Vietnam's first pro basketball team disbands due to Covid-19

By Hoang Nguyen   March 30, 2020 | 12:14 am PT
Vietnam's first pro basketball team disbands due to Covid-19
A Saigon Heat player (in white) during a game in Vietnam Basketball Association (VBA) 2019. Photo courtesy of VBA.
Saigon Heat, the first professional basketball club in Vietnam, has been dissolved by pandemic.

The club delivered the announcement to fans Thursday. Saigon Heat allowed all players to leave the club, foreigners to their home countries, and others to their old clubs like Cantho Catfish and Thang Long Warriors.

Saigon Heat was Vietnam’s only Asian Basketball League (ABL) representative during the 2019-2020 season. The tournament started from November 16, 2019 and was supposed to end on March 28 this year. However, on March 13, it was postponed indefinitely due to concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision had the approval from 10 teams in the tournament, including Saigon Heat.

Following this decision, Saigon Heat decided to temporarily discontinue operations to save on costs.

The club will reassemble its squad when the top professional basketball league in Vietnam (VBA) returns in June. However, the schedule remains tentative and solely depends on the situation of the pandemic. Saigon Heat will also take part in ABL 2021 when the tournament restarts next year.

Before ABL 2019-2020 was canceled, Saigon Heat placed at the bottom of the table with only three wins and 11 losses.

 
 
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