2025 VBA season
| Vietnam Basketball Association | |
|---|---|
| Season | 2025 |
| Duration | 16 May – 20 September 2025 |
| Games played | 18 |
| Teams | 7 |
| TV partners | Vietnam:
|
| Regular season | |
| Supporter's Cup | Hanoi Buffaloes (1st title) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Hanoi Buffaloes (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Nha Trang Dolphins |
← 2024 2026 → | |
The 2025 VBA season (Vietnamese: VBA mùa giải 2025) was the tenth season of the Vietnam Basketball Association. The regular season began on 16 May and ended on 31 August.[1]
The Saigon Heat entered the season as the defending champions.[2]
Teams
Location of teams based in Ho Chi Minh City
The same six teams from the previous season returned for the current season, are joined by a team filled with players from the Philippines.[1] The league returned to a home/away format with all of the Vietnamese teams except for the Cantho Catfish returning to their home markets.
Locations, venues and personnel
| Team | Location | Arena | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danang Dragons | Da Nang | 5th Military Region Arena | Hoang The Vinh |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Hanoi | Tay Ho Sports Complex | Matt Van Pelt |
| V Islanders | Hanoi Children's Palace Gymnasium | Jose Garcia | |
| Cantho Catfish | Ho Chi Minh City | Tan Binh Gymnasium | Phan Thanh Canh |
| Ho Chi Minh City Wings | Ho Xuan Huong Arena | Le Tran Minh Nghia | |
| Saigon Heat | CIS Arena | David Grice | |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Nha Trang | Khanh Hoa Provincial Gymnasium | Todd Purves |
Coaching Transactions
| Team | 2024 season | 2025 season |
|---|---|---|
| Off-season | ||
| Cantho Catfish | Le Tran Minh Nghia | Phan Thanh Canh |
| Danang Dragons | Todd Purves | Hoang The Vinh |
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Erik Rashad | Matt Van Pelt |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Chris Daleo | Todd Purves |
| Ho Chi Minh City Wings | Lee Tao Dana | Argel Mendoza |
| In-season | ||
| Ho Chi Minh City Wings | Argel Mendoza | Le Tran Minh Nghia |
In-season
- On 10 July 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Wings named Le Tran Minh Nghia as head coach after Argel Mendoza was relieved of the duties.[3]
Foreign players
Teams are allowed to register two foreign, one Vietnamese heritage, one local+, and one Asian heritage. Heritage players are designated players who have Vietnamese heritage or have been naturalized. Local+ players are legacy heritage players that have played previously in the VBA. Heritage and local+ players do not count against the teams allotted foreign player slots.[1]
| Team | Foreign 1 | Foreign 2 | Asian | Heritage | Local+ | Replaced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantho Catfish | DaJuan Madden | Devin Peterson | Albert Bordeos | Dominique Tham | Michael Soy | Kevin Le Malek Green |
| Danang Dragons | Karachi Edo | Timothy Simmons | Ganbat Chinbold | Kyan Washington | ||
| Hanoi Buffaloes | Tamyrik Fields | DaQuan Bracey | Lian Ramiro | Tam Dinh | Taishuan Johnson | |
| Ho Chi Minh City Wings | Yevgen Sakhniuk | Dakota Zinser | Sanchir Tsagaanbaatar | Nathan Huynh | Khoa Tran | Christian Rios Kobe Pableo Darius Austin James Martinez |
| Nha Trang Dolphins | Mykal Jenkins | Jalyn Richardson | Munkhtur Khureltogoo | Max Allen | Bryan Nguyen John Fields | |
| Saigon Heat | Alfred Hollins | Davon Dillard | Temuulen Chingis | Tim Waale | ||
| V Islanders | Jermale Jones | Alioune Tew | Anthony January | |||
Regular season
The regular season began on 16 May 2025.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanoi Buffaloes (Q) | 18 | 17 | 1 | 1741 | 1518 | +223 | .944 | Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Nha Trang Dolphins (Q) | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1514 | 1376 | +138 | .667 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Cantho Catfish (Q) | 18 | 11 | 7 | 1357 | 1271 | +86 | .611 | |
| 4 | Saigon Heat (Q) | 18 | 11 | 7 | 1461 | 1349 | +112 | .611 | |
| 5 | Danang Dragons (E) | 18 | 8 | 10 | 1528 | 1555 | −27 | .444 | |
| 6 | Ho Chi Minh City Wings (E) | 18 | 2 | 16 | 1354 | 1618 | −264 | .111 | |
| 7 | V Islanders | 18 | 2 | 16 | 1094 | 1362 | −268 | .111 | Disqualified |
Results
Statistics
Individual statistic leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Malek Green | Cantho Catfish | 32.3 |
| Rebounds per game | Darrius Austin | Ho Chi Minh City Wings | 16.4 |
| Assists per game | Timothy Simmons | Danang Dragons | 7.2 |
| Steals per game | DaJuan Madden | Cantho Catfish | 3.8 |
| Blocks per game | Darrius Austin | Ho Chi Minh City Wings | 2.3 |
| FG% | Mykal Jenkins | Nha Trang Dolphins | 66.4% |
| 3P% | Huynh Vinh Quang | Nha Trang Dolphins | 45.6% |
Team statistic leaders
| Category | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Hanoi Buffaloes | 96.7 |
| Rebounds per game | Nha Trang Dolphins | 42.1 |
| Assists per game | Danang Dragons | 20.4 |
| Steals per game | Hanoi Buffaloes | 10.8 |
| Blocks per game | V Islanders | 3.2 |
| FG% | Nha Trang Dolphins | 45.9% |
| FT% | Nha Trang Dolphins | 65.3% |
| 3P% | Hanoi Buffaloes | 31.3% |
Playoffs
Bracket
| Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Finals (Best-of-5) | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Hanoi Buffaloes | 83 | 108 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Saigon Heat | 79 | 95 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Hanoi Buffaloes | 82 | 92 | 95 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Nha Trang Dolphins | 76 | 86 | 80 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Nha Trang Dolphins | 84 | 78 | 105 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Cantho Catfish | 80 | 86 | 93 | ||||||||||
Notable occurrences
- On 22 May 2025, James Martinez broke the record for most three-point field goals made (9) in a game vs the Nha Trang Dolphins.[4]
- On 26 May 2025, the Hanoi Buffaloes defeated the Danang Dragons in the first triple overtime game in league history.[5]
References
- ^ a b c "VBA 10: One decade on, Vietnamese basketball rises beyond limits". vietnamnews.vn. 20 April 2025.
- ^ "Fifth consecutive championship for Saigon Heat at VBA Finals 2024". vietnamnews.vn. 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Former Georgetown basketball player Kevin Braswell dies at 46". vietnamnews.vn. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ "Martinez hits record nine 3-pointers in Vietnam cage tourney". philstar.com. 22 May 2025.
- ^ "Hanoi Buffaloes edge Danang Dragons in thriller". vietnamnews.vn. 26 May 2025.