VBA 2024: Yevgen Sakhniuk to the rescue, Catfish takes third place

Yevgen Sakhniuk was outstandingn to help Catfish get their second win. Photo courtesy of VBA

By Xuân Đăng

HCM CITY – Big man Yevgen Sakhniuk helped Cần Thơ Catfish take third place after defeating Ho Chi Minh City Wings 

Playing at home, Catfish continued to use the same line up that led them to victory with Trương Hoàng Trung playing as point guard. While the away team’s coach Lee Tao Dana still put his trust in shooter Nguyễn Hoàng Tuấn, even though the player is in low form.

In the first quarter,  Yevgen Sakhniuk was the key player of the offence and defence plays of the Catfish.

The Ukrainian dominated the painted area at both end of the court. The City Wings had to double team Sakhniuk, which created many open space for the Catfish shooters to score. 

Sakhniuk also played as a playmaker providing penatrating passes to his teammates. 

However, City Wings was the leading team with Khoa Tran and Shon Briggs’ fast break plays helping them end the first quarter with the score 23-21.

In the second quarter, coach Lê Trần Minh Nghĩa of the Catfish directed his players to continue controlling the painted areas and Sakhniuk continue as playmaker. 

The explosive performance of Nguyễn Tuấn Anh with three consecutive three pointers, directly brought the home team up with a double-digit gap.

Young player Nguyễn Hoàng Tuấn was explosive from the three- point line. Photo courtesy of VBA

The fast plays of Dakota Zinser helped the Catfish dominate the whole quarter and blow out the score with a more than 20- point gap, 54-32.

In the third half, the ball continuously went to Shon Briggs to attack the position of Yevgen Sakhniuk, who had already received two personal fouls.

In the 7th minute, this plan was successful when the Ukrainian player was taken off the field because he had reached his fourth foul.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the white-shirted team rushed forward to find a way to tie the score. However, the efforts of the guest were repeatedly blocked by the Catfish defence.

The guest only pulled the score back to 58-70 after the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Nghĩa brought Sakhniuk back to the court. With his experience from last season, this player did not make any foul, while also made many great passes to the Catfish shooters. 

After half of this quarter, the City Wings players were still unable to change the gap, the guest turned to seek luck at the three-point line but was still deadlocked.

The Catfish had their second victory with a final score of 93-74.

Yevgen Sakhniuk, the core of Catfish’s play, was the owner of the Player of the Game with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

In this match, Catfish exploded early thanks to the efforts of two domestic players, Lê Khắc Đăng Khoa (15 points) and Nguyễn Tuấn Anh (13 points).

With this result, the Catfish temporarily sit in third place ahead of Hanoi Buffaloes, while the City Wings continued to hold the sixth place after becoming the third team in VBA 2024 to lose three consecutive matches. VNS