural season with another disappointing sixth-place finish in an injury plagued 2013 season, highlighted by a twelve-game losing streak.
Thirteen games into the 2014 season, head coach Jason Rabedeaux suddenly died, the main cause of death was traumatic brain injury. Coach Rabedeaux's assistant Anthony Garbelotto was named the new head coach. The Heat finished the season in fourth place, clinching their first ever playoff berth. The Heat were swept 0–2 by the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the 2014 ABL Playoffs.
Following the completion of the 2015–16 season, the Heat announced the formation of Vietnam's first professional basketball league, the Vietnam Basketball Association, where they would field a developmental team. The Heat VBA team consists of local players, with several of the ABL side's players being distributed among the other VBA teams for league parity purposes.[]
I Saigon Heat sono una delle squadre di basket più popolari in Vietnam. Hanno vinto il campionato ABL nel 2016 e nel 2017. La squadra è nota per il suo stile di gioco veloce e atletico. I Saigon Heat sono anche una delle squadre più internazionali dell'ABL, con giocatori provenienti da tutto il mondo.
Alcune delle stelle più importanti dei Saigon Heat includono il centro vietnamita Dinh Thanh Han, l'ala forte americana Michael Efevberha e la guardia americana Julius Mays. La squadra è allenata dal filippino Yeng Guiao.
I Saigon Heat sono una squadra giovane e in crescita. Hanno un futuro luminoso e sono destinati a diventare una delle migliori squadre di basket dell'Asia.