Exciting and attractive opening of Vietnam Professional Basketball Tournament 2023 - VBA 5x5

As the second consecutive season opened in Hanoi, VBA with its centralized competition model has made the matches exciting, thereby attracting the support of many basketball lovers at home and abroad.

Attending the opening ceremony were Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Dang Ha Viet, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Basketball Federation Le Hoang Anh, representatives of many units in Hanoi and 7 basketball teams Hanoi Buffaloes, Thang Long Warriors, Danang Dragons, Nha Trang Dolphins, Saigon Heat, Ho Chi Minh City Wings, Cantho Catfish and hundreds of enthusiastic fans packed into Cau Giay Stadium.

Mr. Le Hoang Anh, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Basketball Federation said: Since its establishment, with the mission of being a "locomotive" to attract and promote the development of Vietnamese basketball, the Professional Basketball Tournament (VBA) has not only inspired athletes but also continuously innovated and improved to adapt to new situations as well as get closer to the community.

In the recent past, the success of the two recently tested centralized competition models has helped VBA have an important stepping stone for VBA 2023 to become the first season with a 50% increase in the number of group stage matches with the competition of all 7 clubs.

Hanoi is a locality that always supports many sports movements and has the leading basketball movement in Vietnam. Vice President Le Hoang Anh hopes that, in the initial stage of applying the centralized competition model in Hanoi, VBA will not only meet the needs of healthy entertainment, connecting clubs with audiences but also help players practice better, improve their performance so that Vietnamese basketball will not only conquer the regional arena but also reach higher goals at the continental level in the future.

After the opening ceremony, the 8th VBA season officially began with the highly anticipated match between Hanoi Buffaloes and Saigon Heat at Cau Giay Stadium. After 4 exciting rounds, Saigon Heat defeated Hanoi Buffaloes with a score of 85-71.

Mr. Dao Quang Hung (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi) shared: "Coming to watch this match, I saw the very high level of professionalism, the excitement of the match and the quality of the players' goals. Cau Giay Stadium had no empty seats and for more than an hour the match took place, the audience cheered enthusiastically, making the basketball viewing extremely interesting."

The 2023 VBA 5x5 season has a total of 74 matches organized in a centralized competition model combining home and away matches with the competition of 7 professional basketball clubs in cities including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang and Can Tho.

Specifically, from June 10 to September 3, 2023, the group stage will consist of 63 matches; from September 7 to September 15, 2023, the semi-finals will take place and from September 17 to September 30, the final matches will take place.

Notably, in this year's group stage, the teams will meet 3 times instead of 2 times like VBA 2022. Therefore, the number of matches will be increased to 63 matches (an increase of 50% compared to 2022). These 21 increased matches will be organized by VBA in a centralized competition model at Cau Giay Stadium from June 10 to 30, 2023.

All VBA 2023 matches will be broadcast live on ON Sports News, ON Sports Action, ON Sports channels. Tickets are sold at: https://ticket.vba.vn.

According to VNA