Vietnam shrugs off brave Myanmar rally to post first win in Seaba

VIETNAM shrugged off a third-quarter challenge by Myanmar as it hammered out a 77-44 victory for its first win in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) Championship on Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Coming off a 27-point loss to Thailand on Saturday, the Vietnamese vented their ire on the Burmese, establishing an early lead that they maintained while putting off their opponents’ third-quarter rally.

Van Hung Nguyen anchored the Vietnamese attack with 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 15 boards, and three assists, while Vu Tran added 18 points, three boards, and three assists.

Crowd favorite Wanna Aung led the Burmese with 21 points, highlighted by two three-pointers as he spearheaded a rally in the third quarter where they outscored the Vietnamese, 15-10.

The Vietnamese, however, outscored Myanmar in the payoff period, 27-11, to restore order and deal their victims their second straight loss.

That put to naught Han Thein’s all-around effort of eight points, eight rebounds, seven steals, five blocks, and one assist for Myanmar.

The scores:

VIETNAM 77 – Nguyen V 22, Tran 18, Le P 11, Dang 10, Trieu 8, Nguyen H 6, Nguyen T 2, To 0, Le N 0

MYANMAR 44 – Wana 21, Thein H 8, Sei 4, Thant 4, Kaung 2, Aung P 2, Sai 2, Tin 1, Aung M 0, Zaya 0, Wai 0, Thein T 0

Quarterscores: 24-7, 40-18, 50-33, 77-44