Thai basketball star joins Saigon Heat

By Hoang Nguyen July 1, 2021 | 03:00 am PT

Kevin Dasom will play for Saigon Heat in the 2021 season of the Vietnam Basketball Association league. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Basketball Association.

Saigon Heat, defending champions of the national basketball league VBA, have signed Kevin Dasom for the new season.

Dasom Apisittian Lane, or Kevin Dasom, is a familiar face in both the Thailand Basketball and Thailand Super Basketball leagues, with the additional participation of foreign teams.

In the Mekong United jersey, Dasom scored an average of 10.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and a 36 percent three-point shot success rate.

Dasom was added to Saigon’s roster as a replacement for American forward Quincy Hankins Cole, who had to part ways with the team due to a pre-season injury.

A fun fact about Dasom is that he won the male beauty contest Mister Supranational Thailand in 2018.

In 2020, he moved to Vietnam to reside and work. At a height of 1.88 meters, Dasom will have some difficulties facing foreign players above two meters.

However, Dasom can make up for his lack of height with his defensive skills and marking ability.

VBA (Vietnam Basketball Association) 2021 will be played exclusively at the Nha Trang University gymnasium in Khanh Hoa Province instead of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as initially planned and without spectators. It’s set to take place from July 10 to Sept. 20.