While Devin Harris’ shot scored Nha Trang Dolphins an early point, lack of teamwork made their attacks fruitless.
Ho Chi Minh City Wings outplayed them with smooth ball rotation and precise finishes.
With clever personal technique, Jeremy Smith earned nine points in a row to help the Wings create an eight-point gap in the fifth minute of the first quarter.
Nha Trang Dolphins depended entirely on the efforts of Christopher Galbreath and Devin Harris, which, however, paled in comparison with those of the Ho Chi Minh City-based team’s Makinde London and Jeremy Smith.
The 2.08-meter center London’s two slam dunks in the beginning of the second quarter boosted his teammates’ spirit before they made a breakthrough with 29 points and reached a very high finishing performance of 68.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins got to score only 17 points.
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| Devin Harris (left) scores the first point for Nha Trang Dolphins in their Game 7 against Ho Chi Minh City Wings at the VBA Premier Bubble Games – Brought to you by NovaWorld Phan Thiet. Photo: Vietnam Professional Basketball League |
Galbreath tried to interrupt their rivals’ excitement with five consecutive points, but that was not enough as Nha Trang Dolphins were still down 34-56 at the end of the second period.
As the host continued banking only on Harris in the first half of the third quarter, coach Robert Newson decided to take risks asking his players to perform rapid attacks with the focus on Galbreath and Harris.
The new tactic, however, caught Ho Chi Minh City Wings off guard only for a little bit as coach Erik Olson also quickly adjusted the Wings’ playing style, which helped them widen the gap by 34 points to 86-52 at the end of the third quarter.
The final quarter saw the two coaches send in substitutes as Game 7 was considered an experimental match.
There were few changes to the score difference in the remainder as Ho Chi Minh City Wings claimed an absolute win at 102-65 over Nha Trang Dolphins.
The Wings’ Smith was also voted Player of the Game with 36 points, five assists, and four steals.
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| Ho Chi Minh City Wings’ Jeremy Smith (left) is voted Player of Game 7 of the VBA Premier Bubble Games – Brought to you by NovaWorld Phan Thiet. Photo: Vietnam Professional Basketball League |
The VBA Premier Bubble Games – Brought to you by NovaWorld Phan Thiet has been broadcast on OnSports channel and two over-the-top media services, VTVcab On and Myclip, since October 4.
Games air from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm every day, as well as 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm on Sundays.
Fans can also catch replays on digital platforms including the VBA’s verified YouTube channel, the Bong Ro TV Facebook page, and the Bong Ro TV YouTube channel.
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