Saigon Heat
Vietnamese professional basketball team
title: "Saigon Heat" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["asean-basketball-league-teams", "basketball-teams-established-in-2011", "basketball-teams-in-vietnam", "2011-establishments-in-vietnam"] description: "Vietnamese professional basketball team" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saigon_Heat" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Vietnamese professional basketball team ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Basketball club"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| colour1 | Yellow |
| colour2 | Red |
| colour3 | Black |
| name | Saigon Heat |
| current | 2024 Saigon Heat season |
| logo | Saigon_Heat_logo_2014.png |
| image_size | 300px |
| founded | |
| arena | CIS Arena |
| capacity | 1,300 |
| location | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| colours | Red, Yellow, Black |
|
| president | Connor Nguyen | | coach | Matthew Van Pelt | | website | | | h_body | FF0000 | | h_pattern_b | _basket_in_white | | h_shorts | FFFFFF | | a_body | FF0000 | | a_pattern_b | _yellow_collar | | a_shorts | FF0000 | | a_pattern_s | _yellowbottom | ::
| colour1 = Yellow | colour2 = Red | colour3 = Black | name = Saigon Heat | current = 2024 Saigon Heat season | logo = Saigon_Heat_logo_2014.png | image_size = 300px | founded = | history = | arena = CIS Arena | capacity = 1,300 | location = Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | colours = Red, Yellow, Black
| president = Connor Nguyen | coach = Matthew Van Pelt | championships = | website = | h_body = FF0000 | h_pattern_b = _basket_in_white | h_shorts = FFFFFF | h_pattern_s = | a_body = FF0000 | a_pattern_b = _yellow_collar | a_shorts = FF0000 | a_pattern_s = _yellowbottom The Saigon Heat is a Vietnamese professional basketball team based in Ho Chi Minh City. Since the 2014 season, the Heat's home games are played at the CIS Arena on the campus of the Canadian International School in District 7. This is the first professional basketball team based in Vietnam.
The Heat currently plays in the VBA, Vietnam's first professional basketball league.
History
The Saigon Heat are the first professional basketball team in Vietnam based in Ho Chi Minh City. They were officially announced as a member of the ASEAN Basketball League in October 2011. The team was formed by the Saigon Sports Academy, a multi-sports training academy launched in January 2009 and located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
In their inaugural season, the Heat finished sixth in the ABL with a regular season record of 8–13. The Heat did not qualify in for the 2012 ABL playoffs. The Heat followed up their inaugural season with another disappointing sixth-place finish in an injury plagued 2013 season, highlighted by a twelve-game losing streak.
Thirteen games into the 2014 season, head coach Jason Rabedeaux suddenly died, the main cause of death was traumatic brain injury. Coach Rabedeaux's assistant Anthony Garbelotto was named the new head coach. The Heat finished the season in fourth place, clinching their first ever playoff berth. The Heat were swept 0–2 by the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the 2014 ABL playoffs.
Following the completion of the 2015–16 season, the Heat announced the formation of Vietnam's first professional basketball league, the Vietnam Basketball Association, where they would field a developmental team. The Heat VBA team consists of local players, with several of the ABL side's players being distributed among the other VBA teams for league parity purposes.
Logos
Image:Saigon_Heat.jpg|2011–12 Original logo Image:heatsquare.png|2013 season logo Image:Saigon_Heat_logo_2014.png|2014–present logo
Season-by-season record
::data[format=table] | Season | Coach | Regular Season | Post Season | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||Combined||8||13|| ||6th|| colspan="4"|Did not qualify | ||Combined||9||11|| ||4th|| colspan="4"| | Totals | 65 | 98 | - | 4 | 13 | Best Results: Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 2012 | Robert Newson | 0 | 7 | | **** | **** | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jason Rabedeaux | 8 | 6 | | **** | **** | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2013 | Jason Rabedeaux | 4 | 18 | | 6th | Did not qualify | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2014 | Jason Rabedeaux | 6 | 7 | | **** | **** | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tony Garbelotto | 3 | 4 | | | 0 | 2 | | Semifinalists | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2015–16 | Tony Garbelotto | 9 | 11 | | 4th | 0 | 2 | | Semifinalists | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2016–17 | Tony Garbelotto | 8 | 12 | | 4th | 0 | 2 | | Semifinalists | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2017–18 | Kyle Julius | 10 | 10 | | 6th | 0 | 2 | | Quarterfinalists | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2018–19 | Kyle Julius | 14 | 12 | | 5th | 1 | 2 | | Quarterfinalists | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2019–20 | Kevin Yurkus | 3 | 11 | | 10th | 0 | 0 | | Season cut short due to COVID-19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2023 | Matthew Van Pelt | 11 | 3 | | 1st | 3 | 3 | | Runner-up | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
Home arenas
- Tân Bình Stadium (2012–2013)
- CIS Sports Arena (2014–present)
2023 roster
| team = Saigon Heat | color1 = yellow | bg1 = #B50000| color2 = #B50000| bg2 = yellow}}
| head_coach =
| asst_coach =
| ath_train =
| roster_url = | accessdate = 27 December 2022
Depth chart
|line_color = FF0000 |alt_color = fff |label_color = FF0000 |starter_c = USA Jeremy Combs |starter_pf = USA Jarius Holder |starter_sf = USAVIE Hassan Thomas |starter_sg = USAVIE Khoa Tran |starter_pg = USA Evan Gilyard |bench 1_c = VIE Nguyễn Huỳnh Phú Vinh |bench 1_pf = DENVIE Tim Waale |bench 1_sf = VIE Võ Kim Bản |bench 1_sg = VIE Huỳnh Trực Nhân |bench 1_pg = VIE Dư Minh An |bench 2_c = |bench 2_pf = VIE Nguyễn Phúc Vinh |bench 2_sf = VIE Nguyễn Anh Kiệt |bench 2_sg = |bench 2_pg = |bench 3_c = |bench 3_pf = |bench 3_sf = |bench 3_sg = |bench 3_pg = |inactive_c = |reserve_pf = |reserve_sf = |reserve_sg = |reserve_pg =
Head coaches
- ENG Robert Newson (2012)
- USA Jason Rabedeaux † (2012–2014)
- ENG Anthony Garbelotto (2014–2017)
- CAN Kyle Julius (2017–2019)
- USA Kevin Yurkus (2019–2022)
- USA Matthew Van Pelt (2022–present)
References
References
- (20 October 2011). "SSA Saigon Heat Joins the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League". ABL News.
- (4 March 2016). "Vietnam is getting a pro basketball league".
- (21 October 2011). "Home". FIBA Asia.
- (20 May 2013). "Saigon Heat disqualified from 2013 ABL Champs". vietnamnet.vn.
- (24 April 2013). "Saigon Heat defeated in 12 consecutive games". vietnamnet.vn.
- (22 September 2014). "American coach of Vietnam's Saigon Heat dies of accident, aged 49". tuoitrenews.vn.
- (17 November 2014). "Coach Tony: "Coach Rab would have been very proud at what the club has achieved"". xle.vn.
- (25 October 2014). "Vietnam's Saigon Heat reach first ASEAN Basketball League semi in history". tuoitrenews.vn.
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