The national basketball championship, held in Khanh Hoa Provincial Sports Competition House in June 6-14, is an attractive playground for the professional basketball teams across the country.
The national basketball championship, held in Khanh Hoa Provincial Sports Competition House in June 6-14, is an attractive playground for the professional basketball teams across the country.
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| Game between Hanoi and Hau Giang. |
Nowadays, many localities in Vietnam have had a quite strong basketball movement, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Soc Trang and Hau Giang. In Ho Chi Minh City, a part from the city’s male and female teams, there is also Saigon Heat Basketball Club, which was established in 2011. This club performed impressively at the domestic tournaments and was in top 4 in the Asian Basketball League in two consecutive years, which has been considered as an important catalyst for the development of basketball in Vietnam.
This year’s championship is jointly held by Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Vietnam Basketball Federation. The championship is attended by eight male and five female teams of nine provinces and industries which have had strong basketball movement in the country. The male teams include Air Defense - Air Force, Soc Trang, Hanoi, Hau Giang (group A), Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Thuan, Can Tho, and Tra Vinh (group B); the female teams comprise Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1, Hanoi, and Soc Trang.
According to Nguyen Quoc Quan, Deputy Chairman of Vietnam Basketball Federation, the tournament is not only the rendezvous of all strong, professional basketball teams of Vietnam but also the opportunity for the players to show their skills to be selected to join the national team.
Although Khanh Hoa is the host, the province has no representative taking part in this championship. According to leader of the province’s cultural and sports industry, at present, Khanh Hoa’s basketball has not reached the professional level and has only qualified for U17 tournament. Therefore, through hosting this championship, Khanh Hoa partly aims to promote the basketball movement in the province.
An Nhien
Translated by H.N
