# 2019 VBA season

The 2019 VBA season was the fourth season of the Vietnam Basketball Association. The regular season began on 1 June 2019 and ended on 18 August 2019. The playoffs began on 24 August 2019 and ended on 31 August 2019. The finals began on 7 September 2019 and ended on 17 September 2019 with the Saigon Heat beating the Cantho Catfish in 5 games.

## Teams
### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena |
| Cantho Catfish | Cần Thơ | Da Nang Sports Arena |
| Danang Dragons | Đà Nẵng | Quan Khu 5 Sports Arena |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Hà Nội | Bach Khoa Sports Arena |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Ho Chi Minh City | Ho Xuan Huong Sports Arena |
| Saigon Heat | Ho Chi Minh City | CIS Sports Arena |
| Thang Long Warriors | Hà Nội | Su Pham Sports Arena |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
| Cantho Catfish | Jordan Collins | Lê Hiếu Thành | Hemero |
| Danang Dragons | Phan Thanh Cảnh | Horace Nguyen | |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Lee Tao Dana | Henry Nguyen | |
| Hochiminh City Wings | Predrag Lukic | Phạm Thanh Tùng | Hemero |
| Saigon Heat | David Singleton | Tavarion Nix | |
| Thang Long Warriors | Matt Juranek | Justin Young | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced with | Date of appointment |
| Thang Long Warriors | Predrag Lukic | Resigned | 11 November 2018 | Pre-season | Matt Juranek | 22 March 2019 |
| Hochiminh City Wings | vacant | | | Pre-season | Predrag Lukic | 24 November 2018 |
| Cantho Catfish | Kevin Yurkus | Resigned | 7 January 2019 | Pre-season | Jordan Collins | 18 February 2019 |
| Danang Dragons | Donte Hill | Fired | 7 January 2019 | Pre-season | Phan Thanh Cảnh | 23 March 2019 |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Todd Purves | Resigned | 7 July 2019 | 5 | Lee Tao Dana | 10 July 2019 |

## Drafts

| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
| 1 | 1 | Michael Soy | Canada | Hochiminh City Wings |
| 1 | 2 | Nguyễn Văn Hùng | Vietnam | Danang Dragons | Hanoi Buffaloes |
| 1 | 3 | Richard Nguyen | United States | Saigon Heat |
| 1 | 4 | Đỗ Xuân Nam | Vietnam | Hanoi Buffaloes | Thang Long Warriors |
| 1 | 5 | Nguyễn Thành Đạt | Vietnam | Thang Long Warriors | Hanoi Buffaloes |
| 1 | 6 | Võ Huy Hoàn | Vietnam | Hochiminh City Wings | Saigon Heat |
| 2 | 1 | Lai Xương Thành | Vietnam | Hanoi Buffaloes | Hochiminh City Wings |
| 2 | 2 | Austin Ly | Canada | Danang Dragons |
| 2 | 3 | Phạm Đức Kiên | Vietnam | Saigon Heat | Hanoi Buffaloes |
| 2 | 4 | Tô Quang Trung | Vietnam | Hanoi Buffaloes | Thang Long Warriors |
| 2 | 5 | Nguyễn Tiến Dương | Vietnam | Thang Long Warriors | Hanoi Buffaloes |
| 2 | 6 | Tăng Minh Trí | Vietnam | Cantho Catfish | Cantho Catfish |
| 3 | 1 | Bùi Quốc Tân | Vietnam | Cantho Catfish | Saigon Heat |
| 3 | 2 | Đàm Huy Đại | Vietnam | Danang Dragons | Danang Dragons |
| 3 | 3 | Huỳnh Vĩnh Quang | Vietnam | Saigon Heat | Saigon Heat |
| 3 | 4 | Bùi Thái Hà | Vietnam | Hanoi Buffaloes | Thang Long Warriors |
| 3 | 5 | Bạch Công Trung | Vietnam | Thang Long Warriors | Hanoi Buffaloes |
| 3 | 6 | Nguyễn Vũ Bình Nguyên | Vietnam | Cantho Catfish | Cantho Catfish |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | GB | Qualification | CTC | SGH | HCM | TLW | HNB | DND |
| 1 | Cantho Catfish | 15 | 9 | 6 | 1269 | 1217 | +52 | .600 | — | Advance to Playoffs | — | 84–83 92-75 | 67–89 80-74 | 71–86 | 70–64 | 107–92 |
| 2 | Saigon Heat | 15 | 9 | 6 | 1136 | 1062 | +74 | .600 | — | Advance to Playoffs | 77–90 | — | 71–67 65-79 | 88–54 69-52 | 87–81 | 78–52 88-74 |
| 3 | Hochiminh City Wings | 15 | 8 | 7 | 1088 | 1114 | −26 | .533 | 1 | Advance to Playoffs | 80–75 | 84–76 | — | 79–77 (OT) 60-74 | 67–98 69-85 | 69–75 |
| 4 | Thang Long Warriors | 15 | 7 | 8 | 1060 | 1058 | +2 | .467 | 2 | Advance to Playoffs | 83–81 76-85 | 56–64 | 62–66 | — | 64–61 72-78 | 80–51 |
| 5 | Hanoi Buffaloes | 15 | 7 | 8 | 1134 | 1126 | +8 | .467 | 2 | | 73–76 99-131 | 70–84 65-61 | 78–63 | 64–71 | — | 71–82 76-57 |
| 6 | Danang Dragons | 15 | 5 | 10 | 1055 | 1169 | −114 | .333 | 4 | | 87–86 79-74 | 62–70 | 60–67 71-75 | 75–70 66-83 | 72–75 | — |

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 Cantho Catfish | 1 Cantho Catfish | 1 Cantho Catfish | 73 | 87 | 81 |
| 4 Thang Long Warriors | 4 Thang Long Warriors | 4 Thang Long Warriors | 81 | 82 | 79 | | | | | | |
| 4 Thang Long Warriors | 4 Thang Long Warriors | 4 Thang Long Warriors | 81 | 82 | 79 | 1 Cantho Catfish | 78 | 74 | 74 | 49 | 68 |
| | | | | | | 2 Saigon Heat | 75 | 84 | 68 | 66 | 69 |
| 2 Saigon Heat | 2 Saigon Heat | 2 Saigon Heat | 2 Saigon Heat | 66 | 74 | 2 Saigon Heat | 75 | 84 | 68 | 66 | 69 |
| 3 Hochiminh City Wings | 3 Hochiminh City Wings | 3 Hochiminh City Wings | 3 Hochiminh City Wings | 45 | 71 | | | | | | |

## Awards
### Yearly awards

* Fans of the year: Cantho Catfish
* Assist of the year: DeAngelo Hamilton (Cantho Catfish)
* Buzzer beater of the year: Lê Hiếu Thành (Cantho Catfish)
* Handle of the year: Nguyễn Phú Hoàng (Cantho Catfish)
* Block of the year: DeAngelo Hamilton (Cantho Catfish)
* Dunk of the year: Tam Dinh (Cantho Catfish)
* Favorite player of the year: Tam Dinh (Cantho Catfish)
* Rookie of the year: Trương Thái Nam (Hochiminh City Wings)
* Most improved player of the year: Sơn Minh Tâm (Danang Dragons)
* Sportsmanship of the year: Nguyễn Văn Hùng (Danang Dragons)
* Sixth man of the year: Hồng Gia Lân (Thang Long Warriors)
* Defensive player of the year: Mike Bell (Hanoi Buffaloes)
* Local referee of the year: Triệu Chí Thành
* Coach of the year: Predrag Lukic (Hochiminh City Wings)
* Local player of the year: Dư Minh An (Saigon Heat)
* Heritage of the year: Vincent Nguyen (Hochiminh City Wings)
* Most valuable player of the year: Tam Dinh (Cantho Catfish)

### MVP of the Week

| For week ending | Player | Team | Ref. |
| 9 June 2019 | Vincent Nguyen (1/1) | Hochiminh City Wings | 1 |
| 16 June 2019 | Wayne Martin (1/1) | Hochiminh City Wings | 2 |
| 23 June 2019 | Mike Bell (1/2) | Hanoi Buffaloes | 3 |
| 30 June 2019 | Anthony January (1/1) | Danang Dragons | 4 |
| 7 July 2019 | Michael Soy (1/1) | Hochiminh City Wings | 5 |
| 14 July 2019 | Tam Dinh (1/2) | Cantho Catfish | 6 |
| 21 July 2019 | Tam Dinh (2/2) | Cantho Catfish | 7 |
| 28 July 2019 | Mike Bell (2/2) | Hanoi Buffaloes | 8 |
| 4 August 2019 | Jaywuan Hill (1/1) | Thang Long Warriors | 9 |
| 11 August 2019 | Tavarion Nix (1/2) | Saigon Heat | 10 |
| 18 August 2019 | Tavarion Nix (2/2) | Saigon Heat | 11 |